Login | Register

Home altars and sacred atmospheres: living spirituality in the domestic space. An ethnography with practitioners from Argentina.

Title:

Home altars and sacred atmospheres: living spirituality in the domestic space. An ethnography with practitioners from Argentina.

Seferiades Prece, Ariana (2021) Home altars and sacred atmospheres: living spirituality in the domestic space. An ethnography with practitioners from Argentina. Masters thesis, Concordia University.

[thumbnail of SeferiadesPrece_MA_F2021 .pdf]
Preview
Text (application/pdf)
SeferiadesPrece_MA_F2021 .pdf - Accepted Version
1MB

Abstract

The present work invites the reader to immerse into the intimate worlds of contemporary spiritual practitioners from urban centres of Argentina as they engage with their home altars. By means of ethnographic research we explore the process of creation of domestic altars, the spiritual practices conducted with altars and the effects altars have on spiritual practitioners. The notion of bricolage is useful to grasp the process of altar creation, and we will argue that this creation involves multiple forms of sociality. Localising the practices done with the altar in the everyday, we argue that the relationship people have with their altars disrupts the ordinary. Their intimate relationships, linked to modes of action that span from fleeting daily interactions to rituals, become part of a spiritual mode of life. We introduce the concept of atmospheres into the study of contemporary spirituality and material religion to account for the ongoing effects of the relationship and to address the transformational potential of altars, both on the spiritual subjectification and on practitioners' relations with others and their environment. Sacred atmospheres are experienced with intensity, charged with affects and emotions, and are inextricably linked with notions of well-being, intimacy and protection. Through altars practitioners open themselves to connect with a greater whole in the intimacy of their homes, inviting others to partake in their atmospheres physically and virtually.

Divisions:Concordia University > Faculty of Arts and Science > Sociology and Anthropology
Item Type:Thesis (Masters)
Authors:Seferiades Prece, Ariana
Institution:Concordia University
Degree Name:M.A.
Program:Social and Cultural Anthropology
Date:September 2021
Thesis Supervisor(s):Howes, David
ID Code:988945
Deposited By: Ariana Seferiades Prece
Deposited On:29 Nov 2021 16:50
Last Modified:29 Nov 2021 16:50
All items in Spectrum are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved. The use of items is governed by Spectrum's terms of access.

Repository Staff Only: item control page

Downloads per month over past year

Research related to the current document (at the CORE website)
- Research related to the current document (at the CORE website)
Back to top Back to top