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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... temples. Through my account of this history I explain the unusual fact (for Sri Lanka) that both the Munnesvaram and Bhadrakali temples are owned and run by their Tamil Saivite priests. This is important because through their ownership ...
... temple in both society and history more generally. Munnesvaram is distinctive for its religious and ethnic blend ... Saivite temple with a predominantly Sinhala Buddhist patronage in a period of ethnic violence between Tamils and ...
... temple, who are Tamil Saivite Brahmins, and the villagers of the surrounding area who are mostly Sinhala Buddhists. Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict does, at times, pervade these relations, but in accordance with several social scientists ...
... temple priests: the way the priests perceive the religious potency of their ... Saivite revitalisation themes, and by an orientation to women and to the ... Saivite site, and also for the way in which the promotion of Tamil Saivite ...
... temple and its world, a world of complex social relations not simply ... Saivite doctrines such as the Kashmiri, and so merits the label 'Tamil ... temple worship of the principal temples is organised around the Saivagama texts, although ...
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 |