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 3
... stress this apparent sense, however, for while at one moment the fluidity of social and religious categories appears to be asserted by a unity of purpose in temple worship at Munnesvaram, in the next moment the temples display the ...
... stress this apparent sense, however, for while at one moment the fluidity of social and religious categories appears to be asserted by a unity of purpose in temple worship at Munnesvaram, in the next moment the temples display the ...
Page 4
... stress the contemporary nature of 'bhakti religiosity' (Gombrich and Obeyesekere 1988) and thereby link it to processes of social transformation, specifically urbanisation, my interpretation is concerned with how a temple complex like ...
... stress the contemporary nature of 'bhakti religiosity' (Gombrich and Obeyesekere 1988) and thereby link it to processes of social transformation, specifically urbanisation, my interpretation is concerned with how a temple complex like ...
Page 6
... stress the dynamism of which the 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 ...
... stress the dynamism of which the 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 ...
Page 8
... stress that temples do not simply reflect social relations whose reality lies elsewhere, rather they constitute nodal points in the articulation of these relations. While they are not the only grounds of interaction between social ...
... stress that temples do not simply reflect social relations whose reality lies elsewhere, rather they constitute nodal points in the articulation of these relations. While they are not the only grounds of interaction between social ...
Page 27
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Contents
| 1 | |
Chapter 2 Fluidity and Ambiguity in the History of Munnesvaram | 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 |
Common terms and phrases
according action active aesthetic Ambal annual associated attend bathing becomes Bhadrakali temple body Brahmins called caste central century Chapter Chilaw closely coconut complex condition deities demonic described developed devotees discussion divine especially ethnic example existence expression festival Figure flag front goddess ground guardian hall Hindu human important Indian inside involves Jaffna Kali Kataragama king lamp land marked meaning movement Munnesvaram temple myth nature Navaratri noted Obeyesekere offerings origin Pattini pattuva performed Pillaiyar popular possibility potency potentiality practice presence priests procession puja regard region relation religious remains reveals rite ritual Saivite temple sense shrine simply Sinh Sinhala Buddhist Sinhalese situation Siva social sorcery space specific Sri Lanka statue stress symbolic takes Tamil Saivite temple’s theme traditions tree village worship