Sacred spaces and contested identities : space and ritual dynamics in Europe and Africa

This volume analyses the relationship between sacred space, identity, contested ownership and boundaries of the sacred in Africa and Europe, notably South Africa and the Netherlands. Contributions: Introduction: dynamics of construction of the sacred (Paul Post, Walter van Beek & Philip Nel); Addendum: site descriptions of the sacred sites of Eastern Free State (Stephanie Cawood & John Moephuli); Part I, Sacred space and the demarcation of identities: Identity and sacred places (Walter van Beek); Shrines and sacred places in two traditional West-African religions (Walter van Beek);Sacred space and the ritual of the anthill: southern African reflections (Mogomme Masoga & Philip Nel); Sacred sites and spiritual power: one angel, two sites, many spirits (Cas Wepener & Gerrie Ter Haar); Finding a place for religion: the contested position of traditional Dutch religion in a Dutch suburb (Inez Schippers); The making of Eastern Free State pilgrimage (Shirley du Plooy). Part II, Sacred space and contested ownership: Ownership of the sacred: complex claims and appropriations (Philip Nel); "The broken man": the Harmelen railway disaster memorial: an example of a "postponed" and contested memorial (Laurie M.C. Faro); Economic versus symbolic ownership of sacred sites in the Eastern Free State: contestations of the sacred (Philip Nel); Distance and proximity: abbeys as contested sites (Louis van Tongeren); The rhetoric of ritual: sacred sites and the oral tradition in the Mohakare Valley (South Africa) (Stephanie Cawood); Hagiography in the contestation of shared space and the cult of Sari Saltik (Balkans) (Robert Logan Sparks)'. Part III, Contested boundaries of the sacred: Complexity and conflict: the contemporary European church building as ambiguous sacred space (Paul Post); Constructing "national" sacred space(s) - notes, queries and positions: the case of the South African Freedom Park monument (Mogomme A. Masoga); African spirituality and space (Philip Nel); Pop and rock festivals as sacred sites: behavioral and spatial approaches of festival - place - religion (Heleen Kommers & Martin Hoondert); "The streets of Gouda are our Jerusalem!": a popular passion performed in the market square of a Dutch city (Martin Hoondert & Mirella Klomp); Sacred space, deity's face: "Sattvicification" as a strategy to set up and maintain the Shree Raam Mandir in Wijchen as a sacred site (Albertina Nugteren); From site to site: the digital monument to the Jewish community in the Netherlands (Cecile Post). [ASC Leiden abstract]