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. |
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Page xi
... Bathing the Flagpole 169 A Coconut Offering to the Temple Chariot 177 A Man Carries his Child over the Hot Coals of the Firewalking . The firewalking leader with the margosa pot on his head dances in the background 188 Trading in ...
... Bathing the Flagpole 169 A Coconut Offering to the Temple Chariot 177 A Man Carries his Child over the Hot Coals of the Firewalking . The firewalking leader with the margosa pot on his head dances in the background 188 Trading in ...
Page xxii
... bathing rite at end of festival tîrtham (Tm.) – bathing rite at the end of temple festivals tiruvil.å (Tm.) – festival procession and label for the festival as a whole todpullu (Skt.) – special pointer stick made of woven kusa grass ...
... bathing rite at end of festival tîrtham (Tm.) – bathing rite at the end of temple festivals tiruvil.å (Tm.) – festival procession and label for the festival as a whole todpullu (Skt.) – special pointer stick made of woven kusa grass ...
Page 3
... bathing and the almsgiving that follows . I attended my first festival in 1985 having already studied a number of Tamil temple festivals from the Eastern Province . The procession and bathing seemed to me to be following a predictable ...
... bathing and the almsgiving that follows . I attended my first festival in 1985 having already studied a number of Tamil temple festivals from the Eastern Province . The procession and bathing seemed to me to be following a predictable ...
Page 4
... bathing rite was a Sinhala Buddhist deity priest who normally ran a small shrine to the Sin- hala Buddhist sorcery deity Suniyam.9 He described how he used this bo tree throughout the year for sacrifice and sorcery, bringing clients ...
... bathing rite was a Sinhala Buddhist deity priest who normally ran a small shrine to the Sin- hala Buddhist sorcery deity Suniyam.9 He described how he used this bo tree throughout the year for sacrifice and sorcery, bringing clients ...
Page 6
... bathing rite bo tree is one small vignette , and I stress the role of the broad body of worshippers as members of a public that is actively constitutive of this dynamism of both design and rite . To do this I begin with the social ...
... bathing rite bo tree is one small vignette , and I stress the role of the broad body of worshippers as members of a public that is actively constitutive of this dynamism of both design and rite . To do this I begin with the social ...
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