Negotiating with Demons: The Uses of Magical Language
Author(s)
McCreery, John L.
Abstract
How should we read the language of magic? As speech acts with performative force? As dramatic metaphor with special, emotional powers? As poetic form whose syntatic restrictions embody a special authority? Or, better still, as all three? This article examines the language employed in a Taoist exorcism performed in Taiwan and illustrates the need to attend to the multiple uses of language in magical and other performances.
