Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

3-2019

Abstract

This paper advances a new understanding of spirituality within thegeographies of religion. It builds on the premise that spirituality is latentwithin every body, and argues that it becomes manifest in response to anaffective experience. Such experiences are often sensory in nature,rendering spiritual affect an embodied phenomenon that can be understoodthrough the concept of an “embodied hierophany”. By exploring theaffective experience of the roots reggae soundsystem, this paper showshow sonic spaces can enable processes of spiritual engagement. It drawson an analysis of four documentary films about soundsystem culture toshow how situations of sonic dominance can bring about an embodiedhierophany. In such situations, spirituality is experienced outside of theascriptive framework of formal religious belief, and is therefore a moreself-directed form of spiritual awakening.

Keywords

spirituality, sonic spaces, embodiment, affect, reggae, Rastafari

Discipline

Digital Humanities | Religion

Research Areas

Humanities

Publication

Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers

Volume

44

Issue

1

First Page

181

Last Page

194

ISSN

0020-2754

Identifier

10.1111/tran.12270

Publisher

Wiley: 24 months

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1111/tran.12270

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