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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... space) kulam (Tm.) – irrigation tank, also a term for caste kumbha (Skt.) – special water pot kun kunkuma .∂alînî (Tm.) (Skt.) – – bodily vermilion energy powder used for decorative (and protective) pottu mark on forehead (usually of ...
... space ya†apila (Sinh.) – lower team in Pattini games yoni (Skt.) – complement of the linga, the vagina yuga (Skt.) – the age or epoch yüpa (Skt.) – the pole or sacrificial stake to which the victim is tied 0 20 40 60 80 100 km Mannar ...
... 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 Tamil Saivite worship, but I am fairly certain all of ...
... space in which spontaneous peasant and workingclass religious devotion spills forth and thereby shapes the religious aesthetic. The autonomy of the temple priests leaves the temples more open to a greater variety of interests and ...
... space for the obligatory and regular rites through which the form is rendered as a site for practice. I discuss the ground plan and positioning of statues, the material of the statues, and then in Chapter 6 the regular rites held daily ...
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 |