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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... refers to the undifferentiated luminosity of immanent form (see also vimarsa) pralaya (Skt.) – reabsorption prati߆hå (Skt.) – to stand firm, the firm ground of stability püjå (Sinh., Skt., Tm.) – generic and specific name for deity ...
king coconut, a type of drinking coconut tandava (Skt.) – Siva's ́ special dance tantra (Skt.) – 'the warp, the propagating line', the principles and practices associated with specific types of ritual. tattvas (Skt.) – principles ...
What I analyse here is how these festivals achieve this and how they do so as specific enactments or practices of the temple as a monumental religious architecture. I state that the temples express in a refractive manner, ...
The specific term in Sinhala for such divine power is deva balaya. The idea of haskam is associated with the power of the site. In that sense, haskam is an enabling condition of balaya but also a characteristic of a site at which balaya ...
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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 |