Manichaean Networks: The Social Networks of the Laity

Abstract

In this chapter, we turn from individual expressions of religious identity to the question of the social groups in which Manichaean affiliation can be traced. The previous chapter has already given some indications as to in what circles we find it, as we considered Manichaean identity within the Pamour family, whose members were traders, camel drivers, and weavers. However, the overlap between the religious network and the family’s other networks remains to be explored. Was Manichaean affiliation restricted to certain social contacts or contexts, or did it permeate different networks and types of social relations? At what other ‘social sites’, to use the vocabulary of David Frankfurter, do we find Manichaeans? And how widespread was it within Kellis? Below, we examine Manichaean affiliation within several different networks tied to the Pamour family: within the family, between neighbours and colleagues, and in patron – client relationships. We also go beyond the Pamour family, attempting to see how widespread it was in the village at large. Finally, we consider the nature of the network: how Manichaean affiliation may – or may not – have affected it in relation to adherents’ interaction with their social surroundings.