Abstract

SBARDELLA, Francesca. Inhabited silence: sound constructions of monastic spatiality. Etnográfica [online]. 2013, vol.17, n.3, pp.515-534. ISSN 0873-6561.

This paper is based on an extensive and engaged ethnographic study in which the researcher lived the life of a postulant in two French Carmelite monasteries. The aim is to discuss the relation between sound (auditory sensation) - here intended as silence, i. e. the absence of sound or noise - and monastic space, highlighting to what extent the construction of space is implemented on a basis which is mostly sound-related and how such a soundscape, in turn, can produce and preserve certain shared behaviours and life values. Thus, the focus is not so much on silence and its generally accepted devotional function as a medium for prayer; rather, the emphasis is placed on its social value as a performative, group-building and identity de/construction tool.

Keywords : anthropology of religions; monasticism; convent; spatiality; soundscape; body.

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