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
Results 6-10 of 91
... Sinhala Buddhist king Parakramabahu VI in the mid-fifteenth century. The inscribed stones were used when the temple was rebuilt in the 1870s following its destruction at the hands of Jesuit missionaries in 1606, and efforts to revive ...
... Sinhala Buddhist middle class. Both middle-class Tamils and Sinhalese have been significant throughout the twentieth century in separate religious revitalisation movements and associated ethnic politics. Both groups have been highly ...
... Sinhala Buddhist patronage in a period of ethnic violence between Tamils and Sinhalese. I am also concerned to show how Munnesvaram survives and thrives in such a situation as a Hindu temple. In doing so I hope to shed light on the ...
... Sinhalese. The Tamil agitation provoked violent response by some Sinhalese ... Sinhala-Tamil mixture. However, a large portion of the devotional population ... Buddhist, attending to make their special requests to the goddesses. For ...
... Sinhala Buddhists. Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict does, at times, pervade these relations, but in accordance with ... Buddhist. It also reveals the close association that the Munnesvaram priests identify between the main Munnesvaram temple and ...
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 |
Other editions - View all
The Domain of Constant Excess: Plural Worship at the Munnesvaram Temples in ... Rohan Bastin No preview available - 2002 |