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Welcoming dangerous benefactors: incense, gods and hospitality in north-eastern Taiwan

Feuchtwang, Stephan (2019) Welcoming dangerous benefactors: incense, gods and hospitality in north-eastern Taiwan. Homme (France), 231-23 (3). 135 - 149. ISSN 0439-4216

[img] Text (L'Homme Feuchtwang The incense master_DH_SF_DH) - Accepted Version
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Identification Number: 10.4000/lhomme.35561

Abstract

Chinese festival ritual offers an extreme case of hospitality to outsider benefactors, to gods. They are invited outsiders. Their host is a territorial community of households represented by their divinely selected master of the god’s incense burner. Mediation to communicate with and separate from powerful guests is a courting of great power and avoiding its danger. Their welcome poses the danger of offence. To these points I add other sides and counterparts to rites of hospitality, such as rites of charitable feeding. I begin by arguing that the dangers of hospitality suggested by others in this volume are applicable in this case. Finally, I suggest how the terms in which I analyse these Chinese rites are applicable to other orders of hospitality.

Item Type: Article
Official URL: https://journals.openedition.org/lhomme/
Additional Information: © 2019 École des hautes études en sciences sociales
Divisions: Anthropology
Asia Centre
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology
G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GT Manners and customs
D History General and Old World > DS Asia
Date Deposited: 04 Mar 2020 16:15
Last Modified: 27 Mar 2024 08:42
URI: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/103686

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