GODS AND SAINTS AS LUCKY FIGURES In studying the subject of lucky amulets i have encountered considerable blurring between the concepts of luck, protection, religion, and magic. Our modern era is replete with examples of deities and saints (especially exotic ones of religions other than that one has grown up with) being marketed as lucky figures of one kind or another or being considered ...

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BAPTISM IN ESTONIAN FOLK BELIEF lo Valk In Christian Europe baptism has traditionally occupied a central position in granting a child the right to live and accepting it into human society. It was not otherwise in Estonia. Though the ritual itself is short, lasting only a few minutes, it is of cardinal importance in shaping the fate of the child. The following is a short ...

Exorcism by Rabbis ...

Temenos 32 (1996), 137-154. ANNE KATHRINE LARSEN The Impact of the Islamic Resurgence on the Belief System of Rural Malays The 'overt' picture A foreigner paying a visit to a Malay village may notice certain recurrent features in the manner and topic of conversation introduced by the villager towards the foreigner. One of these is the recurrent emphasis on their Islamic identity and adherence, ...