Religion and Folk Cosmology Scenarios of the Visible and Invisible in Rural Egypt

Subjects:

• Anthropology » Folklore
• Religious Studies » Religious Studies (General)

Reviews:

• [T]his is a great book for anyone interested in contemporary Egyptian culture. The descriptions are clear, well-argued and always interesting.
  —Journal of American Folklore 2004
• [T]his is an excellent and provocative book. It builds on el-Aswad's earlier articles, but exceeds them in range and sophistication. It provides an excellent contrast to more materialistic studies of Egyptian life. Particularly strong is the cross-referencing with other works on Egypt and the Arab world.
  —Middle East Journal Winter 2004

• Endorsement From Nicholas S. Hopkins
  Professor of Anthropology
  Dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences
  American University in Cairo: El-Sayed el-Aswad is the foremost interpreter today of the rural Egyptian world view and of Egyptian folk life in general. His work is grounded in sophisticated theory and is methodologically solid....This is a work that will mark a turning point in our understanding of Egyptian culture and society.
• Endorsement From Dale F. Eickelman
  Ralph and Richard Lazarus Professor of Anthropology and Human Relations, Dartmouth College
  author, The Middle East and Central Asia: An Anthropological Approach: ...[O]ffers a compelling and persuasive account of how the beliefs and practices of rural Egyptians dynamically shape and pervade their understandings of sacred texts, social memory, and Muslim traditions. El-Aswad's vivid narrative shows how women and men, young and old, the educated and the uneducated, and migrants and those who stay at home construct world views and ideas of cultural identity as intricate and pervasive as those of religious scholars and intellectuals, radical and conservative alike. El-Aswad's book, a must for understanding religion in Egypt today, also offers a necessary point of departure for understanding religious experience and the social imagination elsewhere in the Muslim world.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• The Village in a Socio-Cosmic Context
• The Cosmos: The Visible and the Invisible
• The Hierarchical Microcosm: Visible and Invisible Aspects of the Person
• Symbolic Exchange, Gender, and Cosmological Force
• Multiple Worlds
• Conclusion
• Bibliography