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. |
From inside the book
Page 6
... simply in the more limited sense of ' com- mand ' , where power is very simply the power over another.12 Potentiality in my usage relates to the French term puissance in contrast to pouvoir where pouvoir ( power , command ) is an ...
... simply in the more limited sense of ' com- mand ' , where power is very simply the power over another.12 Potentiality in my usage relates to the French term puissance in contrast to pouvoir where pouvoir ( power , command ) is an ...
Page 7
... simply reflect or represent) the activities of sections of Sri Lanka's landed and high caste strata who sponsor the Brahmins in contrast with the activities of sections of the entrepreneurial strata who sponsor the non-Brahmins. Thus ...
... simply reflect or represent) the activities of sections of Sri Lanka's landed and high caste strata who sponsor the Brahmins in contrast with the activities of sections of the entrepreneurial strata who sponsor the non-Brahmins. Thus ...
Page 8
... 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 groups, they have had a central ...
... 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 groups, they have had a central ...
Page 13
... simply reducible to a sense of a singular system. Tem- ples and festivals, I argue, are vital elements in the dynamism of South Asian life. Their power is a pristine energy of cosmos and through it they create the potent realm of ...
... simply reducible to a sense of a singular system. Tem- ples and festivals, I argue, are vital elements in the dynamism of South Asian life. Their power is a pristine energy of cosmos and through it they create the potent realm of ...
Page 14
... simply a journalistic scoop about what really happened, rather it is a powerful insight into the nature of the surface appearance of crisis as an irruption in the social field of otherwise embedded social relations whose reproduction ...
... simply a journalistic scoop about what really happened, rather it is a powerful insight into the nature of the surface appearance of crisis as an irruption in the social field of otherwise embedded social relations whose reproduction ...
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 |
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