Spirits, Gods and Magic
An Introduction to the Anthropology of the Supernatural Jack Hunter August Night Press/ White Crow Books 2020 (2nd edn) Pb, 144pp, £10.99, ISBN 9781786771315 All human life is here, it seems: traditional tribal beliefs, the “world religions” with their gods, devils and djinn, soul systems of ancient Egypt and China, nature spirits, fairies, witches, poltergeists, the paranormal and the psychedelic;
Hunter’s breadth of coverage is breathtaking.
This book does just what its subtitle says. It’s well-organised conceptually, a typical chapter beginning with a topic definition and then running through sets of examples from the archæological, historical and anthropological records, to build up a global picture. Depth is not in this design; instead, we are given an open-minded overview. Its uniqueness is not any one new insight – the ideas covered are many and various – but it is the scope which is unusual. Hunter seems to have a mercurial knack for conveying ideas from different spheres and disciplines and synthesising data from diverse paradigms. Whether this endeavour is valid or correct remains a moot point, but perhaps “right” and “wrong” are not quite what we should be seeking; Hunter seems concerned more with possibility and potential. It’s not that he wants us to believe things, but he does not want us to dismiss or disbelieve them either. Rather than telling us what to think, his main concern is that we do think. Moreover, we should experience.
Given this focus on “experience”, a little more basic explanation of the anthropological and sociological technique of ethnography, not widely used beyond the social sciences, might have been be helpful. (Ethnography means living alongside real people in real-life day-to-day settings, rather than questionnaires or laboratory work.) However, ethnographic sensitivity to social drama (character, set and setting) still leaves the major question: what is real human experience and how is it, sometimes, supernatural? Hunter suggests approaches, not answers... attention to complexity and holism, to subtlety and synergy.
While this is not a difficult text to read in that it is lucidly written, it is not for those seeking simplicity; it is highly recommended for anyone requiring a clear outline of approaches to intriguing and inordinate questions. We may not short-term gain any comforting feelings of certainty from reading such an author, but we might achieve an attentiveness to aspects of reality not dreamt of in some philosophies.
William Redwood ★★★★★