Rio de Janeiro: in her living-room-turned-office, the journalist Natalia Leal starts her daily ro... more Rio de Janeiro: in her living-room-turned-office, the journalist Natalia Leal starts her daily routine. She is the CEO of Lupa, Brazil's main independent fact-checking agency. 1 The night before, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had won the presidency in arguably the most disputed election in the history of Brazil. Natalia opens the Lupa website and begins to go through the first fact-checked images and video clips of the day. Brazil seems ablaze: video footage depicts armed drug gangs taking over cities (Figure ); 2 videos show trucks blocking the highways; posts by "patriots" call for armed military intervention. Other images claim to depict the first signs of Lula closing the churches. Most of these images, Natalia tells Mihai, 3 are photographic or imitate a photorealistic style. They are not necessarily "false," in the sense that they are not artificially generated or intentionally manipulated to alter their initial composition. Nonetheless these images are deceptive when taken out of context or strategically associated with other images or written texts. "True images," Natalia explains, "can end up conveying meaning divergent from the facts they allegedly portray.
“Chasing Shadows” offers an intimate portrait of the current practice of the prophetic movement c... more “Chasing Shadows” offers an intimate portrait of the current practice of the prophetic movement called Kyangyang in Guinea-Bissau. Kyangyang means “the shadows”, but its followers also call themselves “Children of God”. The members of the movement, belonging to the Balanta ethnic group, communicate with their ancestors, who transmit messages from the high God through prophetic writing, glossolalia, divination rituals, and spirit possession. Guided by the ancestors, they heal and give advice in collective ceremonies. This film delves into the creative and poetic world of Kyangyang by giving voice to its members, young and adults, men and women. It also explores the relations between Kyangyang and Balanta cosmology and between the prophetic movement and the two main "world religions" in the country: Islam and Christianity, in its Catholic and Evangelical modes. Original idea and Research: Ramon Sarró and Marina Temudo Direction, camera and sound: Roger Canals Editing: Jordi Orobitg Production: University of Oxford and Jordi Orobitg Produccions
Our present is immersed in a crisis of trust. This crisis is most evident in the domain of images... more Our present is immersed in a crisis of trust. This crisis is most evident in the domain of images, which are not perceived as visual evidence anymore-if they ever were. "Faketuality" (Pilipets, 2019), post-truth and misinformation are concepts used to refer to the alleged loss of objective patterns for assessing the truthfulness, accountability and reliability of the information we receive about the world. However, trust is not a matter of all or nothing: it is a contextual relationship, an issue of "ordinary ethics" (Lambeck, Saas, Fassin, Keane: 2015) whose study requires empirical data. Indeed, we must recognize that, despite living in times of visual uncertainty, we all still trust some images as mediums (or media) for knowing and communicating. But on what basis? What makes people "trust" some images and not others? How is visual trust "crafted", "distributed" and "assessed"? And finally, what visual methodologies could we employ to explore ethnographically the confidence in images and the ethical stances adopted vis-à-vis the visual fake? These are some of the main questions of the research programme Visual Trust. Reliability, accountability and forgery in scientific, religious and social images. In this article, I would like to present some of the main ideas of this research programme, thus opening up a conversation with readers that I hope to pursue during the years to come 2. What is Trust "Trust" has become a key topic in social sciences (
La Verge de Montserrat is a statue of the Virgin Mary and her son found in Catalonia in the eleve... more La Verge de Montserrat is a statue of the Virgin Mary and her son found in Catalonia in the eleventh century in which both characters are depicted as “Black.” This female figure occupies a particular position in current Catalonia since she is considered the patron saint of the country and constitutes one of the symbolic cornerstones of Catalan nationalism. Through the concept of “iconic path,” this article tracks the formation and evolution of this image in Catalonia from its inception until the present day, bringing special attention to the roles and significances that it has acquired within the context of the current pro-independence movement. We also draw a comparison between the “lives” of this image in Catalonia and its development in other countries, namely Puerto Rico, Equatorial Guinea and Sardinia. In each of these places, the image of the goddess has been reinterpreted according to local viewpoints. Yet these conceptualizations are not fixed or homogeneous, but radically d...
Le terme « culte à María Lionza » renvoie à un ensemble de pratiques rituelles consacrées à la dé... more Le terme « culte à María Lionza » renvoie à un ensemble de pratiques rituelles consacrées à la déesse María Lionza et à d'autres esprits de son panthéon. Il est présent sur une grande partie du territoire vénézuélien, notamment dans la région de Yaracuy, au centre ouest du pays, sur la côte caribéenne et dans les grandes villes comme Caracas. La Montagne de Sorte, dans la région de Yaracuy, est le principal centre de pèlerinage des croyants. Bien qu'il soit originaire du Venezuela, le culte à María Lionza est également visible, avec quelques variantes, dans plusieurs autres pays de la région caribéenne et de l'Amérique du Sud, voire aux États-Unis et en Europe. L'origine de ce culte remonte à la conquête espagnole du Venezuela. Au fil des ans, les pratiques sacrées indiennes, les religions africaines apportées par les esclaves noirs ainsi que le catholicisme auraient fusionné donnant lieu à des manifestations religieuses nouvelles (Mintz et Price 1992 ; Andrews 2004)...
How is the body conceived in the cult of María Lionza? What role does corporality play in possess... more How is the body conceived in the cult of María Lionza? What role does corporality play in possession rituals? What similarities exist between the vision of the body common to this cult and that which predominates in European society? This text argues that two
La Verge de Montserrat is a statue of the Virgin Mary and her son found in Catalonia in the eleve... more La Verge de Montserrat is a statue of the Virgin Mary and her son found in Catalonia in the eleventh century in which both characters are depicted as “Black.” This female figure occupies a particular position in current Catalonia since she is considered the patron saint of the country and constitutes one of the symbolic cornerstones of Catalan nationalism. Through the concept of “iconic path,” this article tracks the formation and evolution of this image in Catalonia from its inception until the present day, bringing special attention to the roles and significances that it has acquired within the context of the current pro-independence movement. We also draw a comparison between the “lives” of this image in Catalonia and its development in other countries, namely Puerto Rico, Equatorial Guinea and Sardinia. In each of these places, the image of the goddess has been reinterpreted according to local viewpoints. Yet these conceptualizations are not fixed or homogeneous, but radically dynamic and problematic. The iconic paths of images diverge and converge across time giving birth to new creative exercises. Through this approach, our aim is to propose a relational and processual model for the study of religious images, and images in general, as historical objects.
Ce texte examine l’évolution des relations entre filmeur et filmés depuis les années 1970 jusqu’à... more Ce texte examine l’évolution des relations entre filmeur et filmés depuis les années 1970 jusqu’à nos jours. Le point de départ en est « la cinétranse », une façon de filmer définie par Jean Rouch, qui se pratique par le chercheur tenant la caméra face au sujet filmé. Ce procédé filmique semble remis en cause par la production récente de films tournés avec des caméras GoPro, sans opérateur. Pour discuter cela, nous analyserons six films qui ont jalonné l’ethnographie visuelle. Ils nous permettent de constater que, si les modes de tournage changent, l’écriture et la place du filmeur-chercheur se trouvent renforcées. Les caméras, quel que soit leur degré de portabilité, mettent en exergue l’importance de la structuration du récit qui se traduit de diverses façons au gré des décennies. Ainsi, Rouch associait le geste du cadreur aux commentaires, MacDougall multipliait les interlocuteurs et leur donnait la parole, alors qu’Olivier de Sardan ou Gardner refusaient les commentaires. Avec les caméras GoPro, Castaing-Taylor et Paravel cèdent leur place de cadreurs aux filmés et confirment le rôle collaboratif de la « ciné-transe » grâce à des caméras que les acteurs de terrain, les anciens filmés, placent désormais au coeur de leurs propres mouvements. Mots-clés : Ethnographie visuelle, geste, GoPro, cadreur, ciné-transe, Rouch, technique, récit. This text examines the evolution of the relationship between filmmaker and filmed from the 1970s to the present day. The starting point is “cinetrance”, a filming technique defined by Jean Rouch, which involves the researcher holding the camera and facing the filmed subject. This filming process seems to be questioned by the recent production of movies shot with GoPro cameras without an operator. To discuss this, we will analyze six films that marked visual ethnography. They allow us to see that, although the modes of shooting may have changed, the writing and the place of the filmmaker-researcher have only been reinforced. Cameras, whatever their degree of portability, highlight the importance of structuring the narrative, which has been translated in various ways over decades. Rouch linked the filmmaker’s movements to the commentaries; MacDougall multiplied the speakers and place them center-stage; and Olivier de Sardan and Gardner rejected commentaries altogether. By using GoPro cameras, Castaing-Taylor and Paravel give up their position as cameramen, instead handing that role over to the filmed. They thus confirm the collaborative role of “cine-trance”, with cameras which field actors – previously the filmed – place at the heart of their own movements. Keywords : Visual ethnography, gesture, GoPro, cameraman, cine-trance, Rouch, technical, narrative.
Rio de Janeiro: in her living-room-turned-office, the journalist Natalia Leal starts her daily ro... more Rio de Janeiro: in her living-room-turned-office, the journalist Natalia Leal starts her daily routine. She is the CEO of Lupa, Brazil's main independent fact-checking agency. 1 The night before, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had won the presidency in arguably the most disputed election in the history of Brazil. Natalia opens the Lupa website and begins to go through the first fact-checked images and video clips of the day. Brazil seems ablaze: video footage depicts armed drug gangs taking over cities (Figure ); 2 videos show trucks blocking the highways; posts by "patriots" call for armed military intervention. Other images claim to depict the first signs of Lula closing the churches. Most of these images, Natalia tells Mihai, 3 are photographic or imitate a photorealistic style. They are not necessarily "false," in the sense that they are not artificially generated or intentionally manipulated to alter their initial composition. Nonetheless these images are deceptive when taken out of context or strategically associated with other images or written texts. "True images," Natalia explains, "can end up conveying meaning divergent from the facts they allegedly portray.
“Chasing Shadows” offers an intimate portrait of the current practice of the prophetic movement c... more “Chasing Shadows” offers an intimate portrait of the current practice of the prophetic movement called Kyangyang in Guinea-Bissau. Kyangyang means “the shadows”, but its followers also call themselves “Children of God”. The members of the movement, belonging to the Balanta ethnic group, communicate with their ancestors, who transmit messages from the high God through prophetic writing, glossolalia, divination rituals, and spirit possession. Guided by the ancestors, they heal and give advice in collective ceremonies. This film delves into the creative and poetic world of Kyangyang by giving voice to its members, young and adults, men and women. It also explores the relations between Kyangyang and Balanta cosmology and between the prophetic movement and the two main "world religions" in the country: Islam and Christianity, in its Catholic and Evangelical modes. Original idea and Research: Ramon Sarró and Marina Temudo Direction, camera and sound: Roger Canals Editing: Jordi Orobitg Production: University of Oxford and Jordi Orobitg Produccions
Our present is immersed in a crisis of trust. This crisis is most evident in the domain of images... more Our present is immersed in a crisis of trust. This crisis is most evident in the domain of images, which are not perceived as visual evidence anymore-if they ever were. "Faketuality" (Pilipets, 2019), post-truth and misinformation are concepts used to refer to the alleged loss of objective patterns for assessing the truthfulness, accountability and reliability of the information we receive about the world. However, trust is not a matter of all or nothing: it is a contextual relationship, an issue of "ordinary ethics" (Lambeck, Saas, Fassin, Keane: 2015) whose study requires empirical data. Indeed, we must recognize that, despite living in times of visual uncertainty, we all still trust some images as mediums (or media) for knowing and communicating. But on what basis? What makes people "trust" some images and not others? How is visual trust "crafted", "distributed" and "assessed"? And finally, what visual methodologies could we employ to explore ethnographically the confidence in images and the ethical stances adopted vis-à-vis the visual fake? These are some of the main questions of the research programme Visual Trust. Reliability, accountability and forgery in scientific, religious and social images. In this article, I would like to present some of the main ideas of this research programme, thus opening up a conversation with readers that I hope to pursue during the years to come 2. What is Trust "Trust" has become a key topic in social sciences (
La Verge de Montserrat is a statue of the Virgin Mary and her son found in Catalonia in the eleve... more La Verge de Montserrat is a statue of the Virgin Mary and her son found in Catalonia in the eleventh century in which both characters are depicted as “Black.” This female figure occupies a particular position in current Catalonia since she is considered the patron saint of the country and constitutes one of the symbolic cornerstones of Catalan nationalism. Through the concept of “iconic path,” this article tracks the formation and evolution of this image in Catalonia from its inception until the present day, bringing special attention to the roles and significances that it has acquired within the context of the current pro-independence movement. We also draw a comparison between the “lives” of this image in Catalonia and its development in other countries, namely Puerto Rico, Equatorial Guinea and Sardinia. In each of these places, the image of the goddess has been reinterpreted according to local viewpoints. Yet these conceptualizations are not fixed or homogeneous, but radically d...
Le terme « culte à María Lionza » renvoie à un ensemble de pratiques rituelles consacrées à la dé... more Le terme « culte à María Lionza » renvoie à un ensemble de pratiques rituelles consacrées à la déesse María Lionza et à d'autres esprits de son panthéon. Il est présent sur une grande partie du territoire vénézuélien, notamment dans la région de Yaracuy, au centre ouest du pays, sur la côte caribéenne et dans les grandes villes comme Caracas. La Montagne de Sorte, dans la région de Yaracuy, est le principal centre de pèlerinage des croyants. Bien qu'il soit originaire du Venezuela, le culte à María Lionza est également visible, avec quelques variantes, dans plusieurs autres pays de la région caribéenne et de l'Amérique du Sud, voire aux États-Unis et en Europe. L'origine de ce culte remonte à la conquête espagnole du Venezuela. Au fil des ans, les pratiques sacrées indiennes, les religions africaines apportées par les esclaves noirs ainsi que le catholicisme auraient fusionné donnant lieu à des manifestations religieuses nouvelles (Mintz et Price 1992 ; Andrews 2004)...
How is the body conceived in the cult of María Lionza? What role does corporality play in possess... more How is the body conceived in the cult of María Lionza? What role does corporality play in possession rituals? What similarities exist between the vision of the body common to this cult and that which predominates in European society? This text argues that two
La Verge de Montserrat is a statue of the Virgin Mary and her son found in Catalonia in the eleve... more La Verge de Montserrat is a statue of the Virgin Mary and her son found in Catalonia in the eleventh century in which both characters are depicted as “Black.” This female figure occupies a particular position in current Catalonia since she is considered the patron saint of the country and constitutes one of the symbolic cornerstones of Catalan nationalism. Through the concept of “iconic path,” this article tracks the formation and evolution of this image in Catalonia from its inception until the present day, bringing special attention to the roles and significances that it has acquired within the context of the current pro-independence movement. We also draw a comparison between the “lives” of this image in Catalonia and its development in other countries, namely Puerto Rico, Equatorial Guinea and Sardinia. In each of these places, the image of the goddess has been reinterpreted according to local viewpoints. Yet these conceptualizations are not fixed or homogeneous, but radically dynamic and problematic. The iconic paths of images diverge and converge across time giving birth to new creative exercises. Through this approach, our aim is to propose a relational and processual model for the study of religious images, and images in general, as historical objects.
Ce texte examine l’évolution des relations entre filmeur et filmés depuis les années 1970 jusqu’à... more Ce texte examine l’évolution des relations entre filmeur et filmés depuis les années 1970 jusqu’à nos jours. Le point de départ en est « la cinétranse », une façon de filmer définie par Jean Rouch, qui se pratique par le chercheur tenant la caméra face au sujet filmé. Ce procédé filmique semble remis en cause par la production récente de films tournés avec des caméras GoPro, sans opérateur. Pour discuter cela, nous analyserons six films qui ont jalonné l’ethnographie visuelle. Ils nous permettent de constater que, si les modes de tournage changent, l’écriture et la place du filmeur-chercheur se trouvent renforcées. Les caméras, quel que soit leur degré de portabilité, mettent en exergue l’importance de la structuration du récit qui se traduit de diverses façons au gré des décennies. Ainsi, Rouch associait le geste du cadreur aux commentaires, MacDougall multipliait les interlocuteurs et leur donnait la parole, alors qu’Olivier de Sardan ou Gardner refusaient les commentaires. Avec les caméras GoPro, Castaing-Taylor et Paravel cèdent leur place de cadreurs aux filmés et confirment le rôle collaboratif de la « ciné-transe » grâce à des caméras que les acteurs de terrain, les anciens filmés, placent désormais au coeur de leurs propres mouvements. Mots-clés : Ethnographie visuelle, geste, GoPro, cadreur, ciné-transe, Rouch, technique, récit. This text examines the evolution of the relationship between filmmaker and filmed from the 1970s to the present day. The starting point is “cinetrance”, a filming technique defined by Jean Rouch, which involves the researcher holding the camera and facing the filmed subject. This filming process seems to be questioned by the recent production of movies shot with GoPro cameras without an operator. To discuss this, we will analyze six films that marked visual ethnography. They allow us to see that, although the modes of shooting may have changed, the writing and the place of the filmmaker-researcher have only been reinforced. Cameras, whatever their degree of portability, highlight the importance of structuring the narrative, which has been translated in various ways over decades. Rouch linked the filmmaker’s movements to the commentaries; MacDougall multiplied the speakers and place them center-stage; and Olivier de Sardan and Gardner rejected commentaries altogether. By using GoPro cameras, Castaing-Taylor and Paravel give up their position as cameramen, instead handing that role over to the filmed. They thus confirm the collaborative role of “cine-trance”, with cameras which field actors – previously the filmed – place at the heart of their own movements. Keywords : Visual ethnography, gesture, GoPro, cameraman, cine-trance, Rouch, technical, narrative.
The current practice of the cult of María Lionza is one of the most important and yet unexplored ... more The current practice of the cult of María Lionza is one of the most important and yet unexplored religious practices in Venezuela. Based on long-term fieldwork, this book explores the role of images and visual culture within the cult. By adopting a relational approach, A Goddess in Motion shows how the innumerable images of this goddess—represented as an Indian, white or mestizo woman—move constantly from objects to bodies, from bodies to dreams, and from the religion domain to the art world. In short, this book is a fascinating study that sheds light on the role of visual creativity in contemporary religious manifestations.
¿De qué manera puede contribuir la antropología a comprender y alcanzar la paz en el mundo contem... more ¿De qué manera puede contribuir la antropología a comprender y alcanzar la paz en el mundo contemporáneo? E, inversamente, ¡qué pueden aportar los Peace Studies, los estudios sobre la paz, a la tradición antropológica? Fruto de un coloquio internacional celebrado en Barcelona en febrero de 2011, La paz desde abajo propone tomar en cuenta la dimensión cultural y el carácter relativo de la paz, poniendo el énfasis en la necesidad de contar con el punto de vista y la iniciativa locales para la resolución de situaciones de violencia.
Ethnographic Film: The cult of Maria Lionza, one of the most important religious practices in Ven... more Ethnographic Film: The cult of Maria Lionza, one of the most important religious practices in Venezuela, is beginning to manifest itself in Barcelona. In the Venezuelan mythological universe this goddess is an exceptional case because, depending on the representations, she is either depicted as Indian, mixed race, white, or black. Sometimes she is portrayed as a benevolent or charitable figure and sometimes as evil. Through the testimonies of believers, artists, and esoteric art sellers living in Barcelona, this documentary depicts, for the first time, the appearance of this religion out of Venezuela.
Journal of Anthropological Films, 2(1), e1541. , 2018
Ethnographic Film: Bea is a young Puerto Rican university student living in San Juan. Despite her... more Ethnographic Film: Bea is a young Puerto Rican university student living in San Juan. Despite her efforts, her professional and personal life seem to have deteriorated. She has broken up with her boyfriend and the relationship with her parents is getting worse. Besides, she dreams of travelling, but she doesn’t have the money to do so. She decides to go to see several mediums in order to understand why everything is going wrong. She will find the answers to her questions through Pedro, a Peruvian-born medium based in San Juan, who will encourage her to take part in a spiritual cleansing ritual to expel the negative energies which prevent her from being completely happy. More precisely, Pedro will organise a ritual made up of three phases: a spiritual cleansing with a white dove, a purification ritual in a tropical river and an offering to the sea. At the end of the film, Bea will have to spiritually purify her own house by going into all the rooms with a white dove.
Please join our second biweekly webinar (25 July 2020), documentary film presentation and debate ... more Please join our second biweekly webinar (25 July 2020), documentary film presentation and debate organized by the Network of the Anthropology of the Middle East and Central Eurasia of EASA in collaboration with the Religion and Society Research Cluster, Western Sydney University.
Introduction to the program by Dr. P. Khosronejad (Western Sydney University), and debate by filmmaker Dr. R. Canals (University of Barcelona), researcher of film Dr. R. Sarró (University of Oxford) and discussant Dr. R. Blanes (University of Gothenburg).
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Papers by Roger Canals
Introduction to the program by Dr. P. Khosronejad (Western Sydney University), and debate by filmmaker Dr. R. Canals (University of Barcelona), researcher of film Dr. R. Sarró (University of Oxford) and discussant Dr. R. Blanes (University of Gothenburg).