Seminar Series: Abstract

15.30
February 20 2009
Seminar Room C

The use of corrupt Latin in Philippine ritual incantations
Piers Kelly (Linguistics, RSPAS)

While literacy in biblical and liturgical Latin in the Philippines is restricted to a minority within the Roman Catholic and Aglipayan clergy, the language retains a degree of prestige in Filipino society at large. In many rural areas, rituals of healing or power incorporate the use of Latin-based incantations that appear to be partially derived from pre-Vatican II Roman Catholic rites. In these nativised texts (both written and spoken) the Latin is corrupted, anagrammatised or abbreviated to initials, and sometimes interspersed with regional languages and Spanish. The extent to which the textual corruption is a result of deliberate intervention or imperfect transcription/transmission, is unclear, however the general intelligibility of the spell is not considered necessary to effect a successful outcome. Further, unintelligibility limits the possibility of multiple interpretations while elevating the theatrical power of the ritual performance as an unfathomable event.