Contradictions in(side) the tradition: lived religion, ritual and change with reference to Majuli sattras
Kuupäev
2022-05-11
Autorid
Ajakirja pealkiri
Ajakirja ISSN
Köite pealkiri
Kirjastaja
Abstrakt
Väitekiri põhineb Indias Assamis tehtud välitöödel ja intervjuudel ning keskendub hinduismile kui elatud usundile. Selles käsitletakse suulist pärimust ja rituaale, mis seostuvad satratega. Need on mungakloostrid, millele pani aluse Šankaradeva (1449–1568) – usu- ja ühiskondliku elu reformaator, kes arendas assami kirjandust ja kuulutas õpetust, mis peab ülimaks jumal Višnut ja tema maiseid kehastusi ning järgib religioosse pühendumuse (bhakti) põhimõtteid. Mõned vanimad satrad asuvad Majuli saarel keset Brahmaputra jõge ja neist on saanud võimsad religioossed keskused. Lisaks on satrad lastekodud ning haridusasutused. Nad sümboliseerivad assami etnilist ja kultuurilist identiteeti ja kannavad edasi olulisi traditsioone, nagu näiteks klassikaline sattriya tants.
Tänapäeval on elu satrates muutumas. Kuigi nende autoriteet põhineb usul muutumatust traditsioonist, satub see üha enam vastuollu tegeliku eluga – seda eriti satrates elavate noorte mungaõpilaste jaoks. Nende jaoks on üha raskem järgida rituaalse puhtuse nõudeid, mis on tsölibaatsetes satrates olnud ülimalt olulised. Kättesaadav tehnoloogia ja kõikjale ulatuv sotsiaalmeedia hoiavad nad tihedalt seotud ilmaliku eluga väljaspool satraid. Vastuolud ettekirjutatud ja elatud religiooni vahel muutuvad üha tugevamaks. Silma torkab ka vastuolu Šankaradeva kuulutatud võrduse õpetuse ja poliitiliste vaadete vahel, mida järgivad satraülemad, kes toetavad braahmanite ülemvõimu ja kalduvad hinduistlikku natsionalismi ning parempoolsusse. Et väitekirja autor on elanud pikka aega ühes Majuli satratest, aitab tema uurimus heita valgust satrakultuurile pärimuse kandja vaatepunktist.
This fieldwork-based dissertation discusses the lived Hinduism in Assam, India. It focuses on oral traditions and ritual life in sattras, monastic institutions established by the religious and social reformer Sankaradeva (1449–1568), who contested the caste system, developed Assamese literature, and preached the worship of Vishnu through the ritual practice of devotion (bhakti). Some of the oldest sattras are founded on Majuli, an island in the Brahmaputra River; they have become powerful religious centres. In addition, sattras are social orphanages and centres of learning. They have acquired symbolic value as markers of Assamese ethnic identity and carriers of cultural traditions such as the classical sattriya dance. Life in the sattras is today going through remarkable changes. Whereas the authority of the sattras is based on the concept of unchanging tradition, the practices and lives of young devotees in the sattras can hardly follow these prescriptions: it has become a challenge for them to follow the strict rules of ritual purity that have become of paramount importance in the celibate sattras. In addition to which the all-pervading world of technology and social media keeps them closely connected with secular life outside sattras. Hence, there are contradictions between religion as it is prescribed and as it is lived. Remarkably, there are also contradictions between the doctrine of egalitarianism, once preached by Sankaradeva, and the political views of the sattra authorities, who often work closely with the right-wing Hindu nationalist movements and support Brahmin supremacy. The author of the dissertation has lived in a sattra for many years, an experience that enables him to shed light on sattra culture from an insider’s point of view.
This fieldwork-based dissertation discusses the lived Hinduism in Assam, India. It focuses on oral traditions and ritual life in sattras, monastic institutions established by the religious and social reformer Sankaradeva (1449–1568), who contested the caste system, developed Assamese literature, and preached the worship of Vishnu through the ritual practice of devotion (bhakti). Some of the oldest sattras are founded on Majuli, an island in the Brahmaputra River; they have become powerful religious centres. In addition, sattras are social orphanages and centres of learning. They have acquired symbolic value as markers of Assamese ethnic identity and carriers of cultural traditions such as the classical sattriya dance. Life in the sattras is today going through remarkable changes. Whereas the authority of the sattras is based on the concept of unchanging tradition, the practices and lives of young devotees in the sattras can hardly follow these prescriptions: it has become a challenge for them to follow the strict rules of ritual purity that have become of paramount importance in the celibate sattras. In addition to which the all-pervading world of technology and social media keeps them closely connected with secular life outside sattras. Hence, there are contradictions between religion as it is prescribed and as it is lived. Remarkably, there are also contradictions between the doctrine of egalitarianism, once preached by Sankaradeva, and the political views of the sattra authorities, who often work closely with the right-wing Hindu nationalist movements and support Brahmin supremacy. The author of the dissertation has lived in a sattra for many years, an experience that enables him to shed light on sattra culture from an insider’s point of view.
Kirjeldus
Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsioone
Märksõnad
India, Assam, Hinduism, modern religions, religious movements, asceticism, monasticism, rituals, religious behaviour, folkloristics