Fabian Graham
National University of Singapore, ARI and South Asian Studies, Faculty Member
- Anthropology of Religion, Taoism, Religion and Stae, Singapore, Taiwan, New Religions, and 15 moreDevelopment, Globalization, Anthropology, Anthropology of Consciousness, Religion, Spiritualism, Folklore, Mediumship, Trance, Paranormal, Paranthropology:, Shamanism, Malaysia, Religious Syncretism, and Multiculturalismedit
- I joined the Religion and Globalisation cluster at the Asia Research Institute in the National University of Singapor... moreI joined the Religion and Globalisation cluster at the Asia Research Institute in the National University of Singapore as a Research Fellow in December 2018. I hold a PhD in Social Anthropology from SOAS in London, and two master’s degrees, one in ‘Taiwan Studies’ from National Chengchi University in Taipei and the second in ‘Social Anthropological Analysis’ from the University of Cambridge.
Previously a research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity in Germany, based on research in Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan, my first monograph 'Voices from the Underworld: Hell deity worship in contemporary Singapore and Malaysia' has recently been published by Manchester University Press.
Working closely with lingji masters and tang-ki spirit mediums, and adopting a participatory approach to fieldwork where possible, my research interests include the anthropology of Chinese religion; spirit possession; temple ritual and material culture; the invention, inversion and reinterpretation of tradition; visual anthropology; and new ethnographic, narrational and analytical approaches to the study of religious phenomena.
While at the ARI I will be continuing two projects both of which began in 2010. The first is a comparative study of the Nine Emperor God festivals in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, and the second is a long-term study of lingji mediums and new deity cults in Taiwan.edit
Happy to announce that my first book has been published by Manchester University Press. If you would like a copy, it is available directly from the publisher and from most online bookstores in hardcover or as a Kindle / eBook, but the... more
Happy to announce that my first book has been published by Manchester University Press. If you would like a copy, it is available directly from the publisher and from most online bookstores in hardcover or as a Kindle / eBook, but the cheapest price is here : https://www.booksetc.co.uk/books/view/-9781526140579
If you are an academic or student, please order a copy for your university library. Many thanks in advance
If you are an academic or student, please order a copy for your university library. Many thanks in advance
Research Interests: Buddhism, Chinese Folk Religion, Chinese Studies, Religion and Thai Culture, Taiwan Studies, and 15 moreReligious Syncretism, Afterlife studies, Spirit Possession (Anthropology), Anthropology of Death, Chinese Popular Religion, Malaysian Studies, Spirit mediumship, Rituals, Taoism, Exorcism, Religion and Politics in Singapore, Ritual Practices, Cemetery Studies, Chinese Religion, and Southeast Asian Religion
Based on the hypothesis that the inclusion of visual media provides insights into non-verbal communication not provided by the written word alone, this paper represents an experimental approach to test the usefulness of reproducing... more
Based on the hypothesis that the inclusion of visual media provides insights into non-verbal communication not provided by the written word alone, this paper represents an experimental approach to test the usefulness of reproducing fieldwork photography in directing reader’s attentions to probe the emic understandings of deific efficacy, and the researcher’s selective bias which the images implicitly or explicitly
portray. This paper therefore explores the use of the visual image to illustrate that a reader’s own analysis of proxemics and kinesics allows for a deeper understanding of emic perspectives by drawing insights from the manipulation of material objects and from non-verbal communication – insights that the written word may struggle
to accurately portray. Framed around a photo-rich ethnographic account of trance possession cults in Singapore, the intent of the paper is to contribute towards the broader discourse of the future of the visual image in anthropology in the digital age.
portray. This paper therefore explores the use of the visual image to illustrate that a reader’s own analysis of proxemics and kinesics allows for a deeper understanding of emic perspectives by drawing insights from the manipulation of material objects and from non-verbal communication – insights that the written word may struggle
to accurately portray. Framed around a photo-rich ethnographic account of trance possession cults in Singapore, the intent of the paper is to contribute towards the broader discourse of the future of the visual image in anthropology in the digital age.
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In Chinese communities in the Asia Pacific region, religion constitutes an integral element of Chinese cultural identity. However, in Singapore's ethnically mixed environment, religious synthesis is becoming increasingly common with... more
In Chinese communities in the Asia Pacific region, religion constitutes an integral element of Chinese cultural identity. However, in Singapore's ethnically mixed environment, religious synthesis is becoming increasingly common with Chinese vernacular religion integrating beliefs and practices from neighbouring ethnic groups. Government policy in Singapore on the management of ethnic groups has been shaped by the aspiration to construct a multicultural nationalistic state, inadvertently fuelling religious acculturation, appropriation, interpenetration, transfiguration, hybridisation and cultural borrowing between ethnic and religious groups. An analysis of the interrelationship between the socio-political and religious arenas highlights varied catalysts that trigger these "technologies of new religious synthesis," and provides illustrations of their fundamental role as "self-perpetuating mechanisms" in multi-faith religious landscapes.
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Since the mid-1990s, Singapore’s Chinese religious landscape has seen the rapid development and popularisation of Netherworld spiritmedium(tang-ki) cultsbased around the channelling and worship of two Underworld deities, Tua Ya Pek... more
Since the mid-1990s, Singapore’s Chinese religious
landscape has seen the rapid development and popularisation
of Netherworld spiritmedium(tang-ki) cultsbased
around the channelling and worship of two Underworld
deities, Tua Ya Pek and Di Ya Pek. Emphasizing Earthly
morality and post-mortal punishments in the Underworld,
the tradition has developed a distinctive ritual and material
culture. The Temple of Mysterious Virtue illustrates this
culture, is broadly representative of successful tang-ki temples
where both Underworld and Heaven deities are channelled
in a multi-ethnic environment, and where orthodox
Taoist priests and tang-ki mutually reinforce each other’s
legitimacy through ritual cooperation.
landscape has seen the rapid development and popularisation
of Netherworld spiritmedium(tang-ki) cultsbased
around the channelling and worship of two Underworld
deities, Tua Ya Pek and Di Ya Pek. Emphasizing Earthly
morality and post-mortal punishments in the Underworld,
the tradition has developed a distinctive ritual and material
culture. The Temple of Mysterious Virtue illustrates this
culture, is broadly representative of successful tang-ki temples
where both Underworld and Heaven deities are channelled
in a multi-ethnic environment, and where orthodox
Taoist priests and tang-ki mutually reinforce each other’s
legitimacy through ritual cooperation.
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Panel MB-SSR07: The ontological turn (2): New ethnographic approaches, theories and analysis of spirit mediumship, shamanism, religious ritual and discarnate phenomena. Abstract: Ethnographic research into spirit mediumship, shamanism,... more
Panel MB-SSR07: The ontological turn (2): New ethnographic approaches, theories and analysis of spirit mediumship, shamanism, religious ritual and discarnate phenomena.
Abstract: Ethnographic research into spirit mediumship, shamanism, witchcraft and religious phenomena has undergone a paradigmatic shift reflective of the ontological turn in contemporary anthropology, new research giving recognition to the role of spirits and to the spiritual power of objects in religious practices. New ethnographic research methods and theoretical approaches are therefore developing to integrate emic ontological spiritual worlds into the broader scope of normative etic analysis. Fiona Bowie has suggested that " Western academic approaches often rely on the juxtaposition between " our " rational and " their " irrational belief systems, and attempt to " explain away " or ignore emic interpretations with a subsequent loss of semantic density " , and suggests " adopting an emic interpretive lens in order to arrive at a " thick description " that does not shy away from aspects of experience outside the ethnographer's Weltanschauung (world view) ". Such approaches remove the monopoly on sacred, spiritual and religious knowledge held by religious specialists as emic understandings and knowledge are increasingly integrated into ethnographic research and anthropological analysis. This disseminates into the public sphere through anthropological publications, conferences, and through new social media.
This panel would like to invite potential participants to explore dimensions of the privatization, revelation and dissemination of religious and spiritual knowledge through evolving ethnographic research methodologies and analyses based on previous or ongoing research in any region of the world.
Topics of specific interest include: 1. Spirit mediumship and spirit possession 2. Shamanism 3. Religious ritual/magic 4. Religious/ spiritual belief systems 6. Contemporary witchcraft 7. Spirit power and material culture
Abstract: Ethnographic research into spirit mediumship, shamanism, witchcraft and religious phenomena has undergone a paradigmatic shift reflective of the ontological turn in contemporary anthropology, new research giving recognition to the role of spirits and to the spiritual power of objects in religious practices. New ethnographic research methods and theoretical approaches are therefore developing to integrate emic ontological spiritual worlds into the broader scope of normative etic analysis. Fiona Bowie has suggested that " Western academic approaches often rely on the juxtaposition between " our " rational and " their " irrational belief systems, and attempt to " explain away " or ignore emic interpretations with a subsequent loss of semantic density " , and suggests " adopting an emic interpretive lens in order to arrive at a " thick description " that does not shy away from aspects of experience outside the ethnographer's Weltanschauung (world view) ". Such approaches remove the monopoly on sacred, spiritual and religious knowledge held by religious specialists as emic understandings and knowledge are increasingly integrated into ethnographic research and anthropological analysis. This disseminates into the public sphere through anthropological publications, conferences, and through new social media.
This panel would like to invite potential participants to explore dimensions of the privatization, revelation and dissemination of religious and spiritual knowledge through evolving ethnographic research methodologies and analyses based on previous or ongoing research in any region of the world.
Topics of specific interest include: 1. Spirit mediumship and spirit possession 2. Shamanism 3. Religious ritual/magic 4. Religious/ spiritual belief systems 6. Contemporary witchcraft 7. Spirit power and material culture
Panel 514: The ontological turn (1): New ethnographic approaches, theories and analysis of spirit mediumship, shamanism, religious ritual and discarnate phenomena.
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Anthropologists of Chinese societies have long struggled with the problem of variation. We revel in visiting each other’s field sites where differences appear strikingly large, while realising that...
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In Chinese communities in the Asia Pacific region, religion constitutes an integral element of Chinese cultural identity. However, in Singapore's ethnically mixed environment, religious synthesis is becoming increasingly common with... more
In Chinese communities in the Asia Pacific region, religion constitutes an integral element of Chinese cultural identity. However, in Singapore's ethnically mixed environment, religious synthesis is becoming increasingly common with Chinese vernacular religion integrating beliefs and practices from neighbouring ethnic groups. Government policy in Singapore on the management of ethnic groups has been shaped by the aspiration to construct a multicultural nationalistic state, inadvertently fuelling religious acculturation, appropriation, interpenetration, transfiguration, hybridisation and cultural borrowing between ethnic and religious groups. An analysis of the interrelationship between the socio-political and religious arenas highlights varied catalysts that trigger these "technologies of new religious synthesis," and provides illustrations of their fundamental role as "self-perpetuating mechanisms" in multi-faith religious landscapes.
Research Interests: Sociology, Multiculturalism, Chinese Studies, Chinese Religions, Social and Cultural Anthropology, and 11 morePolitics, Singapore, Religious Syncretism, Acculturation, Appropriation, Ethnic Group, Asia Pacific Studies, Anthropology of Religion, Thaipusam Festival in Singapore, Datuk Gong, and Technologies of new religious synthesis
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The primary focus of this thesis is in the relationship between popular religion and culture in Taiwan. The influences of major religions and schools of thought including ancestor worship, Confucian morality, Sinicized Buddhism, religious... more
The primary focus of this thesis is in the relationship between popular religion and culture in Taiwan. The influences of major religions and schools of thought including ancestor worship, Confucian morality, Sinicized Buddhism, religious Taoism, and Animism, and the traditions and rituals associated with them have all contributed to the structure of popular religious practices in Taiwan today. This thesis therefore approaches popular religion in Taiwan from both historic and contemporary perspectives. First, a framework based on the historic development of philosophies and popular religious practices that began in the Shang dynasty and evolved through social turbulence and religious transformation will be established. Then, employing ethnographic research methods and analysis, field research conducted in four case study temples housing a selection of the most popular deities worshiped in Taiwan will be discussed. Including information from both surveys and key informant interviews, this thesis aims to show how popular religion in contemporary Taiwan is of a utilitarian nature. The historic framework will then be applied to contemporary religious practice in Taiwan, to explain how both historical factors and the evolution of popular religion has created a religiously tolerant and socially cohesive society. Of key interest to this thesis is religious divination, both due to its prevalence in popular religious culture, and its inherent utilitarian qualities. In the process of the aforementioned analysis, the dual phenomenon of finding deities from different traditions housed side by side in a single temple, and traditional aspects of popular religion being perceived as elements of cultural will be accounted for in both historic and current social contexts. Key words: Ancestor worship, Family cult, Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Popular Religion, Deities, Utilitarian, Divinatio