Homo Ritualis: Hindu Ritual and Its Significance for Ritual Theory (Oxford Ritual Studies)

Is the richness and diversity of rituals and celebrations in South Asia unique? Are Indians or Hindus more involved in rituals than people of other faiths and other places? If so, what makes them special? Can we speak of a homo ritualis when it comes to India or Hinduism? Drawing on extensive textual studies and fieldwork in Nepal and India, Axel Michaels demonstrates how the characteristic structure of Hindu rituals employs the Brahmanic-Sanskritic sacrifice as a model, and how this structure is one of the distinguishing features of Hinduism more generally. Many religions tend over time to develop less ritualized or more open forms of belief, but Brahmanical Hinduism has internalized ritual behavior to the extent that it has become its most important and distinctive feature, permeating social and personal life alike. The religion can thus be seen as a particular case in the history of religions in which ritual form dominates belief and develops a sweeping autonomy of ritual behavior.Homo Ritualis analyzes ritual through these cultural-specific and religious contexts, taking into account how indigenous terms and theories affect and contribute to current ritual theory. It describes and investigates various forms of Hindu rituals and festivals, such as life-cycle rituals, the Vedic sacrifice, vows processions, and the worship of deities (puja). It also examines various conceptual components of (Hindu) rituals such as framing, formality, modality, and theories of meaning.

Religion & Spirituality

Michaels, Axel

Hinduism

Oxford University Press

Is the richness and diversity of rituals and celebrations in South Asia unique? Are Indians or Hindus more involved in rituals than people of other faiths and other places? If so, what makes them special? Can we speak of a homo ritualis when it comes to India or Hinduism? Drawing on extensive textual studies and fieldwork in Nepal and India, Axel Michaels demonstrates how the characteristic structure of Hindu rituals employs the Brahmanic-Sanskritic sacrifice as a model, and how this structure is one of the distinguishing features of Hinduism more generally. Many religions tend over time to develop less ritualized or more open forms of belief, but Brahmanical Hinduism has internalized ritual behavior to the extent that it has become its most important and distinctive feature, permeating social and personal life alike. The religion can thus be seen as a particular case in the history of religions in which ritual form dominates belief and develops a sweeping autonomy of ritual behavior. Homo Ritualis analyzes ritual through these cultural-specific and religious contexts, taking into account how indigenous terms and theories affect and contribute to current ritual theory. It describes and investigates various forms of Hindu rituals and festivals, such as life-cycle rituals, the Vedic sacrifice, vows processions, and the worship of deities (puja). It also examines various conceptual components of (Hindu) rituals such as framing, formality, modality, and theories of meaning.

The town of Deopatan, three kilometers northeast of Kathmandu, is above all famous for its main sanctum, the temple of Pa?upati, the "lord of the animals," a form of 'Siva and the tutelary deity of the kings of Nepal since ancient times. By its name alone, the temple attracts thousands of pilgrims each year and has made itself known far beyond the Kathamndu Valley. However, for the dominant Newar population the town is by no means merely the seat of 'Siva or Pa?upati. It is also a city of wild goddesses and other deities. Due to this tension between two strands of Hinduism -- the pure, vegetarian Smarta Hinduism and the Newar Hinduism which implies alcohol and blood sacrifices -- 'Siva/Pa?upati has more than once been in trouble, as the many festivals and rituals descripbed and analyzed in this book reveal. Deopatan is a contested field. Different deities, agents social groups, ritual specialists, and institutions are constantly seeking dominance, challenging and even fighting each other, thus contributing to social and political dynamics and tensions that are indeed distinct in South Asia. It is these aspects on which Axel Michaels concentrates in this book.

Siva in Trouble: Festivals and Rituals at the Pasupatinatha Temple of Deopatan (South Asia Research)

History

Asia

Until 1951 Nepal was closed to the world, landlocked between the strongest Asian powers, India and China. With its exceptional landscape, it touts the highest mountains and the greatest biodiversity on earth. It is best known as the home of Mt. Everest and holds particular fascination for those interested in climbing the Himalayas. Having long maintained its self-imposed isolation, the nation is one of the least developed in the world. Yet it is inhabited by a remarkably diverse population of 125 ethnic groups, 123 languages, and numerous religions, most notably Hinduism and Buddhism. In this book, South Asia expert Axel Michaels covers the history of Nepal from prehistoric times and the period of the Licchavi dynasty through more recent developments, such as the rise of the republic, the first elections challenged by the Maoist insurgency (1996-2006), and the royal massacre in 2001. Chapters discuss the different principalities on the territory, among them the mysterious and legendary Mustang and Sherpa realms. Since the eighteenth century, these domains have been bundled into a contentious national history. Thus, going well beyond the center of power in the Kathmandu Valley, the book examines Nepal's relations with neighboring cultures in India, Tibet, and China, as well as the influence of British colonial power. It particularly focuses on its rich history of arts, architecture, and handicrafts. Although the Buddha was born in Nepal, the country is the world's last Hindu kingdom and is also a stronghold of Tantric traditions, shamanism, and many folk religions whose festivals and rituals mark daily life. Based on a wealth of primary sources in Nepali, Sanskrit, and other indigeneous languages, Nepal offers a comprehensive and updated history of this unique culture and history.

Nepal: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present

Hinduism: Past and Present

Hinduism is currently followed by one-fifth of humankind. Far from a monolithic theistic tradition, the religion comprises thousands of gods, a complex caste system, and hundreds of languages and dialects. Such internal plurality inspires vastly ranging rites and practices amongst Hinduism's hundreds of millions of adherents. It is therefore not surprising that scholars have been hesitant to define universal Hindu beliefs and practices. In this book, Axel Michaels breaks this trend. He examines the traditions, beliefs, and rituals Hindus hold in common through the lens of what he deems its "identificatory habitus," a cohesive force that binds Hindu religions together and fortifies them against foreign influences. Thus, in his analysis, Michaels not only locates Hinduism's profoundly differentiating qualities, but also provides the framework for an analysis of its social and religious coherence.
 Michaels blends his insightful arguments and probing questions with introductions to major historical epochs, ample textual sources as well as detailed analyses of major life-cycle rituals, the caste system, forms of spiritualism, devotionalism, ritualism, and heroism. Along the way he points out that Hinduism has endured and repeatedly resisted the missionary zeal and universalist claims of Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists. He also contrasts traditional Hinduism with the religions of the West, "where the self is preferred to the not-self, and where freedom in the world is more important than liberation from the world."
 Engaging and accessible, this book will appeal to laypersons and scholars alike as the most comprehensive introduction to Hinduism yet published. Not only is Hinduism refreshingly new in its methodological approach, but it also presents a broad range of meticulous scholarship in a clear, readable style, integrating Indology, religious studies, philosophy, anthropological theory and fieldwork, and sweeping analyses of Hindu texts.

Christian Books & Bibles

Princeton University Press

Encountering Jesus & Buddha: Their Lives and Teachings

Themes include the relative importance of Jesus and the Buddha within Christianity and Buddhism and their different perspectives on the self, the self's future, love, and ethics. They explore Jesus' and the Buddha's different notions of passion and suffering, meditation, prayer, and commitment to the world, history, and community.

Luz, Ulrich

Ulrich, Luz

Buddhism

Fortress Press

Jesus oder Buddha. Leben und Lehre im Vergleich.

C.H.Beck

Held in Heidelberg from September 29 to October 2, 2008 by the collaborative research center SFB 619 "Ritual Dynamics" , the international conference "Ritual Dynamics and the Science of Ritual" assembled most of the leading experts on rituals studies and more than 600 participants for the purpose of reassessing the traditional subject in view of the latest research. The results, which are presented in five volumes (see below), are pathbreaking for future transcultural, interdisciplinary and multi methodical research on rituals. The convention was marked by the broad range of disciplines and the corresponding diversity of methods. It embraced a tremendous variety of topics in terms of cultural geography and spanned a time horizon from the antiquity to the present. The proceedings show how broadly the term ritual can be defined, as well as the conditions, modes and functions of ritual actions in different cultures of the present and past. One of the most important conclusions of the conference is that there cannot be "one single" model for rituals and that interdisciplinary collaborations are the key to research on rituals. This also includes the development and use of creative research methods. Volume I: Grammars and Morphologies of Ritual practices in Asia; Volume II: Body, Performance, Agency and Experience; Volume III: State, Power and Violence; Volume IV: Reflexivity, Media and Visuality; Volume V: Transfer and spaces.

Ritual Dynamics and the Science of Ritual. Volume III: State, Power and Violence

Harrassowitz Verlag

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Michaels, Axel. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Michaels, Axel

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Michaels, Axel. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Homo Ritualis: Hindu Ritual and Its Significance for Ritual Theory (Oxford Ritual Studies)

Homo Ritualis: Hindu Ritual and Its Significance for Ritual Theory (Oxford Ritual Studies)

Siva in Trouble: Festivals and Rituals at the Pasupatinatha Temple of Deopatan (South Asia Research)

Nepal: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present

Hinduism: Past and Present

Hinduism: Past and Present

Encountering Jesus & Buddha: Their Lives and Teachings

Encountering Jesus & Buddha: Their Lives and Teachings

Jesus oder Buddha. Leben und Lehre im Vergleich.

Ritual Dynamics and the Science of Ritual. Volume III: State, Power and Violence