Anthropological literature on religion and magic
Individual Documents
Description:
"Buddhist Bamah living on the plains of the the Ayeyawadi River?s middle reaches
formed what can be called the ?Burmasphere” through cultural exchanges with other ethnic
or religious groups in the surrounding area. In the Burmasphere, people adhere to the
absolute superiority of Theravada Buddhism and conduct a variety of religious practices
such as spirit worship, Brahmanism, and witchcraft.
This paper considers the relationship between gender and religious practices, focusing
on spirit worship in the Burmasphere and cases from rural communities in Upper Burma.
Regarding spirit worship and gender, Brac de la Perrière showed how the feminine
dimensions of spirit mediumship involve not only Burmese gender construction, but also
the Burmese construction of difference and how it is encoded in the hierarchical system
[Brac de la Perrière 2007].
This article will focus on the spirit ritual for the ?Spirits of Tradition” (mizain hpazain
nat or miyohpala nat) held in a village in Upper Burma, which is not necessarily needed a
help of spirit mediums, as Spiro called a ?simple and essentially private ritual”..."
IIKUNI Yukako
Source/publisher:
The Journal of Sophia Asian Studies, No. 32, 2014... 上智アジア学 第32 号2014 年 目次 ...Burma Studies in Japan: History, Culture and Religion
Date of publication:
2014-12-27
Date of entry/update:
2015-09-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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pdf
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1022.01 KB
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Description:
Introduction: "Myanmar
has
had
the
prosperous
religion,
traditional,
and
other
forms
of
culture
in
their
ways
of
life.
Regarding
of
the
religion,
the
long-‐standing
and
extensive
belief
in
holy
and
tutelary
spirits
(Nat)
among
Myanmese
could
be
generally
cited
as
the
Myanmar?s
tradition
prior
the
Theravada.
Then
Buddhism
has
become
to
the
official
faith
since
King
Anawrahta
of
Bagan
dynasty
instituted
Theravada?
a
school
of
Buddhism?
to
be
the
principal
religion
in
11th
century.
Like
Myanmar,
other
societies
in
Southeast-‐Asia
and
all
where
the
ancient
belief
and
religion
is
respected
and
followed
by
those
local
people.
Among
the
several
Myanmar
primitive
cults,
this
article
would
like
to
raise
the
topic
of
the
existence
of
colorful
ritual
which
fully
contains
of
high
respect;
Nat
and
Nat
Kadaw
(spirit
and
spirit
medium).
Actually,
this
traditional
belief
has
been
gradually
illustrated
by
the
scholars
in
different
aspects,
the
classic
one
was
written
by
the
American
anthropologist;
Melford
E.
Spiro
(1967).
Three
decades
later,
the
specifically
ritual
book
about
the
well-‐known
Myanmar
local
festival
was
completed
by
Yves
Rodrigue
(1995)
and
other
views
such
as
the
intensive
of
this
ritual,
spirit
and
spirit
medium
have
been
still
described
by
Bénédicte
Brac
de
la
Perrière
(2009)
and
the
other
authors.
This
attractive
cult,
however,
has
still
remained
interesting
phenomenon
because
the
existence
of
the
local
be
lief
and
rite
has
closely
been
in
Myanmese
ways
of
life
from
Buddhism
belief,
strict
Buddhists
and
non-‐Buddhist
alliances.
In
addition,
some
interesting
aspects
are
that
how
the
Myanmar?s
socio-‐economic
changing
into
the
modern
society
effects
to
their
local
belief
and
spirit
worship,
how
their
social
transition
would
affect
to
the
people
appealing,
and
how
the
Nat
Kadaws
play
their
roles
and
have
relations
under
this context.".....Paper delivered at the International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-26 July 2015.
Patchareepan Ravangban
Source/publisher:
International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-26 July 2015
Date of publication:
2015-07-26
Date of entry/update:
2015-08-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
The Nats, Religion in Burma - general, Anthropological literature on religion and magic, International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies (ICBMS) 23-26 July, 2015
Language:
English
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pdf
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184.13 KB
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Description:
Conclusion:
"In both Burma and Thailand the debate is far from over. While both the idealists and the pragmatists agree that the principal aim of the monastic education systems should be to train monks in the Dhamma and Vinaya, the two sides cannot agree whether or not steps should be taken to help fulfil some educational needs of the society by bringing in some secular subjects in monastic schools.
Today, in Burma, the curricula for the various monastic examinations focus exclusively, also narrowly, from the very beginning on the study of Pali and the TipiTaka. No English, mathematics, geography, philosophy nor history are included because they are considered secular subjects.[24] As a result, even educated monks find it difficult to relate the dhamma to lay people?s lives.
In Thailand, too, the main curricula, such as the nak tham and the Pali parian, have remained exclusively religious. Although, since 1970 there has been a new curriculum, called sai saman suksa (lit. general way of education)[25], which combines the religious and the secular, it does seem this curriculum has been forced on the leadership and has not been a well thought through policy. This curriculum has too many subjects at each level means student-monks do not have sufficient time to learn properly either Pali and Buddhism or secular subjects.[26] In addition, this curriculum has been designed neither to replace nor to complement the traditional religious curricula, such as the nak tham and the parian curricula. It has thus the potential to distract, which I think it has done, the young monks from the nak tham and parian curricula. Indeed, its separate existence from the two highly regarded religious curricula, the nak tham and the parian, suggests that the idealists and the pragmatist have yet to work out the objectives of monastic education."...
Presented at the conference on "Burmese Buddhism
and the Spirit Cult Revisited - Revisiting Buddhism and the spirit cult in Burma [and Thailand]...
at Stanford University, USA by
Venerable Khammai Dhammasami, Oxford University, UK, 22-23 May 2004
Venerable Khammai Dhammasami
Source/publisher:
Stanford University, USA
Date of publication:
2004-05-23
Date of entry/update:
2010-09-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"Previous anthropological literature construes daná (Pali dâna) in Burma rather narrowly, as giving to monks or to the Buddha. However, the detailed data I collected during fieldwork in Burma reveal that the Burmese understand daná more broadly, as 'giving' in which saydana (Pali cetanâ) plays a key role.
The paper is a chapter of my PhD dissertation entitled "In the World of Rebirth: Politics, Economy and Society of Burmese Buddhists." By presenting ethnographic data that has not been offered in previous literature, I re-examine the Burmese concept and practice of daná. Daná is closely associated with the Burmese notions of purity, detachment, and nobility, as well as merit. Its idea is deeply grounded in the Burmese language and culture. Some forms of daná are not as conspicuous as giving to the monastic order. They are less identifiable by an outside observer, for they are not always revealed as daná because they occur in the everyday act of giving. Thus, such forms of daná have been largely neglected, or at best treated less seriously. I argue, however, that we cannot fully understand the idea of daná or the mindsets of the Burmese Buddhists without taking these forms of daná into account. A detailed observation of the everyday discourse of daná reveals that daná permeates all kinds of daily transactions, shaping the practice of giving in Burmese society.
This understanding of daná may seem at odds with the traditional descriptions of daná in Burma or in other Theravada Buddhist societies. However, I will show that the Burmese understanding of daná in fact resonates with the idea of daná we find in stories of giving in Buddhist cultures. The point of my argument is not to understate the significance of giving to monks or to the Buddha. My intention is to offer a description and analysis that takes into fuller account the subtleties of the practice and language of daná."... Paper from "Burmese Buddhism
and the Spirit Cult Revisited -
An Interdisciplinary Conference
on Religion in Contemporary Myanmar
Saturday, May 22-Sunday, May 23, 2004
Hartley Conference Center
Mitchell Building
Stanford University.
Naoko Kumada
Source/publisher:
Stanford University
Date of publication:
2004-05-23
Date of entry/update:
2010-07-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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