Upward, Not Sunwise

Resonant Rupture in Navajo Neo-Pentecostalism

Kimberly Jenkins Marshall

• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9780803294950
• Topic: Ciencias sociales
• Subtopic: Estudios de nativos americanos

Upward, Not Sunwise exploresan influential and growing neo-Pentecostal movement among Native Americans characterized by evangelical Christian theology, charismatic "spirit-filled" worship, and decentralized Native control.As in other global contexts, neo-Pentecostalism is spread by charismatic evangelists practicing faith healing at tent revivals.In North America, this movement has become especially popular among the Diné (Navajo), where the Oodlání ("Believers") movement now numbers nearlysixty thousand members.Participants in this movement value their Navajo cultural identity yet maintain a profound religious conviction that the beliefs of their ancestors are tools of the devil. Kimberly Jenkins Marshall has been researching the Oodlání movement since 2006 and presents the first book-length study of Navajo neo-Pentecostalism.Key to the popularity of this movement is what the author calls "resonant rupture, " or the way the apparent continuity of expressive forms holds appeal for Navajos, while believers simultaneously deny the continuity of these forms at the level of meaning. Although the music, dance, and poetic language at Oodlání tent revivals is identifiably Navajo, Oodlání carefully re-inscribe their country gospel music, dancing in the spirit, use of the Navajo language, and materials of faith healing as transformationally new and different. Marshall explores these and other nuances of Navajo neo-Pentecostal practices by examining how Oodlání perform their faith under the big white tents scattered across the Navajo Nation.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Acknowledgments
• Note on Transcriptions
• Introduction: Resonant Rupture
• 1. The Oodlání Movement: Revivals, Research, and Relationships
• 2. Under the Tent: The Resonant Rupture of Ritual
• 3. Háálá Ayóo Diyin: The Resonant Rupture of Language
• 4. “God Never Listened to Country”:The Resonant Rupture of Music
• 5. Dancing in the Spirit: The Resonant Rupture of Nonhuman Actors
• 6. Embodying Healing: The Resonant Rupture of Faith Healing
• Conclusion: Resonant Rupture, Sovereignty, and Global Pentecostalism
• Notes
• References
• Index