Why do people put their faith in religious specialists? Why are some people considered to be
more adept at communicating with deities explaining scriptures blessing objects or solving
problems with ghosts and other malevolent forces? The Way and its Powers will propose one
possible answer to this question by focusing on the practice of a particular category of
religious specialists -Taoist priests in northern Taiwan.The priests perform offerings and
exorcisms using two distinct sets of rites and have become the most important providers of
these services in the areas in which they operate. This study which is based on several years
of fieldwork amongst these Northern Priests explores different aspects of this dynamic
tradition describing the religious context in which these priests operate the ritual
traditions of which they make use developments in their recent history the way that knowledge
is transmitted and practice is organized as well as the offerings and exorcisms they carry
out. Using case studies to discuss the correct practice of ritual and the efficacy of healing
ceremonies this study discusses the construction of religious authority amongst Taoist priests
arguing that while efficacy and orthopraxy both play a role in the establishment of authority
a priest's authority cannot be reduced to either of them but is the result of a social process
in which the way a priest enters the field and his relations with other priests play a key
role.
