The worship of spirits and other animistic practices are prevalent across Southeast Asia
To cite this page: Tan, Noel Hidalgo (2021, Updated 02 October 2022) Archaeology of Animism in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asian Archaeology. Available at: https://www.southeastasianarchaeology.com/animism/
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Overview
Besides the major world religions, spirit worship is common across Southeast Asia. There are numerous anthropological studies that point to animism, totemism and spirit cults as key drivers of culture, social relationships and collective identity in Southeast Asia. Animism in Southeast Asia is often described as a community-centered religion where spirits provide blessings for the local people through well known patterns which vary from region to region. Anthropological studies across Southeast Asia have noted that the animistic practices of spirits have been part of everyday life for centuries. More notable, this belief in the spirit world often exists side by side with adherents of the world religons. The syncretic nature of spirit belief in Southeast Asia means they are deeply ingrained in everyday life, often considered vital for personal well-being and public welfare.
Recommended Books
These are books relevant to animism in Southeast Asia, with a focus on archaeology. Some of these links are affiliate links and I may receive a commission if you click on them and make a purchase. For other sources of reliable academic information, you should also check out the books page for latest releases and the occassional free book, as well as the journals page for the latest scientific research.
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Animism in the News
The news reports indexed below usually link to external sites that were active at the time of posting; sometimes websites may be temporarily down or may have reorganised their underlying architecture or have even closed down – in these cases the links may not be available. Most of the news articles archived are in English; this is largely because I do not have a working competency in Bahasa, although when I am made aware of stories in this and other languages I try to index them.
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