Tangki War Magic: The Virtuality of Spirit Warfare and the Actuality of Peace

• Main Author: CHAN, Margaret
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2014
• Subjects: Demonology; exorism; gods; Hokkien; ritual theater; spirit-medium worship; war magic; Asian Studies; Religion
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/1571; https://doi.org/10.3167/sa.2014.580102
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Tangki spirit-medium worship is practiced in the Hokkien communities of Southeast Asia and Taiwan. Tangkis are exorcists who perform war magic using the ritual theater of self-mortification. A tangki pierces his body with rods and swords in order to be supercharged with the spirit-power of the weapo...