Topology of the sacred and agency

Water sites of power in Bantu African and Brazilian culture, with considerations on baptism

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23925/1677-1222.2021vol21i3a4

Keywords:

agency, sacred sites, Bantu culture, Afro-Brazilian studies, baptism, Umbanda

Abstract

On the background of resurging interest in ‚sites of power’, on both sides of the Atlantic, this essay presents a feature, sometimes marginalised in their theories: ‘agency’. It is understood that the recognition of the relation between ‘topography’ and ‘agency’ is required, to understand the dynamics of such sites, as experienced and codified in cultures and religions. This essay focusses on the ‘sites of water’ as important archetypes of Bantu African and Brazilian Diaspora cultures and religions. On the assumption of ancient formative connections of the Bantu with the Afro-Asiatic cultures, to which the Hebrew belongs, corresponding reports and concepts from the Bible are included in this analysis, disclosing systematically interesting features on this matrix by ‘archaeology of culture’.

Author Biography

Ullrich Relebogilwe Kleinhempel, Bayernkolleg (Colegio de Baviera), Schweinfurt Universität Münster (CRS)

current position: Lutheran Pastor, teaching religion in upper secondary education in Germany, Bayernkolleg / FFS, Schweinfurt

previous academic engagements:

 visiting lecturer at:

- The University of Bayreuth, Dept. Cultural Studies - Science of Religion

- The University of Bucharest - UNESCO Chair for  Inter-Cultural and Inter-Religious Studies

- The Moscow State University (Lomonosov) - Dept. of Foreign Languages

 

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Published

2021-12-09

Issue

Vol. 21 No. 3 (2021): Religião e Arqueologia

Section

Seção Temática

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