The Domain of Constant Excess: Plural Worship at the Munnesvaram Temples in Sri LankaThe Sri Lankan ethnic conflict that has occurred largely between Sinhala Buddhists and Tamil Hindus is marked by a degree of religious tolerance that sees both communities worshiping together. This study describes one important site of such worship, the ancient Hindu temple complex of Munnesvaram. Standing adjacent to one of Sri Lanka's historical western ports, the fortunes of the Munnesvaram temples have waxed and waned through the years of turbulence, violence and social change that have been the country's lot since the advent of European colonialism in the Indian Ocean. Bastin recounts the story of these temples and analyses how the Hindu temple is reproduced as a center of worship amidst conflict and competition. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 35
Page 1
... Munnes- varam temple in 1605 by the Portuguese Captain General of what was then called Ceilao (later Ceylon), they were provided with a strong material base to pursue their work in their allotted mission area in the north-west of the ...
... Munnes- varam temple in 1605 by the Portuguese Captain General of what was then called Ceilao (later Ceylon), they were provided with a strong material base to pursue their work in their allotted mission area in the north-west of the ...
Page 2
... Munnes- varam temples to arrive at some general propositions about the historical importance of temples in South Asia. Munnesvaram is a complex that draws (and repels) people for a variety of rea- sons, and it has done so for a very ...
... Munnes- varam temples to arrive at some general propositions about the historical importance of temples in South Asia. Munnesvaram is a complex that draws (and repels) people for a variety of rea- sons, and it has done so for a very ...
Page 6
... Munnes- varam is , therefore , both the site and the practice of worship . They are , together , the constituents of the temple aesthetic that this book explores . Crucially , the tem- ple aesthetic is , in my analysis , the fundamental ...
... Munnes- varam is , therefore , both the site and the practice of worship . They are , together , the constituents of the temple aesthetic that this book explores . Crucially , the tem- ple aesthetic is , in my analysis , the fundamental ...
Page 7
... Munnes- varam and Bhadrakali temples lack such trusts has been immensely important for maintaining the social heterogeneity of the complex as a whole. Part of this het- erogeneity is the temple complex's double existence of being both a ...
... Munnes- varam and Bhadrakali temples lack such trusts has been immensely important for maintaining the social heterogeneity of the complex as a whole. Part of this het- erogeneity is the temple complex's double existence of being both a ...
Page 10
... Munnes- varam the temples have prospered, with large numbers of Sinhalese, some Catholic but most Buddhist, attending to make their special requests to the goddesses. For someone born and raised in Australia, and of largely Irish ...
... Munnes- varam the temples have prospered, with large numbers of Sinhalese, some Catholic but most Buddhist, attending to make their special requests to the goddesses. For someone born and raised in Australia, and of largely Irish ...
Contents
| 1 | |
| 15 | |
Chapter 3 Myths and Marginality | 43 |
Chapter 4 Ritual Practices and Religious Identity | 59 |
Chapter 5 The Saivite Temple as a Monumental Architecture | 89 |
Puja and Arccanai | 117 |
Chapter 7 The Presence of Sakti | 133 |
Chapter 8 Guardians Games and the Formation of Power | 145 |
Chapter 9 The World Inside Out | 163 |
Chapter 10 The Domain of Excess | 183 |
Divine Kings and Regal Gods Temples in Society and History | 195 |
References | 213 |
Index | 227 |
Other editions - View all
The Domain of Constant Excess: Plural Worship at the Munnesvaram Temples in ... Rohan Bastin No preview available - 2002 |
Common terms and phrases
aesthetic Aiyanar annual festival arccanai articulation associated Astara Astara Devata bandara bathing rite becomes Bhadrakali temple Bhairavar Brahmins Buddhist revitalisation camphor caste Chapter chariot Chilaw coconut coconut game Colombo consciousness cosmic daily rites deities demonic described devotees Diseased King divine dynamic ethnic expression firewalking flag flagpole gaze goddess guardian hall ibid important inner road inner sanctum Jaffna Kali Kapferer 1997a Kataragama Kramrisch lamp linga Maradankulam Munnes Munnesvaram festival Munnesvaram priests Munnesvaram temple Murugan Navaratri Obeyesekere 1984 offerings Pattini performed Pillaiyar temple popular potency potentiality practice presence procession puja Purusa relation religious ritual sacrifice Saivism sakti sense shrine simply Sinh Sinhala Buddhist Sinhalese Siva social Somaskanda sorcery south Indian specific sponsor Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Tamil stress Suniyam Tamil Saivite Tamil Saivite temple Taniyavala temple complex temple festivals temple priests temple’s theme trance varam Visnu worship yantra