Spiritual Pizzica

A Southern Italian Perspective on Contemporary Paganism

Authors

  • Giovanna Parmigiani Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.37787

Keywords:

Contemporary Paganism, Italy, Historicity, tarantismo, Catholic Countries

Abstract

In this article, the result of an ongoing ethnographic fieldwork among a contemporary Pagan group in the Salento area of Italy, I research the peculiar expression of contemporary Pagan spiritualities centered on the interpretation of a “traditional” local dance called pizzica. I focus on the specific way of understanding and living time and temporality among this group that happens through the performance of this dance. In particular, by presenting the particular historicity—i.e. the way in which time and temporality are understood and experienced—of the Salentine group I studied that I refer to as “expanded present” or “presence,” I argue for a re-articulation of the relationships between contemporary Paganism and “history,” “tradition,” and the “reconstructionist/eclectic” spectrum in understanding contemporary Paganisms.

Author Biography

  • Giovanna Parmigiani, Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard University

    Giovanna Parmigiani earned a PhD in socio-cultural anthropology from the University of Toronto, and is currently a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard University.

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Published

2019-11-08

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Parmigiani, G. (2019). Spiritual Pizzica: A Southern Italian Perspective on Contemporary Paganism. Pomegranate, 21(1), 53-75. https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.37787