The Burning Saints : Cognition and Culture in the Fire-walking Rituals of the Anastenaria / Dimitris Xygalatas.

Print version record.

"First published 2012 by Equinox Publishing Ltd., an imprint of Acumen."

Cover; Half Title; Title Page; Copyright Page; Dedication; Table of Contents; List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction; 2. Tradition in the making; 3. The ethnographic setting; 4. Fire- walking in Agia Eleni; 5. Knowledge and revelation among the Anastenaria; 6. Ritual and mind; 7. Costly rituals; 8. Arousal, emotion and motivation; 9. The physiology of high-arousal rituals; 10. Putting it all together; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

The Anastenaria are Orthodox Christians in Northern Greece who observe a unique annual ritual cycle focused on two festivals, dedicated to Saint Constantine and Saint Helen. The festivals involve processions, music, dancing, animal sacrifices, and culminate in an electrifying fire-walking ritual. Carrying the sacred icons of the saints, participants dance over hot coals as the saint moves them. ''The Burning Saints'' presents an analysis of these rituals and the psychology behind them. Based on long-term fieldwork, ''The Burning Saints'' traces the historical development and sociocultural cont.

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