To see the other types of publications on this topic, follow the link: Sacred space India.
Journal articles on the topic 'Sacred space India'
Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles
Consult the top 50 journal articles for your research on the topic 'Sacred space India.'
Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.
You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.
Browse journal articles on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.
1
Branfoot, Crispin. "Imperial Frontiers: Building Sacred Space in Sixteenth-Century South India." Art Bulletin 90, no. 2 (June 2008): 171–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00043079.2008.10786389.
Full text
2
Bacchetta, Paola. "Sacred Space in Conflict in India: The Babri Masjid Affair." Growth and Change 31, no. 2 (January 2000): 255–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/0017-4815.00128.
Full text
3
Kannan, Rajalakshmi Nadadur. "Colonial Material Collections and Representations of Devadasi Bodies in the Public Sphere in the Early 20th-Century South India." Anthropos 114, no. 2 (2019): 531–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.5771/0257-9774-2019-2-531.
Full textAbstract:
This article discusses how the politics of morality in the early 20th-century South India, in its gendered nation-building exercise, reified a distinction between sacred/profane by using devadasis’ bodies as material objects in the public sphere. Traditional performers of dance and music, devadasis were chosen to represent the profane in a series of historical developments in which both Europeans and Indian colonial elites participated in constructing and using the categories of the sacred and profane to classify sex and body as material, profane, and obscene. Specifically targeting devadasis, these developments resulted in ostracization and criminalization of devadasis and their communities. Using statues, poems, and literature as examples, this article shows how devadasis were collected as material objects and used to represent the notion that some bodies and sex were fundamentally materialistic whilst others were not, such as that of the “new woman” who was imagined to be an ideal woman, and the guardian of the sacred space in the colonial and postcolonial India.
4
Miles-Watson, Jonathan. "Teachings of Tara." Anthropology in Action 23, no. 3 (December 1, 2016): 30–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.3167/aia.2016.230304.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractThis article presents the case for a rethinking of the academy’s approach to sacred space through a demonstration of the way that a focus on unskilled actors reconfigures established approaches and interpretations. The article opens with an auto-ethnographic account of the powerful effect of Shimla’s Tara Devi temple on personal wellbeing and from this starting point spirals out to explore how Tara (and her sacred places) are connected to wellbeing both in the Himalayan region of Shimla and beyond. Through this process, arguments that I have previously made, concerning both the relation of sacred places to happiness (2010) and the way that sacred places operate in Himalayan North India (2012), are significantly complicated, leading to a reappraisal of the role that unskilled actors play in the constitution of sacred space. The article concludes by drawing these ethnographic reflections and theoretical considerations together to develop a key set of recommendations that call for policy-makers to engage sensitively with sacred places in the contemporary, post-secular city.
5
Deeg, Max. "Mapping common territory—mapping other territory." Acta Orientalia Vilnensia 8, no. 1 (January 1, 2007): 145–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.15388/aov.2007.1.3746.
Full textAbstract:
Cardiff UniversityThis paper addresses the different functions of the construction of religious, i.e. sacred, space depending on whether such a construction is done in and for its own cultural sphere or whether it is done in and from a cultural context positioned outside the constructed space. This is demonstrated by two case studies of pilgrimage narratives. The first one concentrates on South-Asian culture (Kaśmīr, Nepal) in which two religious traditions (Buddhism, Hinduism) coexisted and constructed sacred space by either the same narratives or by similar but sufficiently different narratives to explain why these places were there and why they were sacred. The other example discusses the approach of culturally different and locally distant Chinese Buddhism towards Buddhist India, where it becomes clear that one of the functions of constructing space by description was to show that the places already known from a textual tradition, the Buddhist one, really existed.
6
BANERJEE, SANDEEP, and SUBHO BASU. "Secularizing the Sacred, Imagining the Nation-Space: The Himalaya in Bengali travelogues, 1856–1901." Modern Asian Studies 49, no. 3 (September 29, 2014): 609–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0026749x13000589.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractThis article examines changing conceptions of the Himalaya in nineteenth-century Bengali travelogues from that of a sacred space to a spatial metaphor of a putative nation-space. It examines sections of Devendranath Tagore's autobiography, written around 1856–58, before discussing the travelogues of Jaladhar Sen and Ramananda Bharati from the closing years of the nineteenth century. The article argues that for Tagore the mountains are the ‘holy lands of Brahma’, while Sen and Bharati depict the Himalaya with a political slant and secularize the space of Hindu sacred geography. It contends that this process of secularization posits Hinduism as the civil religion of India. The article further argues that the later writers make a distinction between the idea of a ‘homeland’ and a ‘nation’. Unlike in Europe, where the ideas of homeland and nation overlap, these writers imagined the Indian nation-space as one that encompassed diverse ethno-linguistic homelands. It contends that the putative nation-space articulates the hegemony of the Anglo-vernacular middle classes, that is, English educated, upper caste, male Hindus where women, non-Hindus, and the labouring classes are marginalized.
7
Geva, Anat, and Anuradha Mukherji. "A Study of Light/Darkness in Sacred Settings: Digital Simulations." International Journal of Architectural Computing 5, no. 3 (September 2007): 507–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1260/147807707782581756.
Full textAbstract:
Studying light/darkness and sacred architecture reveals that the “holy” light dramatizes the spiritual state and affects the mood of the user in the sacred space. Furthermore, it shows that faith dictates the treatment of light/darkness in the sacred setting as means to enhance the spiritual experience. These two premises were investigated by conducting digital daylight simulations on the Brihadeshvara Hindu Temple (1010 AD) of Tanjore, Tamilnadu, India. This sacred monument, listed as one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, is an intriguing case study since the treatment of the ‘holy light’ in the temple is actually the treatment of the ‘holy darkness’. The simulated values were compared to the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) standards. The results demonstrate that digitized simulations can illustrate the significance of light/darkness in sacred settings as a spiritual experience. Moreover, this quantitative investigation can augment the qualitative studies in the field of historic sacred architecture. The work presented here unites and extends some previously published work [20],[29].
8
FISHER, ELAINE. "Public Space, Public Canon: Situating religion at the dawn of modernity in South India." Modern Asian Studies 52, no. 5 (September 2018): 1486–541. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0026749x17001044.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractWhat is ‘early modern’ about religion in South India? In theorizing early modernity in South Asia, the category of religion has been viewed with scepticism, perhaps to avoid painting India as the exotic ‘Other’ that failed to modernize in the eyes of Western social theory. And yet, Western narratives, drawn from secularization theory, fail to do justice to our historical archive. As a vehicle for approaching the experience of religion in early modern South India, this article invokes the category of space as a medium for the publicization and contestation of meaning across diverse language, caste, and religious publics. In the process, it excavates the codification of the ‘Sacred Games of Śiva’ as public religious canon of the city of Madurai, exemplifying the distinctive role played by religion in public space in early modern South India.
9
Ostrander, Diana Louise Gander. "Wordsworth in the Himalayas: Indian Narratology and Sacred Space in William Delafield Arnold’s Oakfield: Fellowship in the East." Religion and the Arts 14, no. 1-2 (2010): 34–58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/107992610x12592913031784.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractWilliam Delafield Arnold’s single novel, Oakfield: Fellowship in the East, is a transparently autobiographical account of what happens when the earnestness of a son and pupil of Dr. Thomas Arnold encounters the ancient world of India in the decade of the Sepoy Rebellion. This essay explores what has been far less apparent to Western readers and critics: the presence of Indian philosophy at the heart of the novel. Following in the tradition of the Wordsworthian Romantic prophet, W. D. Arnold relates Oakfield’s spiritual search and enlightenment to present the novel itself as the spiritual common ground that the hero seeks. The use of Indian narratological devices produces variegation by ancient spiritual design, merging the myths of enlightened beings East and West, including Brahmins, Buddha, Wordsworth, and Oakfield, on epiphanic mountains. The novel celebrates the potential for Western enlightenment discovered in the Himalayas, but also warns Britain that the colonizing effort is responsible for the loss of England’s best and brightest.
10
Pahariya, Vishnu Kumar, and Anjali S. Patil. "Impact of Water Body for Pilgrim Cities in India." International Journal of Research in Engineering, Science and Management 3, no. 9 (September 15, 2020): 44–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.47607/ijresm.2020.283.
Full textAbstract:
The mythological place India is blessed with the sacred streams, little and enormous water bodies.it is likewise adobe of numerous exceptional holy people, strict and Spiritual Leaders. Significant pilgrims in India are Haridwar, Gangotri, Yamunotri, Prayagraj, Char dhams, Dwarika, Puri, Rameswaram and Badrinath, twelve Jyotirlingas, Chitrakoot, varanshi, ayodhya, etc are on the bank of sacred waterways. These pioneer cities and its sacred spots pulls in a mass of explorers and pilgrims from different pieces of the nation and around the world. Because of its devotion, there is a huge increment in floating and urban populace. These pilgrim’s explorers during journeys every year which has a high potential to impact the urban condition in these blessed destinations. In pilgrimage, impacts are influenced by festival and are limited over time and space such as “chhath pooja” in Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Nepal, Kumbha and Ardh kumbhs various parts of India etc. are associated directly with water bodies. Urban preservation is very important in the case of pilgrim cities because of the its mythological values. These pilgrim city determines, it is not just in its place of workshop be it temple, church etc., but a built heritage related and in the layout and design of the cities, some pilgrim cities are designed on the design principals of Vedic Principles. The regional setting in which the cities are placed and its relationship with water bodies and other heritage features. This paper identifies the issues and challenges in the core of pilgrim cities, which is water surrounding place of worships associated with different rituals which reflect new gravities on the urbanization.it is based on literature study and case study approach.
11
Horodets’ka, Veronika. "Khrystyyansʹki sakralʹni symvoly u prostorovo-chasovomu kontynuumi poetychnoho movlennya ukrayinsʹkoho pysʹmennyka Yuriya Andrukhovycha." Studia Ucrainica Varsoviensia, no. 8 (August 31, 2020): 29–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.31338/2299-7237suv.8.5.
Full textAbstract:
This article explores the linguistic worldview of a Ukrainian poet – postmodernist Yuriy Andrukhovytch – realized through the concept of “Christian sacred symbols” analyzed from the perspective of anthropological and cognitive aspects of lingual and cultural studies. It defines the essence and the ways of implementing the concept in the spatio-temporal continuum of poetry collection “India” as well as highlights the role of man in the poet’s imaginary world through the archetypes of the world culture and decodes symbolic meaning of cultural context of the author’s works. Contrary to a generally accepted view that the earth is round, spatial reality for the author turns out to be a planet which resembles a cake, a fl at surface, a desert, a kingdom and a bridge. The sky is seven crystal hemispheres, out lining the heavenly space with stars and planets fixed at each level. The space is represented by such geographical notions as East Asia, India, China, the river Nile. The author of the article supposes that India becomes for the writer the embodiment of our civilization at all times of mankind, another way to present man in the space of eternity, and a kind of life philosophy. The synthesis of pagan, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim and Christian ideas about man’s place in the world and his moral peace, happiness and overall love is represented by such symbols as angels, harpes, gehennr hell hrifony, dragons, percale books, lilies, honey, pythons, fl ags, birds, reptiles, saints, timpani, newts, tulips, furies, devils, Yuri’s sword, Yasmin and others.
12
Walker, Timothy D. "Contesting Sacred Space in the Estado da India: Asserting Cultural Dominance over Religious Sites in Goa." Ler História, no. 78 (June 22, 2021): 111–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.4000/lerhistoria.8618.
Full text
13
Shrotryia, Vijay Kumar, and Shashank Vikram Pratap Singh. "A Short History of India’s Economy: Pre- and Post-Independence Period." Economic and Regional Studies / Studia Ekonomiczne i Regionalne 13, no. 4 (December 1, 2020): 388–406. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/ers-2020-0029.
Full textAbstract:
Summary India is one of the most populated countries in the world and was famously known as the golden bird. It was known for its rich cultural heritage and some of the world’s most significant educational institutions. Over the countless decades and centuries, the invaders exploited the resources for their advantage. At the decline of the independence in 1947, it was left backward with one of the poorest economies of the world of that time. The richness of erstwhile India, the status of the golden bird, the sacred intellectual space that India occupied has only textual value for the present generation. Through this academic paper, an attempt has been made to address the following questions: what was the state of the economy of India during the pre- and post-independence period, how has India transformed herself from one of the most impoverished economies in 1947 to currently the third-largest economy in the world, and how is the current economic and non-economic status of India.
14
Shrotryia, Vijay Kumar, and Shashank Vikram Pratap Singh. "A Short History of India’s Economy: Pre- and Post-Independence Period." Economic and Regional Studies / Studia Ekonomiczne i Regionalne 13, no. 4 (December 1, 2020): 388–406. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/ers-2020-0029.
Full textAbstract:
SummaryIndia is one of the most populated countries in the world and was famously known as the golden bird. It was known for its rich cultural heritage and some of the world’s most significant educational institutions. Over the countless decades and centuries, the invaders exploited the resources for their advantage. At the decline of the independence in 1947, it was left backward with one of the poorest economies of the world of that time. The richness of erstwhile India, the status of the golden bird, the sacred intellectual space that India occupied has only textual value for the present generation. Through this academic paper, an attempt has been made to address the following questions: what was the state of the economy of India during the pre- and post-independence period, how has India transformed herself from one of the most impoverished economies in 1947 to currently the third-largest economy in the world, and how is the current economic and non-economic status of India.
15
Baul, Deepasri. "The Improbability of a Temple: Hindu Mobilization and Urban Space in the Delhi Shiv Mandir Agitation of 1938." Studies in History 36, no. 2 (August 2020): 230–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0257643020956624.
Full textAbstract:
The 1920s and 1930s were decades of intense religious polarization and violence in many parts of British India. These decades were also especially empowering ones for Hindu nationalist organizations in Delhi. So, it rankled Hindu leaders that Delhi’s built environment had a dearth of Hindu sacred structures to attest to their power, on account of the city’s past status as a Mughal capital. Instead, transitory spatial markers of local veneration made up its somewhat ephemeral Hindu sacred geography. The Shiv Mandir agitation of 1938 was a collective attempt by Hindu volunteers to forcibly occupy government land in a prominent arena of the city as a symbolic restitution of this historical inequality. The agitation itself had two parts—first, the occupation of a plot of land as a temple and, second, the aggregation of legal arguments supporting ownership of the plot for the Hindu public. By combining these two strategies, the Shiv Mandir agitation laid out the political and legal preconditions necessary for the production of a more conspicuous and enduring material landscape of organized Hindu religiosity in the city. Through this process, Hindu nationalist organizations consolidated themselves as the ultimate public custodians of temples and temple land. This was a powerful role that drew its prestige in good measure from control over prime urban property.
16
Bühnemann, Gudrun. "Tradition and Innovation: The Samādhi of Naraharināth Yogī in Mṛgasthalī (Nepal) in Historical Context." Journal of Hindu Studies 14, no. 1 (May 1, 2021): 59–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jhs/hiab012.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract In 2003 Naraharināth Yogī passed away at the Gorakhnāth Maṭha in Mṛgasthalī, a forested hill across from the sacred Paśupatināth temple in Kathmandu. Naraharināth was a prominent figure among the Nāth (sometimes called Kānphaṭā) Yogīs, a predominantly Śaiva ascetic movement in India and Nepal. Three years after his demise a memorial was inaugurated for him above the place where he was interred. The commemorative space, which has been expanding over the years, incorporates traditional features but is innovative in its layout. In this article I will trace the development of this single burial monument (samādhi) and compare it to the structures of other Nāth burials.
17
Jose, Alex Chembakassery, Puthoor Pattammal Sudhin, Prejith Madasseril Prasad, and Kalpuzha Ashtamoorthy Sreejith. "Spider Diversity in Kavvayi River Basin, Kerala, Southern India." Current World Environment 13, no. 1 (April 20, 2018): 100–112. http://dx.doi.org/10.12944/cwe.13.1.10.
Full textAbstract:
Kavvayi river basin is a typical lateritic biotope situated in the Northern part of Kerala, which holds various ecological units such as lateritic vegetation, agro-ecosystems, seasonal pools, Grass lands, Kanams, Sacred groves, Mangrove marsh and riparian vegetation. Many of these microhabitats are unique in character and poorly documented. A preliminary study was conducted to document the diversity of spider fauna inhabiting in the different ecosystems of Kavvayi river basins. India is having 1,686 species of spiders belonging to 60 families and 438 genera, which constitutes 3.6% of world’s spider population. The present study resulted in the documentation of 112 species of spiders belonging to 81 genera and 21 families. Araneidae was the most dominant family which constitutes 21.5% of the total spider species collected. The second dominant family was Salticidae which constitutes 19.5% of total spider population. Guild structure analysis of the collected spiders revealed seven feeding guilds, namely stalkers, orb web builders, ambushers, foliage runners, space web builders, ground runners and wandering sheet weavers. The spider fauna of this ecosystem is qualitatively rich due to varied microhabitats, which supports high floral and faunal diversity. The present study suggests a detailed investigation at ecosystem level to understand the role of spiders in ecosystem function.
18
Kakati, Nilam. "An Inquiry into the Role of Women in Pre-Ahom and Ahom Society with Special Focus on the Institution of Kamakhya." Current Research Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities 3, no. 2 (December 30, 2020): 291–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.12944/crjssh.3.2.15.
Full textAbstract:
The role of women in Pre- Ahom and Ahom society could be regarded in the broader environment within the ambit of sacred space dedicated to them. Kamakhya temple, situated near Guwahati, Assam is the most profound illustration of the sacred space of women. It is celebrated as one of the renowned centres of Tantra in India in general and Assam in particular. It has established itself not only as an eminent Tantric centre but also as a menstruating Goddess. However, menstruation has been treated as a taboo since the earliest times in various religious texts. It represented the image of impurity and pollution and was dubbed as hot and dangerous. However, in Kamakhya temple, annual menstruation of the goddess is celebrated as a festival. In June every year, Ambubachi Mela represents one of the chief celebrations of the temple. The paper attempts to analyze the theme of menstruation, placing it in the border context of Kamakhya. The article also highlights the unrestricted movement of women in the pre- Ahom and Ahom society owing to its characteristics of the tribal bearing. The study claims that the inherent dichotomy of pure-impure, auspicious- inauspicious becomes unfitting in the case of Kamakhya and her annual menstruation festival. This specifics could pave the way to identify the theme of menstruation as a lone entity beyond the dichotomy which might aid in offering a fresh understanding of the same. The study employs the mixed methodology of hermeneutics and feminist theology.
19
Haji A. Hamid, Rahimah, and Tarmiji Masron. "Marriage of the Disciplines of Literature and Geography (GIS): Analysing the Location and Function of Mountains in Selected Works of Asian Literature." Malay Literature 24, no. 1 (March 11, 2011): 130–58. http://dx.doi.org/10.37052/ml.24(1)no7.
Full textAbstract:
Mountains and hills (hereinafter referred to as mountains) are a special part of God’s creation. In addition to being mentioned in the Qur’an as being “bolts” of the Earth and water catchment areas, mountains are seen in a variety of religious and cultural traditions as being sacred and special places. There are thus many Asian literary works that boast of mountains existing in their locations. This paper seeks to examine why mountains are such an important element in the life of society by examining them in terms of their location and function. This study will use spatial information technologies such as Geographic Information System (GIS) to aid understanding of literary works, namely by taking the views of Harvey (1973) that “geographical space has a close relationship with the culture of a place”. Thus the location of an area will be linked to its function in terms of cultural space, social space, economic space, ideological space, and space movement. In this article, GIS will be used to map the location mountains that play a role in literary works to try to see the elements of space and the location of the mountain together with the cultural and narrative elements of the work. Among the literary works selected in which the location and function of these mountains will be observed are Sejarah Melayu (The Malay Annals), Hikayat Hang Tuah , Hikayat Seri Kelantan , Hikayat Seri Rama (Nusantara), Syakuntala (India), and Dewi Putih , as well as Liang Shan-Bo and Zhu Ying-Tai (China). Based on these works, it is found that mountains are important because they serve several functions such as the residence of rulers or spirits (ghosts, spirits, fairies); as a sacred place inhabited by the gods; as the source of the inheritance of kings; as places of study or for seeking spiritual and physical knowledge; as well as places that are rich in medicinal herbs. In the end, this essay shows that the nature of the mountains studied may explain the link between location and the culture of a certain race. Keywords : Geographic Information System, Sejarah Melayu , Global Positioning System, spirit, Asian Literature
20
ALAVI, SEEMA. "‘Fugitive Mullahs and Outlawed Fanatics’: Indian Muslims in nineteenth century trans-Asiatic Imperial Rivalries." Modern Asian Studies 45, no. 6 (May 12, 2011): 1337–82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0026749x11000266.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractThis paper follows the careers of ‘outlawed’ Indian Muslim subjects who moved outside the geographical and political space of British India and located themselves at the intersection of nineteenth century trans-Asiatic politics: Hijaz, Istanbul and the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire, and Burma and Acheh in the East. These areas were sites where ‘modern’ Empires (British, Dutch, Ottoman and Russian) coalesced to lay out a trans-Asiatic imperial assemblage. The paper shows how Muslim ‘outlaws’ made careers and carved out their transnational networks by moving across the imperial assemblages of the nineteenth century. British colonial rule, being an important spoke in the imperial wheel, enabled much of this transnationalism to weld together. Webs of connections derived from older forms of Islamic connectivity as well: diplomacy, kinship ties, the writing of commentaries on Islam and its sacred texts in unique ways, oral traditions, madrasa and student contacts. These networks were inclusive and impacted by the tanzimat-inspired scriptural reformist thought in the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire. They were not narrowly anti-colonial in tone as they derived from a complex inter-play of imperial rivalries in the region. Rather, they were geared towards the triumph of reformist Islam that would unite the umma (community) and engage with the European world order. The paper shows how this imperially-embedded and individual-driven Muslim transnational network linked with Muslim politics rooted within India.
21
P.J., Shyju, Iqbal Ahmad Bhat, Kathryn Myers, and Naresh Tanwar. "Local stakeholders’ perspectives on religious heritage and tourism development in Varanasi." International Journal of Tourism Cities 6, no. 3 (June 27, 2020): 529–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijtc-10-2019-0194.
Full textAbstract:
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the perspectives of local stakeholders on the role of religious tourism and the development process that alter the sacred space and religious heritage of Varanasi. Specific objectives include study local stakeholders' view on the motivation of visitors, the image of the city they carry home, role of infrastructure development altering sacredness of the city, major issues pertaining to conservation of the city's religious heritage and whether tourism dominates the sacred space of the city. Design/methodology/approach The present study follows the philosophical approach of constructionism and is an inductive study based on the ontological features of realism. The study is conducted using qualitative research design. Participants were purposely selected from different groups to provide representative data. through in-depth interviews with a set of 22 open-ended questions. Findings The study acknowledged the spatial changes happening in an old city over time. The portrayed image of Varanasi remains deeply rooted in the minds of pilgrims, whereas the tourist perspective often goes beyond the texts as an experience. The reflection of local stakeholders in the transformation of sacred space to tourist experiencescape as a consumable experience, which is influenced by market-driven forces is a major finding of the study. Research limitations/implications Difficulties in finalising the respondents and building up the theoretical base, which is one of the main limitations of the study. During the process of data collection, the respondents mainly focussed upon the impacts of tourism on Varanasi, and the researchers made every effort to extract qualitative information on the current research. At times, some respondents hesitated to share their view on political influences in the development process, which restricted the authors to obtain righteous information, that could have contributed a better understanding of the deep-rooted issues of religious heritage conservation. Another limitation is that the perspectives of visitors have not been included in this research. Practical implications The study will contribute to the theoretical areas of tourism development in historic and sacred cities. As an interdisciplinary area, the selected theme of the study delves in to landscape planning, heritage preservation, tourism development in historic cities and more importantly how residents understand the changes happening in a scared environment. The present research opens opportunities for further researches such as social pressures and tourism development, urban morphology and its transformation in ancient cities and so on. Social implications Varanasi is an ancient city in India, which is also the heartland of Hinduism. The study reveals the understanding of respondents on religious traditions, sentiments and the social values attached to a place. At the same time, it also highlights the role of tourism in generating an intercultural dialogue with local cultures, appreciating the sacred value of sites associated with religious sentiments. Originality/value The study addresses the role of tourism in altering the landscape of ancient city of Varanasi. The original view of respondents has been used in the article to maintain originality. There are several researches conducted on Varanasi, but the present study is conducted in a systematic way to gather the real understanding of local people. The study acknowledges the changes happening in the city along the course of time.
22
Kapuria, Radha. "National, modern, Hindu? The post-independence trajectory of Jalandhar’s Harballabh music festival." Indian Economic & Social History Review 55, no. 3 (June 21, 2018): 389–418. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0019464618778412.
Full textAbstract:
This article discusses the post-Independence trajectory of North India’s oldest extant classical music festival. Processes of modernisation and nationalisation transformed the Harballabh festival into a professionally organised concert, with little resemblance to the fair or ‘Rāg Melā’ it used to be. I demonstrate the tension between the ‘modernisation’ begun by Ashwini Kumar post-1948 and a subtle though unmistakable ‘Hinduisation’ championed by other middle-class organisers. Kumar’s attempts during the 1950s and 1960s to shape a new, disciplined audience, schooled in practices of rapt listening, were also in direct contrast to conceptions about ‘restive’ and rustic Punjabi audiences. The article raises larger questions about the cultural politics of music performance in postcolonial India by focusing on the shifting character of middle-class cultural patronage, the tussle between traditional and modern formats of music festival organisation and the complicated division of public space along secular/sacred axes.
23
Malji, Andrea. "People Don’t Want a Mosque Here: Destruction of Minority Religious Sites as a Strategy of Nationalism." Journal of Religion and Violence 9, no. 1 (2021): 50–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.5840/jrv202142086.
Full textAbstract:
Religious sites are often at the center of confrontation. Groups frequently clash over the structures and the historical narratives surrounding sacred spaces. Religious sites encompass deeply entrenched meanings for groups of all backgrounds. These spaces represent identity, tradition, history, family, and belief systems. For minority groups, their religious sites can help provide a sense of belonging and serve as a monument to their history in the community. Due to their symbolic importance, religious sites are also vulnerable to violence by outside groups. Destructive acts targeting religious architecture and symbols are common throughout the world, but are especially frequent in identity-based conflicts, such as in Bosnia. However, the study of these attacks and their relationship to nationalist movements, particularly in Asia, has not been adequately studied. This article examines the destruction of Islamic sites in three distinct countries and contexts: India, Myanmar, and Xinjiang, China. In each case, Muslims are religious minorities and face varying levels of persecution. This article argues that the destruction of religious spaces and symbols has been used both literally and symbolically to claim a space for the dominant group and assert a right to the associated territory. The elimination of Muslim sites is part of a broader attempt to engage in a historical revisionism that diminishes or vilifies Muslims belonging in the region.
24
Guéguen, Catherine. "Discontinuities and the Maintenance of Chinese Cemeteries in Kolkata (India) (印度加尔各答华人墓地的间断与维持)." Journal of Chinese Overseas 12, no. 2 (November 2, 2016): 315–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/17932548-12341331.
Full textAbstract:
In India, where migrations from mainland China are not constantly renewed, the Chinese cemeteries constitute the perennial elements of cultural transmission. As they build cemeteries for their community, these overseas-Chinese people inscribe the concrete references that they hold sacred in India, and no longer look to mainland China. We shall see that there are multiple reasons that explain the Chinese cemeteries’ location on the margins of the city. However, the places for the dead are the result of a long process, cultural and spatial, specific to how they were established in Kolkata and its suburbs. The cemetery constitutes in itself a space of adaptation and a space of practice; it reflects the anchoring of the Chinese in India. 在印度，来自中国大陆的移民浪潮经历了长久的间断，而华人墓地却不因中国移民的间断而逐渐消亡，反而成为华族文化传承的不间断载体。当海外华人为自己的社区建立墓地时，意味着他们决定扎根于印度而不再遥望中国作为落叶归根的想象家乡。华人将墓地设在城市边缘的原因众多。但是，地点的选择是一个冗长的、文化与空间局限交织作用的过程，尤其是如何将墓地设于加尔各答及其郊区内。墓地本身便是一个包含不断适应和实践的空间，它反映了华人在印度扎根繁衍的历史现象。 This article is in English.
25
Devi, Toijam Sarika, Bijoylaxmi Sarmah, K. N. Dewangan, and Neeraj Kumar Phookan. "In Search of a Blue Ocean in the Indian Wine Industry." South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases 10, no. 2 (August 2021): 218–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/22779779211028550.
Full textAbstract:
Naara-Aaba is an indigenous wine innovated by a woman who could predict a beautiful end to her vision of brewing wine from the sacred but exotic fruit kiwi. The brand was launched in 2017 at Hong village of Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh by Tage Rita Takhe; an engineer turned entrepreneur through her venture M/s Lambu Subu Food & Beverages. The brand was named after her late father-in-law lovingly known as ‘Naara’ and ‘Aaba’ meaning father. The motto of the company is to fight a social problem that wreaks havoc across the region, namely the suicides of thousands of farmers who cannot pay back their debt due to drought, poor harvest, and sometimes exacerbated by climate. Rita started her winery facing these hurdles and a field abundant in kiwi fruits. Despite facing many challenges such as lack of efficient production infrastructure, market connectivity, and minimum support from the government machinery, she has created a niche market in the wine industry. This case aims to establish the applicability of the Blue Ocean strategy by applying the tools to create an uncontested market space for Naara-Aaba, the first organic kiwi wine from the north-eastern states of India and second in the world after New Zealand. Research question: How to apply Blue Ocean strategy for the brand Naara-Aaba so that the competition becomes irrelevant? Theory: Blue Ocean theory Type of the case: Applied problem solving Basis of the case: Phenomenon-creating uncontested space in the market Protagonist: Present Findings: The findings revealed that implementing a Blue Ocean strategy will open up new uncontested market spaces for the brand to grow profitably. This case study shows how to apply Blue Ocean strategy for a wine brand. Discussion: Blue Ocean strategy advocates that by eliminating unnecessary attributes, reducing all features that pushes up the cost, raising utility, and creating higher value, a brand can redefine its market where competition is non-existent.
26
Dwijendra, Ngakan Ketut Acwin, Ida Bagus Idedhyana, Ngakan Putu Sueca, and Ida Bagus Wirawibawa. "Ornamental Variety of Garuda and Wilmana on Padmasana Architecture at Kahyangan Jagat Temple in Bali, Indonesia." International Journal of Engineering and Emerging Technology 5, no. 1 (July 27, 2020): 37. http://dx.doi.org/10.24843/ijeet.2020.v05.i01.p08.
Full textAbstract:
Garuda was known in prehistoric India, where his paintings were found in the Harappa (Sindhu River valley), then spread to all corners of the world affected by Indian civilization. Its head, beak and claws are eagles, the light of the gods shining from its body. While Wilmana as a picture of a space vehicle that moves beyond the speed of thought. Wilmana is also a worldwide character, presented in the world of the internet, film and games. Padmasana architecture is a sacred building as a place/position of God, on the back is often carved by the two kinds of decoration. This research about ornamental variety is research in the context of traditional architecture, as an exploration of building concepts that have been developed in the past and are useful to apply to contemporary architecture. This study aims to re-express the meaning of Garuda and Wilmana and how they are placed on Padmasana architecture. The steps taken are to record the Padmasana in the Kahyangan Jagat Temple in Bali, followed by comparing the use of these two types of decoration on each Padmasana. The next step is to interpret the meaning by connecting the object with its past (expanding the horizon of the researcher). The results of the study show that the use of Garuda and Wilmana decoration in the Padmasana architecture is not a necessity. The use of Garuda points to the message that humans must try to free themselves from the bondage of worldly passions. While the use of Wilmana refers to the sky vehicle that carries passengers, both Giant and Dewata to the place they want. Both are symbolic decoration types, have the same position, placed on the body behind the padmasana. The position of the two becomes different if applied together, Garuda is placed in a position above Wilmana, because only a soul that has been freed from worldly slavery can ride Garuda.
27
Hawasi, Hawasi. "Epistemology And The Problem Of Cultural Hybridity In Muhammad Iqbal’s Thought." Kanz Philosophia : A Journal for Islamic Philosophy and Mysticism 5, no. 2 (December 17, 2015): 99. http://dx.doi.org/10.20871/kpjipm.v5i2.137.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract : The hegemony of rational-positivistic paradigm of modern Western epistemology contributes greatly to the development of modern thought. The paradigm, so far, brings knowledge and science into mere instrumental goals. Scientism is the result of the paradigm which lost of its sacred as science. Therefore, it gets philosophical attack from both Western postmodern thinkers and indigenous scholars who already experienced Western colonialism and imperialism. One of the Moslem scholars who criticized the hegemony of Western thought to Islamic culture and civilization is Muhammad Iqbal. For Iqbal, for centuries, Muslim thinkers were unable to see Islam from Quran point of view because they perceive it from the eye of rational-speculative Greek philosophy. Islamic thinking had been under its hegemony for so long that need to be deconstructed. In the postcolonial perspective, Iqbal’s attempt to decolonize Western rational-speculative epistemology from Plato to Descartes found him in ambivalence. British colonialism experienced by Iqbal in India formed the hybrid culture in his project of reconstructing Islamic thought in relation to Western thought. Therefore, Iqbal’s attempt to bridge the gap between rational-speculative of Western thought and mystic- religious tendencies of Islamic thought is a process of seeking “the Third Space” through mimicry as consequence of cultural interaction between the colonizer and the colonized.Kata-kata Kunci: decolonization of epistemology, hybrid culture, Islamic epistemology, the Third Space. Abstrak : Hegemoni paradigma epistemologi Barat modern yang rasional positivistik berkontribusi besar terhadap perkembangan pemikiran modern. Paradigma tersebut sejauh ini, menggiring pengetahuan dan sains pada tujuan-tujuan yang bersifat instrumental. Saintisisme merupakan hasil dari paradigma positivistik tersebut yang kehilangan kesakralannya sebagai ilmu. Oleh karena itu paradigma ini mendapatkan serangan filosofis tidak hanya dari pemikir Barat pascamodernisme namun juga dari pemikir pribumi yang pernah mengalami penjajahan dan imperialisme Barat. Salah satu pemikir Muslim yang mengritik hegemoni pemikiran Barat terhadap kebudayaan dan peradaban Islam adalah Muhammad Iqbal. Bagi Iqbal, selama beberapa abad lamanya pemikir Muslim tidak mampu berfikir secara Qurani akibat cara pandang mereka yang melihat Islam dari kacamata filsafat Yunani yang cenderung hanya bersifat rasional-spekulatif. Pemikiran Yunani telah menghegemoni pemikiran Islam begitu lama sehingga perlu didekonstruksi. Dalam perspektif pasca kolonial (postcolonial), usaha Iqbal untuk mendekolonisasi epistemologi rasional-spekulatif Barat sejak Plato hingga Descartes, menghadapi sikap yang ambivalen. Pengalaman penjajahan Inggris di India yang pernah dialami Iqbal membentuk kultur hibrida dalam proyeknya merekonstruksi pemikiran Islam dalam kaitannya dengan pemikiran Barat. Dengan demikian, Iqbal mencoba menjembatani jurang antara pemikiran rasional- spekulatif Barat dengan kecenderungan mistik-religius pemikiran Islam sebagai upaya mencari “Ruang Ketiga” melalui mimikri sebagai konsekuensi dari interaksi budaya antara penjajah dan terjajah.Kata-Kata Kunci: dekolonisasi epistemologi, budaya hibrida, epistemologi Islam, Ruang Ketiga.
28
Jaganmohan, Madhumitha, Lionel Sujay Vailshery, Seema Mundoli, and Harini Nagendra. "Biodiversity in sacred urban spaces of Bengaluru, India." Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 32 (May 2018): 64–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2018.03.021.
Full text
29
Vyrschikov, Ye G. "Ancient Indian chronotope in Pali and Sanskrit sources." Orientalistica 3, no. 4 (December 28, 2020): 1097–113. http://dx.doi.org/10.31696/2618-7043-2020-3-4-1097-1113.
Full textAbstract:
The author analyses the chronotope problem in the Ancient Indian texts written in Sanskrit (“Manu-Smriti”, “Arthashastra”, “Ramayana”, “Brihadaranyaka-Upanishad”) and Pali (“Simavisodhani”) languages. The “chronotope” is a category introduced by the Soviet scholar Mikhail Bakhtin (1895–1975). This category describes how configurations of time and space are represented in language and discourse. In particular, the author analyses the problem of the ideas of space regarding the “country” and “Kingdom” categories. The research has yielded two main results. In the first instance, the so-called “sacred space” in the ancient Indian texts is always represented in form of a square (or rectangle). It is similar to what is called a Vastu-mandala in the Vastu-Vidya, the traditional science of building and construction. In the second instance, thе so-called “sacred space” in the ancient Indian texts written in Sanskrit and Pali is associated with a set of heterogeneous phenomena: space, socium, time, etc. In a similar passage taken from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad the author discovers a remarkable phenomenon. In describing the spatial reality, the number of times where one refers to the category of “time” is higher than that, which refers to the spatial category. This fact invites a conclusion: in ancient Indian culture, the categories of space and time are inseparable and always go together. Therefore, the ancient Indian culture definitively included a category of the chronotope. As a result of this discovery one should not any longer take into consideration the common topic of the “ atemporal” character of the ancient Indian culture.
30
Logan Wagner, E. "The Continuity of Sacred Urban Open Space: Facilitating the Indian Conversion to Catholicism in Mesoamerica." Religion and the Arts 18, no. 1-2 (2014): 61–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685292-01801005.
Full textAbstract:
During the sixteenth century, the Spanish crown sent Mendicant friars of the Franciscan, Dominican, and Augustinian monastic orders to evangelize and convert the indigenous people of America. With huge populations to convert, spread over an extremely vast territory, a limited number of friars had to find expedient ways to facilitate the conversion effort. Among the many conversion strategies used by the Mendicant friars under the early guidance of Fray Pedro de Gante were: to locate places of Christian worship over or near native ceremonial centers and continue the use of ceremonial open urban space; the incorporation of native religious rituals deemed compatible with Catholic liturgy such as processions, music, art, and dance; the creation of new architectural forms and open urban spaces to provide a setting for these rituals; and the substitution of native rituals for Catholic ceremonies including adjusting native and Catholic ritual calendric dates. Based on recent architectural field surveys and ethnographic documentation, this research focuses on the architectural and urban space adaptations that the missionary friars undertook to facilitate conversion efforts.
31
Kumar, Ashish. "Book review: Susan Verma Mishra and Himanshu Prabha Ray (Eds), The Archaeology of Sacred Spaces: The Temple in Western India, 2nd century BCE–8th century CE." Journal of Heritage Management 3, no. 1 (June 2018): 122–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2455929618773273.
Full textAbstract:
Susan Verma Mishra and Himanshu Prabha Ray (Eds), The Archaeology of Sacred Spaces: The Temple in Western India, 2nd century bce–8th century ce. London and New York, NY: Routledge, First South Asian edition, 2017, xii+ 283 pp., ₹850 (hardback), ISBN: 978-1-138-21964-9.
32
Yeoh, Brenda S. A. "The Control of “Sacred” Space: Conflicts Over the Chinese Burial Grounds in Colonial Singapore, 1880–1930." Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 22, no. 2 (September 1991): 282–311. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022463400003891.
Full textAbstract:
In traditional societies, a sense of the “sacred” is often inherent in the form of the urban built-environment, which, in turn, cannot be understood apart from the “mythical-magical concern with place”. According to Mircea Eliade, the act of settlement itself is perceived as a re-enactment of the mythical creation of the world. Ancient Indian cities were designed according to a mandala replicating a cosmic image of the laws governing the universe and, similarly, Chinese cities were conceived as “cosmo-magical symbols” of the universe. These cities were laid out as terrestrial images of the macrocosmos, distinct spaces sacralized for habitation within a continuum of profane space.
33
Geary, David, and Kiran Shinde. "Buddhist Pilgrimage and the Ritual Ecology of Sacred Sites in the Indo-Gangetic Region." Religions 12, no. 6 (May 26, 2021): 385. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel12060385.
Full textAbstract:
In contemporary India and Nepal, Buddhist pilgrimage spaces constitute a ritual ecology. Not only is pilgrimage a form of ritual practice that is central to placemaking and the construction of a Buddhist sacred geography, but the actions of religious adherents at sacred centers also involve a rich and diverse set of ritual observances and performances. Drawing on ethnographic research, this paper examines how the material and corporeal aspects of Buddhist ritual contribute to the distinctive religious sense of place that reinforce the memory of the Buddha’s life and the historical ties to the Indian subcontinent. It is found that at most Buddhist sites, pilgrim groups mostly travel with their own monks, nuns, and guides from their respective countries who facilitate devotion and reside in the monasteries and guest houses affiliated with their national community. Despite the differences across national, cultural–linguistic, and sectarian lines, the ritual practices associated with pilgrimage speak to certain patterns of religious motivation and behavior that contribute to a sense of shared identity that plays an important role in how Buddhists imagine themselves as part of a translocal religion in a globalizing age.
34
Santiago, Amitha. "NURTURING ABSTRACTIONS OF THE NATION IN RELIGIO-CULTURAL IDENTITY ASSERTIONS AND SPACES OF GENEROSITY IN SUFI DARGHAS OF KARNATAKA." International Journal of Interreligious and Intercultural Studies 1, no. 1 (October 1, 2018): 85–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.32795/ijiis.vol1.iss1.2018.33.
Full textAbstract:
Socio-political reality is often brought into being through performative acts. To say that religio-cultural identity stakes its claim on the socio-political through performative utterances is to also state that socio-political realities appear as effects of articulated ideology. It has been well acknowledged that socio-political ideology presents itself as if it were offering some ‘deeper, extra political truths’ of being and becoming that are constant. This brings forth a believing community, which functions as a stabilizing occurrence for these ‘deeper, extra political truths’ of being and becoming. Assertions of essential religio-cultural identity constitute one such discursive practice that brings into effect communities that nurture binarizing abstractions such as what it is to be ‘Indian’, the idea of who is a ‘Hindu’ and the notion of nationalism that elects an umbilical connect to the Hindu Vedic lineage. It is to understand the processes that are involved in the crafting of these extra political truths of being and becoming, to examine whether these truths are in fact extra political, and to come to an understanding of how the believing communities which are effected preserve an abstraction of pure national identity that this study engages shared sacred spaces that have been claimed by Hindu right-wing assertionists in India. In such an effort, the juxtaposition-ality of these shared sacred spaces of grace that harbor a substratum of generosity and sharing, marks the essentializing procedures of right wingers and their aggressive mining for a pure Indianness. Except that the ground they mine is amorphous.
35
Ghosh, Banhishikha. "Invigorating and Reinventing Sacred Space: Hijra and Non-Hijra Relationships in a Dargah." Indian Journal of Gender Studies 28, no. 2 (March 17, 2021): 209–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0971521521997963.
Full textAbstract:
The article juxtaposes the lived realities and perceptions of a hijra gharana connected to a dargah (shrine of a revered religious figure belonging to the Sufi tradition) in a North Indian city, Narayanpura. It addresses how a hijra community interacts and develops interpersonal relationships with their non-hijra neighbours, devotees and shopkeepers, thereby engendering hijra selfhood. The potent element of symbolism enunciated through mythology, rituals and festivals becomes pertinent in constructing and authenticating the hijra identity. Concomitantly, the spiritual pursuits of these groups are intertwined with their material interests in constructing their complex universe. The monument provides a site where shared connotations for each section of people connected to the dargah, hailing from different cultural, religious and gender orientations, are invigorated. The dargah is, therefore, not only part of the religious system, but it is a system in itself. Data for this article have been accumulated through limited participant observation, unobstructed conversations and narratives of the interlocutors.
36
Bijukumar, V. "When Religious Faith Mutilates Gender Equality: Women Entry in Sabarimala Temple in Kerala." ANTYAJAA: Indian Journal of Women and Social Change 4, no. 2 (December 2019): 238–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2455632719880857.
Full textAbstract:
The brewing controversy over allowing entry of women of all age groups into the hill shrine of Ayyappa in Kerala polarized public opinion on women’s equal access to sacred spaces and the perpetuation of tradition in places of worship. Protagonists of gender equality claim that the restriction is as an attack on women’s right to access sacred places and a violation of Article 14 (right to equality) and Article 25(2) of the Indian Constitution which guarantees the right to religious freedom to all, thereby allowing irrationality to creep into the most literate society in the country. Critics protesting against the entry argue that it is against the centuries-old-practices-defined customs. According to them, women’s entry would pollute the temple and the celibate nature of Ayyappa should be protected.
37
Low, Michael Christopher. "EMPIRE AND THE HAJJ: PILGRIMS, PLAGUES, AND PAN-ISLAM UNDER BRITISH SURVEILLANCE, 1865–1908." International Journal of Middle East Studies 40, no. 2 (May 2008): 290a. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0020743808080884.
Full textAbstract:
During the late 19th century, British supremacy in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean basin increasingly brought the hajj under the surveillance and regulation of non-Muslim powers. With the development of steamship travel and the opening of the Suez Canal came rapid growth in the number of oceangoing pilgrims. Colonial authorities eventually identified the steamship-era hajj as both a conduit for the spread of epidemic diseases, such as cholera and plague, and a critical outlet for the growth of Pan-Islamic networks being forged among Indian dissidents, pilgrims, and the Ottoman Empire. As a result, the British and Ottoman empires engaged in a contestation of sacred space in which the stakes ranged from suzerainty over the Hijaz and the administration of the hajj to even larger questions of hegemony in the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and even dār al-Islām as a whole
38
Gopinath, Swapna. "Heterotopic Assemblages within Religious Structures: Ganesh Utsav and the Streets of Mumbai." Open Cultural Studies 3, no. 1 (February 1, 2019): 96–106. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/culture-2019-0009.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Indian urban public spaces have witnessed massive transformation post liberalization and globalization. In 2017, city spaces offer novel experiences and unravel new political dynamics in tune with the paradigm shifts in socio-political, economic and cultural domains. The city was shaped by the colonial and later modernizing forces, is being foregrounded in the postmodern, postcolonial discourses, and its public spaces therefore emerge as significant components in the social developments as witnessed in the new millennium. Ganesh Utsav in Mumbai is closely linked to India’s history of political struggle against British colonialism. There has been a phenomenal growth in its popularity and visibility, as a festival for ten days, encapsulating the whole city, transforming its identity as a financial capital of the country to a multiple layered carnival ground, with processions and festivities involving the majority of its population. Post globalization and neoliberalisation, the festival has transformed itself, assumed an identity uniquely political along with the rise of the right wing to power. My paper will be an attempt to critically evaluate this festival and the paraphernalia of sacredness that encapsulates the city space for ten days every year. While the spatial identity of religious practices is fascinating to observe, the ten-day festival of Ganesh Utsav builds a fabric of the sacred and profane across the city. The theoretical tool used in this study is Foucault’s heterotopias and Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of assemblage. The de/re-territorialising aspects of these spaces will also be examined.
39
Elizabeth, K. Mary. "Performing the Elements in Indian Eco-Theatre: Deepan Sivaraman’s The Legends of Khasak." Modern Drama 64, no. 2 (June 2021): 218–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/md.64.2.1115.
Full textAbstract:
This article considers The Legends of Khasak, a Malayalam play by Deepan Sivaraman, as a landmark Indian eco-theatrical production. I argue for the play as an important development in a nascent Indian eco-theatre, telling an ecologically significant tale about the relationship between humans and nature through performative and scenographic innovations that transform the theatrical space into a sacred grove, a place of deep significance in terms of ecological balance. This essay elaborates on how the play celebrates the pancha bhutas, the five elements of nature, by displaying their agency and invoking the pancha indriyas, or the five pathways of human perception, and thereby awakening an awareness of our status as ecological beings enmeshed in the non-human world. In The Legends of Khasak, Sivaraman has evolved an eco-material aesthetics of performance that, influenced by traditional folk performance forms and rituals and post-independence syncretic theatre, makes a lasting contribution to the development of an Indian eco-drama.
40
McMillan, Michael. "Dub in the Front Room: Migrant Aesthetics of the Sacred and the Secular." Open Cultural Studies 3, no. 1 (February 1, 2019): 184–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/culture-2019-0017.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract This article aims to explore, how the struggle over the sacred and the secular is enacted within the material culture of the front room as an index of the double consciousness that takes place in the black every day. The scared is often reduced to the purely religious, but unshackling it, and engaging with the sacred as a spectrum of spiritual experience that illuminates its dialogic relationship with the political, and therefore the secular. Reclaiming the sacred provides a critical praxis towards decolonising the legacy of coloniality in the context of postcolonial modernity. As a cultural institution of self-making, valorising the material culture of the front room as a space of black interiority resists the racist trope that we live on the street, and have no homes to go to, with families and values. This interiority has shaped, and been shaped by the cultural politics of postwar Caribbean migration, and reveals the rich complexity of “black domestic life” that the “generality of society” rarely understands. Connecting the spiritual with the political provides a psychic recuperation towards resisting and healing from trauma as a process in an ongoing structuring of colonial power, cultural imperialism, and racial violence. This article will draw on research in curating my installation-based exhibitions, The West Indian Front Room (2005-06) and Rockers, Soulheads and Lovers: Sound Systems Back in da Day (2015-16).
41
Shenar, Gabriele. "Indian-Jewish Shrine Hopping in Israel." Journeys 20, no. 1 (August 1, 2019): 98–129. http://dx.doi.org/10.3167/jys.2019.200106.
Full textAbstract:
Focusing on the aesthetic, moral, and affective economies of one-day multisite pilgrimage tours of Indian-Jewish Israelis to the tombs of tzaddikim (“righteous persons”) as well as venerated sites of biblical figures in Israel, the article explores how the neoliberal idea of entrepreneurial competitiveness assists in mobilizing and sustaining culturally valued moral and aesthetic inclinations. Furthermore, it foregrounds the “multisensoriality” of religiously defined practice, emotion, and belief and their role in the production of an Indian-Jewish ambiance and the narratives that it elicits. Clearly, throughout their pilgrimage, Indian-Jewish Israelis carve out their own spaces in which they author the sacred sites and cultural landscapes that they visit through aesthetic engagement, embodied ritual, and, more generally, sensory enactment. However, in order to achieve the desired ambiance, Indian-Jewish pilgrims must to some extent become entrepreneurs or consumers in Israel’s flourishing market of folk veneration both with regard to homegrown and imported saintly Jewish figures.
42
S. R., Maneesha, P. Vidula, V. A. Ubarhande, and E. B. Chakurkar. "Astrologically Designed Medicinal Gardens of India." International Journal of Bio-resource and Stress Management 12, no. 2 (April 30, 2021): 108–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.23910/1.2021.2165.
Full textAbstract:
Herbs and horoscopes have played important roles in ancient human life. Vedic astrology describes nine grahas (planets), 12 rashis (zodiacs) and 27 nakshatras (stars/ constellations). It was believed that every person should plant and take care of the tree, animal or bird assigned to his/ her rashi/ nakshatra to please the ruling deity. The concept says that the position of these bodies at the time of birth or their movement in the celestial globe has influence on humans. Our ancestors established navagraha/ rashi/ nakshatra vatika or van near sacred places with representative plants to worship and ensure good health. Most of these representative plants are rare medicinal tree species, which emphasize our ancestors’ forevision to conserve these genetic resources ex situ to share its medicinal uses with the preceding generation. These tree species are rich in secondary metabolites such as antioxidants, alkaloids, saponins, flavanoids, terpenes, and tannins and are widely used in traditional treatment systems. It is proven that these plant species release more oxygen compared to other species and hence sitting near these trees generate positive energy. The phytochemistry and pharmacological significance of these species have been proven by scientific research by modern science. Therapeutic, industrial and cosmetic relevance of these trees are being exploited in various parts of the world. Conservation of these species in navagraha/ rashi/ nakshatra vatikas established in urban spaces can refresh the minds of city dwellers by ensuring greenery and enriching biodiversity.
43
Wario, Halkano Abdi. "Reforming Men, Refining Umma: Tablīghī Jamā‛at and Novel Visions of Islamic Masculinity." Religion and Gender 2, no. 2 (February 19, 2012): 231–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/18785417-00202004.
Full textAbstract:
Tablīghī Jamā‛at, a pietistic movement run by laypeople that originated in India is currently the most widespread Muslim missionary group worldwide. It is essentially men-oriented in terms of its main target for proselytization and organization. Spaces of proselytization are mosques, sacred spaces frequented by men, and the home, a place of reinforcement of ‘lifestyle evangelism’ dominated by women. The group has been described as anti-intellectualist, apolitical, docile, otherworldly, and a front for militant groups. Based on recent ethnographic research in northern Kenya, the paper explores two main thematic questions: What does it take to be a Tablīghī man? Does emerging Tablīghī masculinity embolden or reconfigure gender/patriarchal relations? The paper posits that the movement provides social mobility for non-‘ulamā men in an alternative religious hierarchy but also lays the foundation for the emergence of a transnational practice of Islamic masculinity that appropriates the different local versions of being and becoming a man.
44
Dallman, Suzanne, Deborah Thien, Paul Laris, and Mary Ngo. "Reinterpreting Traditional Cultural Properties: A Political Ecology of Emotion Perspective." Human Geography 7, no. 2 (July 2014): 29–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/194277861400700203.
Full textAbstract:
Interpretations of traditional cultural properties in the context of cultural resource management in the US demonstrate little understanding of, or concern for, the affective ecologies of landscapes. Institutional approaches to land development and resource management favor meanings and practices of the dominant culture and political structure that have often had devastating consequences for others, particularly American Indian tribes. In Northern California, Winnemem Wintu ancestral lands along the McCloud River were flooded in 1944 when the Shasta Dam was completed for the federal Central Valley Project. In the late 1990s, the US Bureau of Reclamation began investigating a proposal to raise Shasta Dam to increase water storage capacity, which would flood remaining Winnemem sacred and cultural sites. In Southern California, ancestral territories of the Tongva people were threatened by a proposed commercial development on a university campus in Long Beach in 1992. In each case, the proposed projects would destroy significant sacred spaces, which offer deep emotional connections crucial to maintaining tribal cultural identity and ancestral memories. Through these two case studies, we utilize a “political ecology of emotion” perspective to examine the emotional geographies associated with these ancestral landscapes and sacred sites, and related struggles against hegemonic approaches to cultural resource management. We argue that these intimate links between emotion, memory, identity, and place allow an opportunity for reevaluating institutional approaches to cultural resource management, and the meaning of traditional cultural properties.
45
Anupriya, A., and M. Mahima Sophia. "Anatomical study of sacral hiatus in South Indian population and its clinical significance in caudal epidural anaesthesia." National Journal of Clinical Anatomy 03, no. 03 (July 2014): 128–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1055/s-0039-3401751.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Background: Caudal anaesthesia is administered into the epidural space through Sacral Hiatus(SH). Hence reliability and success of caudal epidural anaesthesia depends upon the anatomical knowledge of sacral hiatus. Aim: The aim is to study the morphological measurements and variations of structures around the sacral hiatus and to identify possible anatomical reasons for failure of caudal epidural anaesthesia (CEA). Materials and methods: Fifty three dry adult sacral bones of both sexes were measured using Vernier Caliper, scale and divider. The shape of sacral hiatus (SH) was observed and its length and breadth were measured. The measurements were focused on sacral hiatus and its relation with surrounding bony projections. Results: The shape of the sacral hiatus showed a maximum occurrence of inverted 'V' and 'U' shapes with 35.85% and 26.42% respectively. The level of apex of SH was maximum at S4 foramen level in 68.63% cases followed by S5 and S3 level. In 62.26%, the level of base was observed at S5 level . The average length of the sacral hiatus was 23.02(± 8.95 mm), APdiameter was 5.49 (±l.44 mm) and base of SH was 14.6 (± 3.99 mm). The distance from apex and base of SH to S2 foramen level was 31.07 mm and 52.86 mm respectively. Conclusion: The anatomical knowledge of SH is very much necessary to increase the reliability and success of CEA. Surrounding bony irregularity, different shapes of hiatus and defect in dorsal wall of sacral canal should be taken into consideration before undertaking CEA so as to avoid its failure.
46
Ghosh, Ranjusri. "Newly Discovered Śaiva-Ascetic Icons from West Bengal." Archives of Asian Art 71, no. 1 (April 1, 2021): 93–122. http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/00666637-8866689.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Koṭivarṣa, a sacred place and an administrative unit that is mentioned in early medieval Indian religious and epigraphic sources from 700 to 1200 ce, is the area of focus of this essay. As an administrative unit, it was almost coterminous with the old Dinajpur district of Bengal, which is now divided into the present Indian state of West Bengal and Bangladesh. At one point in time, its headquarters came to be known as Devīkoṭa, underscoring its rise as a prime place for Devī, the Mother goddess. Sculptural arrays of the Mother goddess from this place point to the domineering presence of her fearsome principles; they parallel textual descriptions about the sacred importance of a wrathful form of the Mother, normally referred to as Cāmuṇḍā. The religious texts, however, do not speak of the ascetics who might have performed the rituals to propitiate the Mother. We do not yet know if any new dimension was added to the corpus of rituals, and the Śiva-Śakti power equation after the Saiddhāntika Śaiva preceptors affiliated with Golagī great monastery of Durvāsas lineage entered Devīkoṭa at the end of the tenth century. This essay searches for answers in the visual elements on the lower registers of stone steles, such as the devotees/donors, other individuals in the service of the Mother Goddess, potfuls of offerings, and the environment of cremation grounds in which worship took place. The main deity and associated figures occupying the larger space in the middle of the steles have tantric content. Icons of Śaiva ascetics from West Bengal, including the three newly discovered examples, are important subjects for this essay, which concludes with the transformation of Devīkoṭa to Bangarh, where Śiva emerged as the chief god par excellence. The Devī had lost her koṭa, her bastion, forever.
47
Kucukcan, Talip. "Religion and Locality Conference." American Journal of Islam and Society 15, no. 4 (January 1, 1998): 151–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.35632/ajis.v15i4.2151.
Full textAbstract:
A two-day (September 8-10, 1998) international conference, “Religionand Locality,” took place at Leeds University, organized by the Departmentof Theology and Religious Studies. The conference participants addressedvarious emerging issues related to the relationship between religion andlocality, religious mapping of a locality, and the effects of globalization onlocal manifestations of religious practices, ideas, and movements.The first day of the conference was opened by a lengthy discussion in anagenda-setting session led by Kim Knott and Haddon Willmer (both ofUniversity of Leeds, UK). Knott and Willmer raised important theoreticalquestions in the study of religion and locality. They argued that localitycannot always be confined to a physically identified place, for a shared culturealso constitutes a form of locality. Addressing methodological issues,Knott and Willmer stated that anthropology, sociology, geography, history,as well as religious studies can provide insightful approaches and usefultheoretical perspectives to explore different aspects of religion and locality.Conference participants contributed to the agenda-setting session with anumber of suggestions. For example, it was suggested that the study ofconcepts such as diaspora, state, and citizenship might refme approaches tominority religions, which are often seen as monolithic and as fixing beliefsystems. It was also suggested that new religious movements, contextualand situational factors, and sacred on the cyberspace should also be takeninto consideration, as well as global and international developments, for nolocality is isolated from external encounters in the information age.Following the closure of agenda setting, Michael Pye (University ofMarburg, Germany) gave a paper, “Religious localization in Sacred andSecular Space.” Pye argued that religious focus and pathways are intertwinedwith social realities. Religious focusing takes place within a secular/general space. Drawing upon his observations on Indian, Japanese, andancient Egyptian religions, he drew attention to the influence of secular and ...
48
Haynes, Maren. "Heaven, Hell, and Hipsters." Ecclesial Practices 1, no. 2 (October 10, 2014): 207–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/22144471-00102002.
Full textAbstract:
Mars Hill pastor Mark Driscoll attracts unconventional churchgoers. Hipster youth ages 18–25 comprise the core of the church’s 12,000+ weekly attendees – surprising, amid Driscoll’s controversial promotion of strict gender binaries and fundamentalist theology. Furthermore, the Pacific Northwest boasts the country’s lowest rate of church affiliation (Killen 2004). How, in this so-called ‘religious none-zone,’ has Mars Hill grown rapidly among young adults? I suggest only a portion of Mars Hill’s regional growth relies on content preached in the pulpit. Using ritual theory (Collins 2008) and non-linguistic semiotics (Turino 2008), I posit a connection between Mars Hill’s music ministry and Seattle’s vibrant indie guitar rock scene. By identifying Mars Hill’s mimicry of local concert culture aesthetics, I argue that secular ritual in a sacred space has created a potent ritual environment (Sylvan 2002), contributing massively to the church’s appeal among a majority “unchurched” demographic.
49
Rizvi, Sajjad H. "Indian Sufism since the Seventeenth Century." American Journal of Islam and Society 25, no. 3 (July 1, 2008): 129–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.35632/ajis.v25i3.1457.
Full textAbstract:
Based on his doctoral dissertation submitted to the University of London,the present book is a wonderful study of the Sufis ofAurangabad (and, moregenerally, in the Deccan realms of Hyderabad’s Nizams) and their consequentlegacy in independent India. Green builds upon earlier research on theMuslim Deccan undertaken by Carl Ernst (Sufism at Khuldabad, which isadjacent to Aurangabad) and Richard Eaton (Sufis of Bijapur) and brings tothe fore insights from religious studies on the nature of holy men and theirinteraction with politics, words, and worlds.The Deccan has a rich Muslim heritage: Persianate from the fourteenthcentury and then dominated by the Mughals and their successor states fromthe end of the seventeenth century. This heritage also accounts for the significanceof Sufis and their shrines in the region: theAurangabad shrines are animportant facet of this landscape, and this book is a welcome introduction tothem. Green also furthers the theoretical position of Ernst and Eaton: the centralityof the cult of saints for Sufism means that the studies should focus onshrines as “realms of the saint.” Sufism is thus not merely about masters anddisciples or obscure and metaphysical arguments about gnosis, enlightenmentand themarvellous; rather, it concerns sacred spaces and geographies ofspiritual vitality and currency centered on the saints’ shrines.Starting fromAurangzeb’s conquest of the Deccan and establishment ofhis capital at Aurangabad (the former Khirki of the Nizam Shahs) and followingthrough to the legacy of the Panchakki shrine in the 1990s, Green’swork comprises five chapters that weave together an incisive textual analysisof Persian and Urdu sources, readings of architecture as repositories ofSufi text, and fieldwork among Aurangabad’s Sufis ...
50
KASTURI, MALAVIKA. "‘Asceticising’ Monastic Families: Ascetic Genealogies, Property Feuds and Anglo-Hindu Law in Late Colonial India." Modern Asian Studies 43, no. 5 (September 2009): 1039–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0026749x08003843.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractThis paper examines a fundamental premise of Anglo-Hindu law on succession between 1860 and 1940, that kinship was emblematic of secular modes of living, to analyse its implications for the assertion of masculinity within ascetic orders in northern India. Legal discourses engaged with rights to succession within ascetic orders, by functioning on the assumption that the renunciatory life of ascetics was antithetical to sexuality and domesticity. This institutionalization of law, that defined asceticism and fixed ascetic masculinities within a legal frame, occurred with the consent of ascetic orders concerned with the ownership and distribution of property, even though sexuality and gender played a central role in shaping relationships within sacred spaces. Myriad ties embracing the language of kinship shaped ascetic orders. Bonds of sentiment and sexual attachment over-lapped with, sustained, and produced the bonds tying spiritual preceptors to their disciples. Relationships within ascetic families, consisting of men, their female companions, children and relatives, along with their attendant obligations were validated through rights of ownership and inheritance to property. Taking advantage of Anglo-Hindu law by the early twentieth century, ascetic orders sought to ‘purify’ their genealogies through the medium of property disputes fought in colonial courts. By manipulating the legal meanings ascribed to asceticism, masculinity and renunciation, these orders effaced unwanted members from their orders with varying degrees of success, especially women and children.