The Domain of Constant Excess

Plural Worship in a Sri Lankan Hindu Temple

By: Rohan Bastin

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Hardcover | 1 December 2002

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256 Pages

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22.86 x 15.24 x 1.6

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The 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.

Industry Reviews

"...a successfully ambitious effort, richly informative and insightful in its coverage of the site's religious life and most sophisticated in its use and advancing of theoretical perspectives...Profound insights...abound in this complex and rewarding piece of scholarship..a must read for scholars of south Asian religions." -The Australian Journal of Anthropology

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Religion & Beliefs Buddhism Sociology & Anthropology Sociology Sociology & Customs & Traditions Hinduism Aspects of Religion for Non-Christians Worship Anthropology

List of Figures and Table	p. x
List of Photographs	p. xi
Acknowledgements	p. xii
Guide to Pronunciation	p. xiv
Glossary	p. xv
Worship, Difference and Marvellous Potentiality	p. 1
Haskam or Marvellous Potentiality	p. 5
The Polysemy of the Hindu Sacred in the Conditions of Violence	p. 8
Plan of the Book	p. 11
Fluidity and Ambiguity in the History of Munnesvaram	p. 15
The Temples and Their Deities	p. 19
The Social Composition of Worship	p. 26
Temple Ownership	p. 34
Myths and Marginality	p. 43
Rama Myth	p. 45
The Myth of the Diseased King	p. 47
Heritage or History?	p. 51
Kali's Myth	p. 53
Ritual Practices and Religious Identity	p. 59
Pilgrimage and a Comparison Between Munnesvaram and Kataragama	p. 60
Worship and Ethnicity	p. 64
Sacrifice	p. 65
Sorcery	p. 67
Trance	p. 69
Maniyan	p. 70
Sorcery and Protection at the Munnesvaram Temple	p. 73
Sinhala Buddhism and Its Radical Temporality	p. 76
Popular Religion as a Practice of Resistance	p. 81
The Saivite Temple as a Monumental Architecture	p. 89
Potency as Simultaneous Origin and Effect	p. 90
Monumental Architecture	p. 92
Essentials: Temples in War and Death	p. 93
Munnesvaram Temple Design	p. 95
Binding the Manifestation of Divine Play	p. 101
The Mixing of Cosmological Concepts	p. 103
Cosmos, Body and Symbolic Levels	p. 108
Conclusion	p. 110
'The Look and the Thing Seen': Puja and Arccanai	p. 117
Daily Rites	p. 117
Puja as Offering	p. 123
Sinhala Buddhist Statuary	p. 127
The Logic of Deity Offerings in Sinhala Buddhism	p. 129
The Presence of Sakti	p. 133
The Goddess and Her 'Mountain'	p. 134
The Identity of Ambal and Kali	p. 141
Guardians, Games and the Formation of Power	p. 145
The Village Guardian	p. 147
Myths of the Guardian Deities	p. 150
The Maradankulam Aiyanar Festival	p. 152
The Theme of Inviolability in the Formation of the Regional Polity	p. 157
The World Inside Out	p. 163
Jokes at the Boundary	p. 164
The Flag-Hoisting--Origination	p. 165
The 'Trust' Meeting	p. 170
Processions and the Spiral Upward	p. 171
Morning and Night Processions	p. 173
Chariots--The Temple Turns on Itself	p. 175
The Domain of Excess	p. 183
The Cool Fire of Reabsorption	p. 186
The Danger of Cosmic Excess	p. 189
The Hunting Festival or The Mango Shoot?	p. 190
Tirtham--The Crossing Point	p. 192
Bhadrakali Temple Festival	p. 195
Divine Kings and Regal Gods: Temples in Society and History	p. 201
Orientalism and Postcolonialism	p. 207
References	p. 213
Index	p. 227
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

The Domain of Constant Excess

Plural Worship in a Sri Lankan Hindu Temple

At a Glance

Hardcover

Industry Reviews

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How to return your order

Defective items

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