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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... Thing Seen': Puja and Arccanai Daily Rites Puja as Offering Sinhala Buddhist Statuary The Logic of Deity Offerings in Sinhala Buddhism The Presence of Sakti The Goddess and Her 'Mountain' The Identity of Ambal and Kali Guardians, ...
divine presence or the experience of divinity through trance årü∂ha kårayå (Sinh.) – term for the male trance specialists who are the counterparts of the mäniyan at the Bhadrakali temple arul . (Tm.) – 'grace', divine presence Äsala ...
... of a divine (commonly goddess) presence Pitigal (Sinh.) – name of the korale in which Munnesvaram pattuva is situated pongal (or ponkal) (Tm.) – milk rice cooked with dairy milk, sugar and possibly fruits and nuts porapol (Sinh.) ...
The rush of lower order guardian deities into the space was, then, a direct result of the presence of the high deities inside the octagonal (lotus) pavilion. Without being typical, trance behaviour is a key component of contemporary ...
Moreover, the presence of two temples, one run by vegetarian Brahmins the other by non-vegetarian non-Brahmins, enables the complex to express in a refractive manner (and not simply reflect or represent) the activities of sections of ...
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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 |
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The Domain of Constant Excess: Plural Worship at the Munnesvaram Temples in ... Rohan Bastin No preview available - 2002 |