Domain of Constant Excess: Plural Worship at the Munnesvaram Temples in Sri Lanka
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...
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Bastin (anthropology, archaeology, and sociology, James Cook U.) has recast his doctoral dissertation for University College London, which explores how religious meaning and potency acquire force in the production and reproduction of everyday worship. He addresses general issues about Hindu temples and their place in south Indian and Sri Lankan society and history, focusing on a predominantly Hindu cluster of five temples near the northwest coastal town of Chilaw from the middle 1980s to the middle 1990s. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
List of Figures and TableList of PhotographsAcknowledgementsGuide to PronunciationGlossaryCh. 1Worship, Difference and Marvellous Potentiality1Ch. 2Fluidity and Ambiguity in the History of Munnesvaram15Ch. 3Myths and Marginality43Ch. 4Ritual Practices and Religious Identity59Ch. 5The Saivite Temple as a Monumental Architecture89Ch. 6'The Look and the Thing Seen': Puja and Arccanai117Ch. 7The Presence of Sakti133Ch. 8Guardians, Games and the Formation of Power145Ch. 9The World Inside Out163Ch. 10The Domain of Excess183Ch. 11Divine Kings and Regal Gods: Temples in Society and History201References213Index227
