During a year of research, Loring Danforth lived in northern Greece, observing the anastenaria—a communal and therapeutic ritual that involves trance, spirit possession, and firewalking—which resulted in his book, Firewalking and Religious Healing: The Anastenaria of Greece and the American Firewalking Movement.
At the time of this interview, Danforth, a Fellow at the National Humanities Center (1986-87), was professor of anthropology at Bates College.
This edition of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.
