Poer and Intimacy in the Christian Philippines [Paperback]

An anthropological study of everyday life in the lowland Philippines.The lowland Philippines, in contrast to the apparently 'exotic' 'tribal' areas, has for many years been thought of as a strangely westernised place, without a cultural life of its own. This innovative and important book shows that this perception is a myth, which reflects our own obsessions with defining culture and identity as something 'unchanging'. Through an absorbing account of arranged marriages, miraculous saint-cults, spirit-mediumship and gay beauty contests, the author describes the unexpectedness of daily life in rural Bicol and the resilience and imagination of the Filipino poor.The lowland Philippines, in contrast to the apparently 'exotic' 'tribal' areas, has for many years been thought of as a strangely westernised place, without a cultural life of its own. This innovative and important book shows that this perception is a myth, which reflects our own obsessions with defining culture and identity as something 'unchanging'. Through an absorbing account of arranged marriages, miraculous saint-cults, spirit-mediumship and gay beauty contests, the author describes the unexpectedness of daily life in rural Bicol and the resilience and imagination of the Filipino poor.The lowland Philippines, in contrast to the apparently exotic , tribal areas, has for many years been thought of as a strangely Westernized place, without a cultural life of its own. This innovative and important book shows that this perception is a myth, which reflects our own obsessions with defining culture and identity as something unchanging. Through an absorbing account of arranged marriages, miraculous saint cults, spirit mediumship and gay beauty contests, the author describes the unexpectedness of daily life in rural Bicol and the resilience and imagination of the Filipino poor.List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; Glossary; Note on language and names; Introduction: mountains and plains; Part I. Marriage: 1. ls*