Pedagogies of mediumship

moral economy and hierarchy in Vale do Amanhecer

Abstract

In this article I analyze the perspective of moral economy in the relationship between karma and grace in the telos of the medium’s self-improvement in the Vale do Amanhecer Spiritualist Doctrine from the perspective of ordinary ethics. Ethnographically, I am inspired by the pedagogies of mediumship, analyzing the practical learning of newcomers and practitioners already established in the doctrine through Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger’s (1991) notion of legitimate peripheral participation to conceptualize initial stages of inclusion and involvement in the ritual practice evidenced, above all, in the exemplary relationship between master/apprentice. In the analysis, I investigate how beginners learn skillful participation in the liturgical life of doctrine and, specifically, embodied ritual conduct. The article highlights the challenges faced by beginners in acquiring the embodied repertoire of rituals, including adapting to the use of gestures and negotiating the meanings produced through them. Furthermore, it also illustrates how the different dynamics between newcomers and veterans based on the hierarchical structures of the doctrine influence the learning process.