Introduction

Demons, creatures of disorder and harbingers of death, take root and achieve their own particular vitality in some of the cultural ideas and principles through which the world of human beings and its incorporation within an encompassing cosmic whole finds its normal ordering. Demon ceremonies are then occasions where the communicational, meaningful and experiential possibilities of specific aesthetic forms within a particular culture can be subjected to examination. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the diagnosis and social definition of demonic illness, and the selection and legitimation of an appropriate method of ritual treatment. It discusses the cultural construction of Sinhalese female identity, and the principles which underlie this cultural construction. The book explains the position of berava exorcists in Sinhalese society and the way they learn their art.