ABSTRACT

During the Hindu fire-walking festival in La Réunion, practitioners “feel the fire”, an expression which refers to feelings of pain. Yet in this religious milieu, pain is a subject which is circumvented outside the immediate family circle even if pain is necessary to validate the ritual experience. This article abjures the prevailing medical materialist approaches to the analysis and explanation of how fire-walking is possible. It focusses instead on the ways of feeling and living pain from the fire-walkers’ own points of view. The concept of edgework is introduced, which refers to voluntary risk-taking activities that navigate the edges that exist between cultural boundaries and also push personal boundaries (due to the endangerment of the person). During this ritual, and through pain, practitioners sculpt a new perception of themselves and of their world. It is shown that pain, when chosen and mastered such as in fire-walking, is not only world-shattering but also life-enhancing. When pain arises from a ritual act, as herein, it can become a tool to fight suffering, to discipline oneself, to better know oneself, and, it even allows an individual to experience happiness.

摘要

在拉留尼旺（LaRéunion）举行的印度教步行节上，从业者“感觉到了火”，这是一种表达痛苦的表情。然而，在这种宗教环境中，即使需要通过痛苦来验证仪式经历，痛苦仍是在直系亲属圈子之外规避的主题。本文放弃了流行的医学唯物主义的方法来分析和解释如何进行火行。相反，它从火行者自己的角度着眼于感受和生活痛苦的方式。引入边缘工作的概念，这是指自愿冒险活动，这些活动在文化边界之间存在的边界中导航，并且也由于个人的危险而推挤个人边界。在这个仪式中，通过痛苦，从业者塑造了对自己和自己的世界的新认识。结果表明，痛苦的选择和掌握，例如在火上行走时，不仅破坏了世界，而且改善了生活。如此处所示，当礼节行为引起痛苦时，它可以成为对抗苦难，训练自己，更好地了解自己的工具，甚至可以使个人体验幸福。