Glossolalia, Cacophony, Intensity
This paper discusses glossolalia (“speaking in tongues”) and the ritual production of cacophony in settings of fervent group prayer among Protestant Christians in Seoul. Ethnographic field data on prayer, preaching, song, and other features of Christian worship reveal how processes of semiotic intensification contribute to collective experiences of spiritual contact. The analysis develops broader questions about “intensity” both as a descriptive category in ethnography and as a local cultural category in South Korea.
Nicholas Harkness, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Harvard University