Since its inauguration in 1960, Brazil's capital city, Bras -lia, has become an internationally recognized center for eclectic forms of modern mysticism. Among the dozens of New Age, Spiritist, esoteric, and occult communities that have sprouted in the city and its environs, the most spectacular is the Valley of the Dawn (Vale do Amanhecer).
Equal parts religious movement, enchanted city, utopian vision, and theatrical spectacle, the Valley of the Dawn is a unique psychic ecosystem. Community members consider themselves the spiritual descendants of an ancient race of extraterrestrials originally sent to galvanize humanity's cultural and spiritual evolution. Wearing dazzling garments that reference their past lives in different cultural eras, adherents perform daily ceremonies for karmic redemption and offer spiritual healing services free of charge to the public.
The Valley of the Dawn was founded by a charismatic spirit medium called Aunt Neiva, a widowed mother of four who came to Bras -lia in 1957 to work in the construction of the new capital city. Over two decades, Aunt Neiva established a spiritual metropolis that today is home to over 25,000 people and the headquarters of a global religious movement with more than 800 affiliated temples worldwide.
Spirits of the Space Age details the Valley's historical emergence, placing it within the context of mid-twentieth century Brazil, and explores its "imagined world" --the imaginative and collectively shared representations that foster a common sense of identity, meaning, and purpose among Valley members. Drawing on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, it offers a narrative portrait of a new religious movement as seen in and through the lives of Aunt Neiva, her most important collaborators, and contemporary adherents. By presenting a more complete picture of the Valley of the Dawn, this book counters the persistent media representations of the Valley as a cult. But it also illuminates how religious movements respond to their place and time even as they situate themselves in relationship to imagined otherworlds and times.
Industry Reviews
"In this elegant ethnography, Kelly E. Hayes presents the most comprehensive study of Brazil's Valley of the Dawn to date. Skillfully balancing thick description with astute analysis, Hayes situates the movement in the context of Brazilian modernity, gender politics, and the various religions-including Umbanda, Kardecist Spiritism, and Theosophy-that have shaped it. In so doing, Spirits of the Space Age offers an alternative story of occult and
metaphysical religion, emphasizing its place in the Catholic Atlantic and the Global South." -- Michael Amoruso, Assistant Professor, Occidental College
"The time is now to think about utopian alternatives to the present world. With singular ethnographic ability Kelly Hayes explains why people might choose to alter radically their lives to relieve human suffering. For students of ritual, new religious movements, and material culture this book is essential reading. For anyone dreaming of how to build a more just society, Spirits of the Space Age is a critical guide, showing the promise and difficulty of
cosmic transformation." -- Kathryn Lofton, Lex Hixon Professor of Religious Studies and American Studies, Yale University
"An abundantly informative thick description and analysis of the Brazilian spiritist movement Valley of the Dawn, Spirits of the Space Age offers a study of a new religious movement that offers a vision of modernity shaped by a reimagining of the past. Hayes shows how the richly textured world of the Valley of the Dawn provides meaning, healing, and transformation to its adherents, and how scholars can understand the group within its Brazilian and
global context." -- Benjamin E. Zeller, Professor and Chair of Religion, Lake Forest College
"She has written a fascinating ethnological study of the development of new religions by examining this movement she characterizes as a "unique psychic ecosystem... enchanted city, utopian project, and theatrical spectacle," whose primary purpose is to provide social and spiritual assistance (p. 4). The author demonstrates that the group, which has often been characterized as peculiar and outlandish, is a successful new religion that fits within Brazil's deeply
rooted religious traditional past." -- M. L. Grover, emeritus, Brigham Young University
