Nothing to declare… apart from Holy Water : sacralizing borders and securitizing spiritual things in Fiji

Adam Possamai, Geir Henning Presterudstuen, Kathleen Openshaw

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Holy Water—inhibiting its importation into the country. Holy Water as a spiritual thing plays an important role in spiritual practices across the globe, and certainly within the vibrant religious and political landscape of Fiji. In this article, we explore the border restrictions on Holy Water in Fiji. Exportation of the Miracle/Healing Water from Fiji over the last few years to New Zealand shows that while Fiji is sacralizing its borders to securitize Holy Water, New Zealand remains highly secularized. In this piece, we propose that research focused on the relationship between the circulation of spiritual things and their crossing of international borders is required so we can better understand how secular borders are negotiated by spiritual things and their people.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)376-381
Number of pages5
JournalMaterial Religion
Volume18
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

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