Anthropological Inoculations
Anthropological Inoculations
This chapter deals with the theoretical problems of contemporary immunology that are socially constructed and personally understood. Polytheists are highly sensitized to immunological concepts. In Balinese ritual, the conceptual framework for immunity is already highly developed through negotiations with a diverse and diffuse range of pathogenic agents; immunity from demons more or less defines what ritual is all about. Ritual becomes the major vehicle for addressing social and individual diseases, and particularly in so-called polytheistic contexts, for recreating well-being in the presence of something pathogenic is largely accomplished by orchestrating powerful symbolic stimuli. Although attention to the “self” may be universal, the actual “localization” of self-interest may be only a major Enlightenment theme in which heroics are measured by the successful neutralization of difference.
Keywords: Balinese ritual, immunological concepts, pathogenic agents, contemporary immunology
Chicago Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
