Manéli Farahmand - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Manéli Farahmand

This doctoral research is dedicated to the study of identity issues in contexts of renewal or app... more This doctoral research is dedicated to the study of identity issues in contexts of renewal or appropriation of ethnic traditions and their displacement, by specific actors, within the realm of holistic spiritualities. These issues revolve around quests for authenticity, legitimacy and negotiation of (intra)-cultural differences. This research problematizes the relationships among mobility, spirituality and Mayan ethnicity, from the perspective of Transnational Studies and life stories, through the concept of neo-Mayanity. These relationships have been embedded in the broader context of "religious change" and its forms since the 1950s and 1960s. On the one hand, these changes imply the rise of New Age currents in the wake of 1968 counter-culture. On the other hand, they stem from the emergence of new forms of "religious or spiritual mobility", more specifically in the transnational circulation of actors, practices, imaginations and symbols. This research features qualitative case studies conducted in different national contexts. Six field studies were carried out as part of a multi-situated ethnography spanning Mexico, Guatemala, Switzerland and Germany, using methods such as narrative interviews, direct participant observations, cyber-ethnography, and ethno-photography. The research aims to show current transformations in the field of Mayan ethnicity, ever since contact with globalized New Age spiritualities. A variety of empirical examples reveal that since the "2012 Phenomenon", the accelerated transnationalization of spiritual leaders has involved a resemantization of symbolic contents and rituals through processes of rearrangement, visual innovation and cohabitation.

Cet article présente les résultats d'une recherche ethno-photographique menée au sud-est du Mexiq... more Cet article présente les résultats d'une recherche ethno-photographique menée au sud-est du Mexique, qui porte sur les renouveaux chamaniques d'inspiration maya. Y sont discutés des aspects méthodologiques, tels que les usages anthropologiques de la photographie, la complémentarité entre ethnographie et photographie, et les avantages d'un tel dialogue pour comprendre les réalités sociales. Proposant une analyse de ces milieux à travers la notion d'écoféminisme, nous verrons que le rapport établi entre femmes et nature et des concepts tels que la Terre-Mère constituent le pivot alimentant un univers symbolique qui questionne les dynamiques de genre. Illustrées par des photographies, les analyses présentées dans cet article sont le résultat de notre insertion dans un terrain où la plupart des pratiquant• es sont des femmes thérapeutes alternatives. Néanmoins, elles restent marginalisées sur une scène religieuse dominée par des hommes. L'outil de l'image articulé aux observations directes et à l'analyse d'entretiens permet de souligner les dynamiques de visibilité et d'invisibilité, mais aussi un discours anticolonial passant par la revalorisation des héritages mayas.

Etnografia e ricerca qualitativa, 2015

Religions, Feb 15, 2016

In this article, the author focuses on the field of neo-Mayanity and its current transformations.... more In this article, the author focuses on the field of neo-Mayanity and its current transformations. She analyzes these transformations using a historico-ethnographic approach, which includes two phases. The first one consists in reconstructing the historical development of the "Mayan" category in two different social contexts. The second one focuses on current narrative and imageries produced around this category, stemming from ethnographic fieldwork in Mexico and Guatemala. Since the "2012 phenomenon", in both countries, the accelerating transnationalization of the religious leaders has triggered a resignification of contents through various logics of rearrangement, innovation, cohabitation and glocalization. Finally, she demonstrates that the variations in the different ethnographies are linked with the religious leaders' biographies and the modes of signification of the "Mayan" category-influenced by the socio-historical contexts of production.

Anthrovision, Dec 31, 2017

ASDIWAL. Revue genevoise d'anthropologie et d'histoire des religions, 2019

Farahmand Maneli. Ethnographie translocale des renouveaux mayas. In: ASDIWAL. Revue genevoise d&#... more Farahmand Maneli. Ethnographie translocale des renouveaux mayas. In: ASDIWAL. Revue genevoise d'anthropologie et d'histoire des religions, n°14, 2019. pp. 217-220

AЯGOS

Cet article présente les résultats d’une recherche ethno-photographique menée au sud-est du Mexiq... more Cet article présente les résultats d’une recherche ethno-photographique menée au sud-est du Mexique, qui porte sur les renouveaux chamaniques d’inspiration maya. Y sont discutés des aspects méthodologiques, tels que les usages anthropologiques de la photographie, la complémentarité entre ethnographie et photographie, et les avantages d’un tel dialogue pour comprendre les réalités sociales. Proposant une analyse de ces milieux à travers la notion d’écoféminisme, nous verrons que le rapport établi entre femmes et nature et des concepts tels que la Terre-Mère constituent le pivot alimentant un univers symbolique qui questionne les dynamiques de genre. Illustrées par des photographies, les analyses présentées dans cet article sont le résultat de notre insertion dans un terrain où la plupart des pratiquant· es sont des femmes thérapeutes alternatives. Néanmoins, elles restent marginalisées sur une scène religieuse dominée par des hommes. L’outil de l’image articulé aux observations direc...

Routledge International Handbook of Religion in Global Society

Ce Working Paper est compose d’une selection de cinq travaux d’etudiant·e·s autour de Damanhur, u... more Ce Working Paper est compose d’une selection de cinq travaux d’etudiant·e·s autour de Damanhur, une communaute neo-esoterique dans le Piemont, en Italie, ou le sejour eu lieu du 7 au 10 juin 2017. Il illustre la demarche pedagogique d'un travail ethnographique collectif sur le terrain des nouvelles spiritualites contemporaines effectue en collaboration entre des socio-anthropologues du monde contemporain et une historienne des religions de l’Antiquite, visant a acquerir des instruments methodologiques et theoriques permettant d’integrer, a travers un cas d’etude empirique, la perspective des etudes genre aux sciences des religions.

International Journal of Latin American Religions

This article focuses on the study of identity issues in contexts of the renewal of pre-Hispanic M... more This article focuses on the study of identity issues in contexts of the renewal of pre-Hispanic Maya cosmologies and their dislocation within the realm of New Age and neo-shamanic spiritualities. It problematizes, more specifically, the relationships between transnationalism, the New Age, and Maya ethnicity, from the perspective of Transnational Studies , through the concept of “neo-Mayanity.” These relationships have been embedded in a broader socio-historical context, which is the construction of ethnic categories in Central America since the 1960s, and the growing importance given, at the end of the 1990s, to “Maya Spirituality” in identity processes, such as in Guatemala and Mexico. These debates over ethnicity allow us to analyze the recent emergence of neo-Indigenous performativities through thematic issues such as gender, spirituality, power struggles, religious mobility, life stories, and authenticity. This article aims to show current transformations in the field of “Maya identity,” ever since its contact with globalized New Age and neo-shamanic spiritualities. A variety of empirical examples from the Mexican fieldwork will support the analysis. They represent a very small portion of the data obtained from a multi-sited research I conducted between 2012 and 2015 across different neo-Maya circles in Guatemala, Mexico, Germany, and Switzerland.

International Journal of Latin American Religions

International Journal of Latin American Religions would like to thank all of our reviewers, both ... more International Journal of Latin American Religions would like to thank all of our reviewers, both external and Editorial Board Members, who have contributed to the journal in Volume 1 (2017) and whose valuable support is fundamental to the success of the journal. The expertise and contribution of the reviewers are critical to continually maintain the good standard of our publication.

Religions, 2016

In this article, the author focuses on the field of neo-Mayanity and its current transformations.... more In this article, the author focuses on the field of neo-Mayanity and its current transformations. She analyzes these transformations using a historico-ethnographic approach, which includes two phases. The first one consists in reconstructing the historical development of the "Mayan" category in two different social contexts. The second one focuses on current narrative and imageries produced around this category, stemming from ethnographic fieldwork in Mexico and Guatemala. Since the "2012 phenomenon", in both countries, the accelerating transnationalization of the religious leaders has triggered a resignification of contents through various logics of rearrangement, innovation, cohabitation and glocalization. Finally, she demonstrates that the variations in the different ethnographies are linked with the religious leaders' biographies and the modes of signification of the "Mayan" category-influenced by the socio-historical contexts of production.

This volume pulls together ethnographic research to address how the overlaps and differentiations... more This volume pulls together ethnographic research to address how the overlaps and differentiations between spirituality, secularity and religion are gendered. The analysis takes into account also the secular and addresses the following questions: Is spirituality not simply secularized and privatized religion? Does it ever challenge the secular frame, and if so, how? Can spirituality be political? And if spirituality is privatized religion, is this also feminized religion? How does the gendered boundary between public and private domains intersect with the boundaries between spirituality, religion and secularity? How do spiritual practitioners mind or challenge these boundaries?

This doctoral research is dedicated to the study of identity issues in contexts of renewal or app... more This doctoral research is dedicated to the study of identity issues in contexts of renewal or appropriation of ethnic traditions and their displacement, by specific actors, within the realm of holistic spiritualities. These issues revolve around quests for authenticity, legitimacy and negotiation of (intra)-cultural differences. This research problematizes the relationships among mobility, spirituality and Mayan ethnicity, from the perspective of Transnational Studies and life stories, through the concept of neo-Mayanity. These relationships have been embedded in the broader context of "religious change" and its forms since the 1950s and 1960s. On the one hand, these changes imply the rise of New Age currents in the wake of 1968 counter-culture. On the other hand, they stem from the emergence of new forms of "religious or spiritual mobility", more specifically in the transnational circulation of actors, practices, imaginations and symbols. This research features qualitative case studies conducted in different national contexts. Six field studies were carried out as part of a multi-situated ethnography spanning Mexico, Guatemala, Switzerland and Germany, using methods such as narrative interviews, direct participant observations, cyber-ethnography, and ethno-photography. The research aims to show current transformations in the field of Mayan ethnicity, ever since contact with globalized New Age spiritualities. A variety of empirical examples reveal that since the "2012 Phenomenon", the accelerated transnationalization of spiritual leaders has involved a resemantization of symbolic contents and rituals through processes of rearrangement, visual innovation and cohabitation.

Cet article présente les résultats d'une recherche ethno-photographique menée au sud-est du Mexiq... more Cet article présente les résultats d'une recherche ethno-photographique menée au sud-est du Mexique, qui porte sur les renouveaux chamaniques d'inspiration maya. Y sont discutés des aspects méthodologiques, tels que les usages anthropologiques de la photographie, la complémentarité entre ethnographie et photographie, et les avantages d'un tel dialogue pour comprendre les réalités sociales. Proposant une analyse de ces milieux à travers la notion d'écoféminisme, nous verrons que le rapport établi entre femmes et nature et des concepts tels que la Terre-Mère constituent le pivot alimentant un univers symbolique qui questionne les dynamiques de genre. Illustrées par des photographies, les analyses présentées dans cet article sont le résultat de notre insertion dans un terrain où la plupart des pratiquant• es sont des femmes thérapeutes alternatives. Néanmoins, elles restent marginalisées sur une scène religieuse dominée par des hommes. L'outil de l'image articulé aux observations directes et à l'analyse d'entretiens permet de souligner les dynamiques de visibilité et d'invisibilité, mais aussi un discours anticolonial passant par la revalorisation des héritages mayas.

Etnografia e ricerca qualitativa, 2015

Religions, Feb 15, 2016

In this article, the author focuses on the field of neo-Mayanity and its current transformations.... more In this article, the author focuses on the field of neo-Mayanity and its current transformations. She analyzes these transformations using a historico-ethnographic approach, which includes two phases. The first one consists in reconstructing the historical development of the "Mayan" category in two different social contexts. The second one focuses on current narrative and imageries produced around this category, stemming from ethnographic fieldwork in Mexico and Guatemala. Since the "2012 phenomenon", in both countries, the accelerating transnationalization of the religious leaders has triggered a resignification of contents through various logics of rearrangement, innovation, cohabitation and glocalization. Finally, she demonstrates that the variations in the different ethnographies are linked with the religious leaders' biographies and the modes of signification of the "Mayan" category-influenced by the socio-historical contexts of production.

Anthrovision, Dec 31, 2017

ASDIWAL. Revue genevoise d'anthropologie et d'histoire des religions, 2019

Farahmand Maneli. Ethnographie translocale des renouveaux mayas. In: ASDIWAL. Revue genevoise d&#... more Farahmand Maneli. Ethnographie translocale des renouveaux mayas. In: ASDIWAL. Revue genevoise d'anthropologie et d'histoire des religions, n°14, 2019. pp. 217-220

AЯGOS

Cet article présente les résultats d’une recherche ethno-photographique menée au sud-est du Mexiq... more Cet article présente les résultats d’une recherche ethno-photographique menée au sud-est du Mexique, qui porte sur les renouveaux chamaniques d’inspiration maya. Y sont discutés des aspects méthodologiques, tels que les usages anthropologiques de la photographie, la complémentarité entre ethnographie et photographie, et les avantages d’un tel dialogue pour comprendre les réalités sociales. Proposant une analyse de ces milieux à travers la notion d’écoféminisme, nous verrons que le rapport établi entre femmes et nature et des concepts tels que la Terre-Mère constituent le pivot alimentant un univers symbolique qui questionne les dynamiques de genre. Illustrées par des photographies, les analyses présentées dans cet article sont le résultat de notre insertion dans un terrain où la plupart des pratiquant· es sont des femmes thérapeutes alternatives. Néanmoins, elles restent marginalisées sur une scène religieuse dominée par des hommes. L’outil de l’image articulé aux observations direc...

Routledge International Handbook of Religion in Global Society

Ce Working Paper est compose d’une selection de cinq travaux d’etudiant·e·s autour de Damanhur, u... more Ce Working Paper est compose d’une selection de cinq travaux d’etudiant·e·s autour de Damanhur, une communaute neo-esoterique dans le Piemont, en Italie, ou le sejour eu lieu du 7 au 10 juin 2017. Il illustre la demarche pedagogique d'un travail ethnographique collectif sur le terrain des nouvelles spiritualites contemporaines effectue en collaboration entre des socio-anthropologues du monde contemporain et une historienne des religions de l’Antiquite, visant a acquerir des instruments methodologiques et theoriques permettant d’integrer, a travers un cas d’etude empirique, la perspective des etudes genre aux sciences des religions.

International Journal of Latin American Religions

This article focuses on the study of identity issues in contexts of the renewal of pre-Hispanic M... more This article focuses on the study of identity issues in contexts of the renewal of pre-Hispanic Maya cosmologies and their dislocation within the realm of New Age and neo-shamanic spiritualities. It problematizes, more specifically, the relationships between transnationalism, the New Age, and Maya ethnicity, from the perspective of Transnational Studies , through the concept of “neo-Mayanity.” These relationships have been embedded in a broader socio-historical context, which is the construction of ethnic categories in Central America since the 1960s, and the growing importance given, at the end of the 1990s, to “Maya Spirituality” in identity processes, such as in Guatemala and Mexico. These debates over ethnicity allow us to analyze the recent emergence of neo-Indigenous performativities through thematic issues such as gender, spirituality, power struggles, religious mobility, life stories, and authenticity. This article aims to show current transformations in the field of “Maya identity,” ever since its contact with globalized New Age and neo-shamanic spiritualities. A variety of empirical examples from the Mexican fieldwork will support the analysis. They represent a very small portion of the data obtained from a multi-sited research I conducted between 2012 and 2015 across different neo-Maya circles in Guatemala, Mexico, Germany, and Switzerland.

International Journal of Latin American Religions

International Journal of Latin American Religions would like to thank all of our reviewers, both ... more International Journal of Latin American Religions would like to thank all of our reviewers, both external and Editorial Board Members, who have contributed to the journal in Volume 1 (2017) and whose valuable support is fundamental to the success of the journal. The expertise and contribution of the reviewers are critical to continually maintain the good standard of our publication.

Religions, 2016

In this article, the author focuses on the field of neo-Mayanity and its current transformations.... more In this article, the author focuses on the field of neo-Mayanity and its current transformations. She analyzes these transformations using a historico-ethnographic approach, which includes two phases. The first one consists in reconstructing the historical development of the "Mayan" category in two different social contexts. The second one focuses on current narrative and imageries produced around this category, stemming from ethnographic fieldwork in Mexico and Guatemala. Since the "2012 phenomenon", in both countries, the accelerating transnationalization of the religious leaders has triggered a resignification of contents through various logics of rearrangement, innovation, cohabitation and glocalization. Finally, she demonstrates that the variations in the different ethnographies are linked with the religious leaders' biographies and the modes of signification of the "Mayan" category-influenced by the socio-historical contexts of production.

This volume pulls together ethnographic research to address how the overlaps and differentiations... more This volume pulls together ethnographic research to address how the overlaps and differentiations between spirituality, secularity and religion are gendered. The analysis takes into account also the secular and addresses the following questions: Is spirituality not simply secularized and privatized religion? Does it ever challenge the secular frame, and if so, how? Can spirituality be political? And if spirituality is privatized religion, is this also feminized religion? How does the gendered boundary between public and private domains intersect with the boundaries between spirituality, religion and secularity? How do spiritual practitioners mind or challenge these boundaries?