Place and Spirit in Taiwan

"Based on extensive fieldwork in Taiwan, this book examines the cult of Tudi Gong both as a religio-social phenomenon and as an appropriate medium for exploring and analysing the changes that have been occurring in contemporary Taiwan, and the people's strategic adaptations to these changes." "In this comprehensive ethnography of Tudi Gong, Dell'Orto engages in a theoretical discussion of the practices, processes and strategies of ethnography and ethnographic writing, and contributes to the construction of an anthropology of place by analysing a number of key concepts related to the notion of place and space. The study combines the use of personal ethnography with raconteurs' own accounts as a way of tracing senses of place and memories of the past."--Jacket.