Books as Bodies and as Sacred Beings
Sheffield, UK: Equinox (2021), vii, 160 pp.
Contains illustrations, index
Series: Comparative Research on Iconic and Performative Texts
ISBN 978-1-78179-885-0 (pbk); 978-1-78179-886-7
"In this volume an international team of scholars address the theme of books as sacred beings from an impressively diverse range of primary material and perspectives. Yet, as a group, they meld to engage and advance previous research to solidify the conclusion that human cultures, especially religious groups, often ritualize bodies as sacred books and books as divine beings. The studies collected here not only increase the range of examples of this phenomenon. They also show the wide variety of ways in which the identity of books, bodies and beings gets both ritualized and theorized. The articles are bracketed by an introduction to the collection, and then by a concluding essay that extrapolates the theme of books as sacred beings on a more general level." (Publisher description)
1 Introduction / James W. Watts, 1
2 Performing Scriptures: Ritualizing Written Texts in Seolwi-seolgyeong, the Korean Shamanistic Recitation of Scriptures / Yohan Yoo, 9
3 Embodying the Qur'an / Katharina Wilkens, 25
4 Scriptures, Materiality, and the Digital Turn: The Iconicity of Sacred Texts in a Liminal Age / Bradford A. Anderson, 37
5 Being the Bible: Sacred Bodies and Iconic Books in Bring Your Bible to School Day / Dorina Miller Parmenter, 51
6 Body Building in the Hindu Tantric Tradition: The Advantages and Confusions of Scriptural Entextualization in the Worship of the Goddess Kali / Rachel Fell McDermott, 67
7 Saints' Lives as Performance Art / Virginia Burrus, 83
8 Aspiring Narratives of Previous Births in Written and Visual Media from Ancient Gandhara / Jason Neelis, 97
9 Daoist Writs and Scriptures as Sacred Beings / Jihyun Kim, 115
10 Books as Sacred Beings / James W. Watts, 137
2 Performing Scriptures: Ritualizing Written Texts in Seolwi-seolgyeong, the Korean Shamanistic Recitation of Scriptures / Yohan Yoo, 9
3 Embodying the Qur'an / Katharina Wilkens, 25
4 Scriptures, Materiality, and the Digital Turn: The Iconicity of Sacred Texts in a Liminal Age / Bradford A. Anderson, 37
5 Being the Bible: Sacred Bodies and Iconic Books in Bring Your Bible to School Day / Dorina Miller Parmenter, 51
6 Body Building in the Hindu Tantric Tradition: The Advantages and Confusions of Scriptural Entextualization in the Worship of the Goddess Kali / Rachel Fell McDermott, 67
7 Saints' Lives as Performance Art / Virginia Burrus, 83
8 Aspiring Narratives of Previous Births in Written and Visual Media from Ancient Gandhara / Jason Neelis, 97
9 Daoist Writs and Scriptures as Sacred Beings / Jihyun Kim, 115
10 Books as Sacred Beings / James W. Watts, 137
