RAI RESEARCH SEMINAR
SEMINAR SERIES AT THE ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE
Musical Bodies: Orchestrating personhood, self and place among shamanic nomadic peoples of the Altai-Sayan Mountains of southern Siberia
Dr Carole Pegg, University of Cambridge
Wednesday 21 October at 5.30 pm
In the face of recent aggressive Russification policies, the shamanic semi-nomadic peoples of the republics of Altai, Khakassia and Tyva in the Russian Federation are using a plurality of musical bodies (including extensions and accoutrements) to strengthen the relations between human and spirit beings that constitute their personhood. This paper, based on fieldwork in the area since 2002, argues that both sound embodiment and the creation in musical performance of sonic pathways between imagined diverse worlds strengthen these traditional social relations. Moreover, the sensually sonic experiences of the musical bodies at the centre of this social network, produce a renewed ‘sense-of-self’ based on a re-invigorated sense of balance and place necessary to negotiate the insecurities of societies under the pressures of rapid social change.
This event is free, but tickets must be booked. To book tickets please go to http://carolepegg.eventbrite.co.uk
