Dances ith Spiders Crisis, Celebrity and Celebration in Southern Italy [Hardcover]

For centuries, the rite of the tarantula was the only cure for those bitten or possessed by the mythic Apulian spider. Its victims had to dance to the local tarantella or pizzica for days on end. Today, the pizzica has returned to the limelight, bringing to the forefront issues of performance, gender, identity and well-being. This book explores how and why the pizzica has boomed in the Salento and elsewhere and asks whether this current popu- larity has anything to do with the historic ritual of tarantism or with the intention of recovering well-being. While personal stories and experiences may confirm the latter, a vital shift has appeared in the Salento: from the confrontation of life crises to the vibrant promotion and celebration of a local sense of identity and celebrity.

Karen L?dtkereceived her DPhil in Social Anthropology from the University of Oxford. Aspects of her research on the performance arts and well-being in the context of the Salento have been published in the edited volumesMusic as Medicine(Ashgate, London) andPerforming Ecstasies(Institute for Mediaeval Music, Ottawa).

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Preface

Introduction: Tarantula Territory

• Salentine Tarantulas: Spider Dances and Discourses
• Tracking Down the Spider: Research Techniques and Intentions
• Crisis, Celebrity and Celebration: Contextualizing Salentine Tarantulas
• Preview: Summarizing this Book

PART I: PAST AND PRESENT SPIDER WEBS

Chapter 1. Seeking St Paul: Historical and Contemporary Enactments

• Dances at Galatina: a Crossroads of Old and New Tarantati
• Dances on Screen: Invention versus Intention
• Marias 1959 Domestic Ritual: a Historical Performance
• Adas 2001 Dance on TV: a Contemporary Performance

Chapter 2. Webs through Time: Origins and History of Tarantism

• Possible Origins: SearchilS°