Modernity and tradition at sea: Filipino seafarers and their superstitious beliefs

Turgo, Nelson ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5508-7260 and Sampson, Helen ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5857-9452 2024. Modernity and tradition at sea: Filipino seafarers and their superstitious beliefs. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 10.1177/08912416241308571

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Abstract

The architectural and technological modernity of contemporary ships belies the prevalence of the multitude of superstitious beliefs which are held, and honoured, by crew-members in their daily lives. This article focuses on the superstitious beliefs of Filipino seafarers, in particular, and how these beliefs connect them to their more localised homeland communities, whilst serving at sea, thereby bridging the divide between workplace modernity and community-based tradition. We explore the ways in which the expression of community-based superstitious beliefs combines with traditional occupational attitudes, to connect the localised values of seafarers to the complex shipboard cultures associated with the global shipping industry. The data which inform this article are derived from interviews and fieldnotes associated with voyages made on two cargo ships in 2017 and 2018. These are contextualised with broader fieldwork notes made by the authors on a further 12 shipboard voyages on cargo vessels in the period 1999 to 2015.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education) Seafarers International Research Centre (SIRC)
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
ISSN:	0891-2416
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	17 December 2024
Date of Acceptance:	25 November 2024
Last Modified:	10 Jan 2025 15:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/174782

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