ABSTRACT

The Sinhalese exorcism rituals are perhaps the most complex and the most magnificent in performance still extant. For this second edition, the author has written a new preface and introduction in which he argues that the techniques of healing in Sri Lanka and the aesthetics of this healing cannot be reduced to Western psychoanalytic or psychotherapeutic terms, and develops new and original approaches to ritual and the aesthetic in general.

chapter 1|16 pages

Introduction

chapter 3|16 pages

Exorcists

chapter 8|40 pages

Music, Dance and Trance

chapter 9|35 pages

The Comedy of Gods and Demons

chapter 10|10 pages

Epilogue: A Celebration of Demons