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Description
Arguing that altered states of consciousness are not spontaneous ruptures of grace but
intentional, embodied methods, this book explores the question, 'what if ecstasy is not a
loss of control, but instead a form of knowledge?'
Moving between Eleusinian mystery rites, Afro-Brazilian possession ceremonies and
Amazonian shamanism, to Mediterranean tarantism, Anastenaria firewalking and
Santo Daime, the book reveals how ritual, rhythm, movement, and myth operate as
sophisticated pedagogies - ancient technologies of transmission developed across
cultures and centuries.
Written from both observation and participation, and drawing on immersive research
with Indigenous, Afro-Diasporic, and women-led communities, Marianna Kokkinaki
repositions ecstasy as a radical curriculum - one that awakens ecological consciousness
and restores relational ways of being at a moment of urgent global crisis.
Accessibility Information
Additional accessibility information
- PDF/UA-2, 1.4
- accessibility@bloomsbury.com
Hazards
The publication contains no hazards
Support for non-visual reading
Has alternative text descriptions for images
Navigation
- Page list to go to pages from the print source version
- Elements such as headings, tables, etc for structured navigation
- All or substantially all textual matter is arranged in a single logical reading order
Table of Contents
1. The Forest of Origins: Shamanism and the Art of Flight
2. Dionysos or the Body of Ecstasy
3. Trial by Fire or Anastenaria
4. AntidotumTarantulae or The Arch of Hysteria
5. Tammurriata or The Cult of the Seven Madonnas
6. Across the Atlantic: The Birth of Afro-Diasporic Religions
7. Vodou or Mounting the Horse
8. Candomblé or Litany of the Saints
9. Umbanda or The Art of Cure
10. Santo Daime and Umbandaime
11. Epilogue – The Spiral of Return (or Beyond Ecstasy)
Index
Product details
| Published | 06 Aug 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (PDF) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 248 |
| ISBN | 9781350612785 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Illustrations | 15 bw illus |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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This book is a successful attempt of bringing back the often forgotten stories of religious ecstasy. A rich and vivid account of sacred rites across cultures, which reasserts our interconnectedness as humans.
Aleksandra Gracjasz, Antwerp University, Belgium
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Readers curious about embodied sacred practices and ecstatic expressions of spirituality, including indigenous spiritualities and global Pentecostal-charismatic religions, will welcome this wide-ranging book. Kokkinaki reminds us that a meaningful exploration of religious ecstasy can never be fully accessed through discursive knowledge alone.
Linda M. Ambrose, Laurentian University, Canada
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A fascinating new approach to the understanding of religions through history and over the whole world. It argues that an element that is universal can be shown as fundamental.
Jean La Fontaine, London School of Economics, UK
























