Out Of The Ordinary Barbara Walker Published by Utah State University Press Walker, Barbara. Out Of The Ordinary: Folklore and the Supernatural. Logan: Utah State University Press, 1995. Project MUSE., https://muse.jhu.edu/. For additional information about this book https://muse.jhu.edu/book/9855 No institutional affiliation (20 Jul 2018 09:39 GMT)
Index Adler, Shelley, 39 afterlife, 73, 75-106; cross-cultural concepts of, 112 ancestor spirits, Hmong as protected by, 181, 195, 197 anti-structure, 100-101, 106, 161 Asia: beliefsystems in, 3; supernatural experiences in, 13, 39 assumptions, cultural: empiricism as essential to, 84; logical understandings as affected by,51,57 astrology: role-related distrust for, 128, 130 39; in foodways, 62-65; surveys of, 124, 140-41 authority, cultural, 40; functions of, 18, 22, 151, 153; seances offered as scientific proof of, 83-85; technical expertise as basis of, 24-25, 57; transmission of, 23 24; see also official belief(s) authority, social, 18 automatic writing, 83 belief(s): competing perspectives in, 6, 67-68; core, 15, 28; culture as influence on, 20 22, 24-27; defmition of, 19-20; divinatory vs. visionary, 127-41; experience as basis of, 112; experience-centered theory of, 1-45, 74; externalizing vs. internalizing, 114, 116; foundation and origins of, 1-2, 7, 9; ideologized vs. pragmatic, 86; illness as related to, 185-98; inertia as aid to, 106; institutionalized vs. vernacular, 6; official, see official beliefs; in reincarnation, 36; ritual performance as evaluation of, 90-91; science as antithetical to, 5-6,40, 83; seances offered as scientific proof of, 84-85; skepticism as evaluation of, 93, 95-106; surveys of, 124-25; see also folk beliefs; supernatural Bennett, Gillian, 17, 60-61 Blessing Way ceremonies, 49, 57 Britain, Great, folklore traditions in, 122-26 Brown, Joseph Epes, 47,51-52,53 Buddhism, 100, 112; Pure Land, 15; Theravada,42 Catholicism: medieval, Mara as represented in, 15; priests, supernatural as evaluated by, 143, 147-56 causality: cluster logic compared with, 54-55; scientific emphasis upon, 108 Charismatic revival movement, 26, 33 Chinese culture, traditional, 101; belief/skepticism in, 101-2; dead as viewed by, 104; supernatural experiences in, 13, 15, 91; family structure in, 91-92; religious beliefs in, 102-3, 106 Christianity: afterlife concept in, 112; folk vs. official beliefs in, 22-23, 26; God as viewed by, 162, 163; Hmong converts to, 187, 188-93; medieval mystics of, 35 Christian Science, 89 clairvoyance, 125 coincidences, 48,53-54,90 Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), 33 communication systems, supernatural: Navajo, 46-58; telegraph as connected to, 87 Confucianism, 101-2, 102-3 contact with dead, cross-cultural surveys of, 107-12 core beliefs, elements of, 15, 28 core experiences, 27-40; classes of, 34-36; defmitions of, 9 Coyote, 53-54, 57; cross-cultural patterns, ofsupernatural experiences, 14-15,31-34,107,108-13 cultural source hypothesis, 28, 186
216 Index culture(s): death as dilemma for, 104; defmition of, 20-21; experiences as differentiated in, 9-10, 48-49; knowledge as acquired through, 19, 21-22; spiritual beliefs as differentiated in, 31-34; supernatural as differentiated in, 107, 108-13, 186-87 ; supernatural as independent of, 9, 13-14, 15,21,26-27,29; understandings as differentiated in, 9-10 dab tsog, 13, 144, 181, 183-84; as culturespecific nightmare, 186-89 dead: surveys of contact with, 108-13; visits by,4, 35,60, 98-100, 105 death: existential dilemmas about, 104; nightmare attacks as connected to, 194, 195, 196-98; omens of, 123, 124, 128-29; as transformation, 92 deja vu, cross-cultural surveys of, 108, 110-11 delving, 137-39 disbelief, 25, 84; traditions of, 125, 157, 186; see also skepticism divinatory tradition, 124, 126, 127-41; activeobjective character of, 139, 140; divination blocks, 103, 105; divination sticks, 105; informant stories about, 127-33 dowsing, 61-62 dreams, 112, 115, 122, 126; see also nightmares empiricism: priests as arbiters of, 155; scientific methods as founded on, 108; spiritualism as founded on, 80-81, 83-85 evil spirits: ; visitations by, 148-49, 155, 189; see also nightmares Exon~~ The 147, 149-51, 153-54 experience(s): beliefs as proceeding from, 112, 113,114,118-19;core,9,27-40,34-36; defmition of, 30; evidential force of, 147; folk beliefs as affected by, 24-27; logical events as understood in, 9-10, 48-49, 51, 54, 57 ; supernatural, see supernatural experience(s); experience-centered theory, of supernatural, 11-45, 74 ; explanation and defense of, 27-34 experiential source hypothesis, 186 extrasensory perception (ESP), 114, 129, 133; cross-cultural surveys of, 108-13, 125; traditional roles and values as influence on, 134-36 fear, in paralysis attacks, 39, 144, 180ff folk belief(s): core elements of, 15; cross-cultural distribution of, 112; defmition of, 22-23; empiricism seen as form of, 83 85; experience as key to formation of, 11 14, 118-19; about ghosts, 75; Hmong, 180-202; motifs in, 78-79, 86-87; official suppression of, 24, 25-26, 33, 37, 39, 40; ostension as basis for, 150-51, 154; priestlike role of folklorists in evaluation of, 155-56; rational basis for, 20; worldviews as represented by, 59-61, 70; see also spiritual belief(s); supernatural experience(s); tradition(s) folklore: definition of, 6-7; divinatory vs. visionary traditions in, 124, 126, 127-41; official beliefs as challenged by, 25, 26-27; shared understandings of, 125-26, 133; spiritual beliefs as central to traditions in, 31-32; oftourists, 159-79 folklore studies: British traditions of, 124-25; spiritual beliefs as viewed by, 17, 30-31, 40, 59-61 foodways, supernatural as evidenced in, 61-70 foreknowledge, folklore of, 122-41 fortune-telling: role-related distrust for, 128, 130-39; surveys of, 124, 140-41 Fox family, 76ff fraud, spiritualism viewed as, 81, 84, 87 gender roles, supernatural experiences as conditioned by, 92, 100-102, 128, 130-41, 197;dichotomies in beliefs, 101-2, 106, 140-41 ghosts, 75-89, 156; official view of, 23 gift, psychic powers seen as, 134-35, 136-39 God: as beneficent power, 162, 163; predestination and, 135 Hakka people, seances as held by, 91-104 hallucinations, hypnagogic, 182 haunted houses, 78, 149 healing experiences: as core experiences, 36; ethnomedicogenic, 198; shamanic, 74, 107-21 hitchhikers, in folklore accounts, 177 Hmong culture, 39, 144, 180-202; belief conflicts as related to illness in, 185-98; males as spiritually foregrounded in, 195, 197 horoscope, 62-65, 124, 128, 140-41 Hufford, David, 9, 74, 125, 153, 156, 157, 183, 199 illness: ethnomedicogenic, 198; shamanic healing as centered on, 116; traditional beliefs as factor in, 185-98
Index 217 incubus, 182 intuition(s), 126; in core experiences, 28-29; official rejection of, 25; as traditional female value, 135, 139 Islam, 112 Japanese culture, 39; supernatural experience surveys in, 109, 110-11 Jehovah's Witnesses, 33 knowledge: culture as source of, 21-22; definition of, 19; spiritual belief as antithetical to, 16-19,33; supernatural as form of, 10, 68-69 legends, see folk belief(s); folklore legend tripping, 150-51 Lilith, 183 logic: Anglo American vs. Native American, 50, 54; cluster, 54-55, 57; folk, 116, 118; scientific notions of, 108; supernatural, 46-58 Mara experience, 13-14, 28, 29, 35, 40, 199; UFO abductions represented as, 33,37-39 mediums, 93-94, 128: skepticism as check on, 95-104; spiritualism as transformed by, 79-81;visksto, 124 mesmerism, 87, 89 miracles, scientific view of, 108 motifs, in folk beliefs, 78-79, 86-87 myst~ism,35-36,43,83,108 nature; Otherness as represented by, 161, 164 65, 167; scientific understanding of, 108 Native Americans: moon as used by, 68; supernatural communication system of, 46-58 Navajo culture, 9, 15,46-58 near-death experiences (NDE), 21, 28, 29, 35, 39, 40; cross-cultural distribution of, 14 15,33,112 nightmares, 180-202; somnological explanation of, 182-83 nightmare spirits (dab tso~, 181-82, 183-84; Hmong culture as basis of, 186-89; religious practices as related to, 189-93; SUNDS as related to, 184-86, 193-98 Occam's Razor, 30, 108, 119 official beliefs: defmition of, 22-23; folk beliefs as viewed by, 6, 11, 13, 24, 25-27, 33, 37, 39 ; structure vs. anti-structure in, 100 102; see also belief(s) Old Hag experience, 12-14,38,39, 156, 182, 186 omens, 126, 140, 141; of death, 123, 124, 128-29 Orbito, Alex, 114-15, 118 Others, Otherness, 143, 159-79; tourist conception of, 160-66, 173-74 Ouija boards 4, 83, 148, 154 out-of-body experiences, see dab tsog; Mara experience paralysis: sleep, 13, 29, 38, 40, 112, 156, 182, 200; in UFO abduction experiences, 37-39 Pele, tourist folklore about, 143, 159-79; indigenous Pele as contrasted with, 160, 162,163,164,165-66,176; management of, 168-73; Otherness as represented by, 161-66, 173-74, 178, 179; tourist interpretations of, 166-68 Pentecostalism, 26, 30 perception, culture as affected by, 9-10 performances: seances represented as, 90-104; shaman~ healing represented as, 116, 118 poltergeists, 77, 78 pragmatism: ofspiritualism, 86; supernatural knowledge as form of, 68-69 predestination, traditional female roles as related to, 135 premonitions, 129, 140; defmition of, 126; NativeAmerican, 46-50, 73; as person-centered, 132; physical preparations for, 135 priests, Catholic, supernatural as evaluated by, 143, 147-56 psychic abilities, 129; comparative surveys of, 140-41; delving as negative use of, 136 39; as gift, 134-35, 136-39 rappings, spirit, in Hydesville, New York, 75 89 rational thinking, spiritual belief as connected to, 18-19, 30, 116; see also empiricism reincarnation beliefs, 36 religion(s): in Chinese culture, 102-3; core beliefs as distributed in, 15; core experiences as connected to, 26, 35-37; in Hmong culture, 188-93, 195-98; ideologized vs pragmatic beliefs in, 86; modernism as threat to, 83; psychological stress as related to, 189-95; scientists as skeptical about, 108-12; seances as independent of, 100-101; transcendence as achieved by, 5; see also belief(s) rituals, beliefs as evaluated by, 90-91, 148-56
218 Index Rosma, Charles B., 78, 79-80, 83 satanism, 154-55 science: religious beliefs as viewed by, 83; spiritual beliefs in relation to, 16-17, 29; spiritualism represented as, 80-81, 83-85; supernatural as viewed by, 108-12, 116 seances, 75-106, 128; mediums as key to spiritualism of, 79-81; scientific proof of afterlife as offered by, 83-85; skepticism about, 93, 95-106; spiritualist, 75-89; in Taiwanese culture, 73, 90-106; tape recordings of, 105; traditional family structure as influence on, 91-92; women as foregrounded in, 92, 100-102 Seventh-Day Adventists, 81, 89 shamans, 74, 107-21; biographical pathways of, 113-18; Hmong, 181, 196; illness as treated by, 116 signs, see astrology; omens skepticism: belief as evaluated by, 93, 95-106; functions of, 102-4; male/female, 101-2 skinwalkers, 55-56 sleep paralysis, 13, 29, 38, 40, 112, 156, 182, 200 spirits, 4, 30, 90-106, 180-98; cultural variations of, 38; defmition of, 16; mediums as key to transformation of, 78-81 spiritual belief(s): cross-cultural distribution of, 31-34; experienced-centered theory of, 11-45; rational basis for, 30, 34; see also folk belief(s) spiritualism, 73, 75-89, 101-2 stories: common folklore as evident in, 125 26, 133; Coyote, 4,51-55; about foreknowledge, 127-33; life, 31; moral judgments as conveyed by, 133, 139; about nightmares, 186-96 sudden unexpected nocturnal death syndrome (SUNDS), 39, 144; nightmare attacks as connected to, 184-98 supernatural experience(s): beliefas parallel to, 7, 9; cross-cultural surveys of, 108-13; culture as affected by, 4, 9-10, 26-27, 107; defmitions of, 2-4, 156; as everyday occurrence, 1, 2, 59-61, 67-68, 69-70; external vs. internal stimuli in, 124; logic as manifested in, 46-58; nightmarerelated, 180-202; personality as factor in, 112-13; priests as evaluators of, 143, 147-56; scientific context of, 108; as specialized knowledge, 10, 68-69; spiritual belief represented as, 15, 42; of tourists, 159-79; transcendental character of, 5-7; see also belief(s); folk belief(s); tradition(s) Taoism, 100 telepathy, 125, 126, 128, 140 Toelken, Barre, 46-58, 68, 89 tradition ofdisbelief, 125, 157, 186 tradition(s), 13, 15,31-32, 102-3; belief as related to, 98-99, 184-96; family structure as central to, 91-92; female roles and values in, 133-39; of foreknowledge, 122-41; structure vs. anti-structure in, 100-102; see also folk belief(s) tsog tsuam, 183, 191, 192, 194, 195 UFO abductions, 33; Mara experience as similar to, 37-39 urban legends, spiritual beliefs compared with,31 visionary tradition, 127-41; divinatory tradition preferred to, 124, 126, 128-33; informant stories about, 127-33; receptive-subjective character of, 139 visions, deathbed, 35 visits: by dead people, 4,35,60, 98-100, 105; by evil spirits, 148-49, 155; nocturnal, see nightmares volcanic rock souvenirs: misfortunes attributed to, 159, 162-63, 166-71; Otherness as represented by, 166-68, 178 water-witching, 61-62 Western culture: dead as viewed by, 104; empiricism as key assumption in, 84; Hawaiian women as viewed by, 164; medicine in, 114, 116; natural and supernatural as opposites in, 164, 166; official beliefs as dominant in, 25-26; Other concept in, 161, 166; supernatural logic as viewed by, 55,70, 108; in Taiwan, 95, 101 Wilasinee Wisejsumnom, 116, 118 witches, 156; ofsalem, 13, 86; skinwalkers as, 56 witch riding, Mara experience as similar to, 13 women, 106, 135, 139; Otherness as represented by, 161-66; psychic abilities as related to traditional roles of, 133-39 ; seances as dominated by, 92, 100-102; SUNDS-related deaths of, 185, 195, 197 worldviews, 129, 198; core experiences as affected by, 33-34; eighteenth-century, 123-24; empiricism in, 84, 119; supernatural as embodiment of, 59-61, 70 yenaaldlooshi, 55-56 zodiac, in foodways, 62-65