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
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... presence in the temples (puja), and the private devotional offerings made by individuals (arccanai) that serve to increase the presence of particular deities with particular actions. My point is that the priests enable the private ...
... presence of Brahmin castes) I shall use the label 'Tamil Saivism' throughout this book as a counterpart to the category 'Sinhala Buddhism'. I do so first and foremost because the main deities of the Munnesvaram complex are Siva, his ...
... presence of Munnesvaram nearby. Munnesvaram, like many of the famous Hindu temples in Sri Lanka, especially the Siva temples, is a port-town temple whose fame and earlier grandeur convey the importance of these port-temples as nodal ...
... presence of a local Tamil-Sinhala dialect and the high incidence of Tamil-Sinhala bilingualism and what the 1921 Census described as non-Sinhala 'mother tongue' where the father's language was not Sinhala (Ceylon at the Census of 1921 p ...
... presence that pervades the whole settlement. With Ambal, the other important deity is Bhadrakali (or 'Auspicious Kali'). Indeed, for many devotees she is the most important deity in the complex. While Ambal and Kali's relation is ...
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 |