Cremation, Caste, and Cosmogony in Karmic Traditions.

More documents

Recommendations

Info

24 Fig. 1.12. Durga Prasad Sapkota crosses Bagmati River on elephant. Courtesy Kantipur Publications 2002. Fig. 1.13. Durga Prasad Sapkota with wife showing some of the King Birendra’s personal items he received as gifts.
In the period following the rite he went to Pashupatinath temple and worshipped the linga occasionally, but only early in the morning. Time heals all wounds, and after some time he walked wherever he liked to at the Pashupatinath area. Less than two years after the katto-ritual Durga Prasad Sapkota had worked as a priest on several occasions. By the end of April 2003 he had conducted six bartamande rituals and five weddings after the katto-ritual. In general, he received less inquiries and requests for rituals than he used to do, and it is uncertain whether the devotees who used his services were aware that he was the katto-priest. What is unquestionable is, nevertheless, that he has worked as a priest despite the pollution involved in the katto-ritual, and this fact has consequences for interpretations of castes, or in other words, what a “Brahman” is. In the funerals at Pashupatinath Brahman Funeral and Cremation priests are conducting rites that defile themselves, but both the priests and their personal defiling activities are crucial both for the deceased, the descendants, and cosmogony. Thus, the Funeral priests and their ritual occupation are an empirical point of departure to challenge some of the earlier caste theories in light of notions of purity and impurity. Especially the roles of Funeral priests in cremations of kings and the subsequent mourning rites are of uttermost importance for an understanding of caste and hierarchies in society. The cremations of King Birendra and King Dipendra after the royal massacre in Nepal in June 2001 are therefore, empirically, rituals which challenge previous notions of castes as simple constructs and hierarchies. Castes – ideology or subtle substances? The caste system is normally seen as a hierarchy, and as such, it is the distinctness of each group and their separateness and distance from each other that is crucial. The caste system in practice and social interaction is best illuminated by whether or not a person accepts water and food from another person, and as such is creating and maintaining spatial hierarchies. Arthur M. Hocart argues that when analysing social practices one has to search for the principles that the people who practiced the caste system had in mind because their daily experience may give a glimpse of what was essential for them, and hence, one may avoid constructions of models only based on the researcher’s own prejudices (Hocart 1950:3). Therefore, I will not strictly follow one school or approach to caste, but analyse my empirical data with various theories on caste which can shed light on the issues that I discuss. One problem with caste is that we are not discussing one phenomenon or social organisation, but many. “Culture” has been characterised as one of the two-three most complicated and difficult words to define in the English vocabulary because it is a fundamental concept within 25 numerous non-compatible intellectual disciplines, and thus, it has an intricate history of incommensurable thoughts (Williams 1980: 76-77). One may say the same with caste or compare “caste” with “democracy”. There are numerous forms of democracy even though they all have some references to the ancient Greek democracy. Democracy has a 2500 years history, and so has caste, and it is impossible to pinpoint one form of caste as the “original” one. Nevertheless, within the discourse regarding caste there is a tendency for the researcher’s own empirical case study or interpretation to be taken as evidence for how the “original” or “real” caste system works, which inevitably raises the question of how comparative research should be conducted. In this regard, I will not give a detailed account of the research on caste, but proceed with the topical aspects in accordance with the development of the discussion. Approaching caste is difficult, the literature concerning the topic is vast, and this introduction is just meant as a brief sketch looking at some of the schools of thought regarding interpretations of “caste”. Moreover, and this is important, I will to a large extent only discuss my own empirical data regarding caste. I have several reasons for choosing this research strategy, which has interpretative consequences. Firstly, since I have a number of research sites, it is way of demarcating the study. Secondly, it is a way of avoiding essentialising caste as only one phenomenon. Thirdly, it enables me to discuss caste based on the different case studies more in detail, and hence, give an analysis of the specific, cultural traditions. On the one hand, there are scholars advocating “caste ideologies” in different South Asian settings. The underlying assumption is that there is a coherent and systematic set of indigenous ideas and values, which give meaning to a broad range of social institutions. There are other scholars emphasising interaction and transaction whereby castes exhibit features of “bio-moral substances”, which have to be understood in relative categories of purity and pollution. Castes are as such inevitably connected to “coded substances” (McGilvray 1982a). C. J. Fuller argues that the caste system is basically a product of the British period and not “traditional” India (Fuller 1977). Moreover, Dirks argues that caste became a colonial form of civil society (Dirks 1993, 2001). If they are correct in this postulate, then Nepal is a suitable place to study caste structures for many reasons; the British influence was less in Nepal than on the subcontinent, the country was neither conquered by the Muslims nor the British, and the king, who is seen to have a crucial role in the Hindu social order, prevails (Gellner 1999a:2). The problem then becomes that the members of Indian society clearly believe that in local situations there are well defined caste hierarchies, but how the researcher is to isolate them turns out
Page 3: Death and Life-Giving Waters Cremat
Page 7 and 8: Preface Contents List of figures In
Page 9 and 10: The origin of Pashupatinath and the
Page 11 and 12: Fig. 5.1 Map of Bangladesh with Far
Page 13 and 14: In karmic traditions, death and lif
Page 15 and 16: constructions, it has often been ap
Page 17: Part 1: Cremating Death - Creating
Page 20 and 21: ethically conditioned (fig 1.2). Th
Page 22 and 23: The pervasiveness of karma linking
Page 24 and 25: Fig. 1.3. Pashupatinath temple and
Page 26 and 27: Fig. 1.5. Cremation priest lighting
Page 28 and 29: Fig. 1.7. Ghat management and servi
Page 30 and 31: theories of castes as an organisati
Page 32 and 33: Fig. 1.9. The sons collected the as
Page 34 and 35: highly polluted that the people wou
Page 38 and 39: problematic (Levinson 1982:198), es
Page 40 and 41: (seeds, food). In life a person bec
Page 42 and 43: Fig. 2.1. Manikarnika Ghat, Varanas
Page 44 and 45: the dead, (they shall eat) their fo
Page 46 and 47: Fig. 2.6. The representation of cas
Page 48 and 49: degrees of purity and pollution. En
Page 50 and 51: Fig. 2.8. Caste structure according
Page 52 and 53: Nevertheless, it is preferable to b
Page 54 and 55: the sacrifier is the sacrifice. Thu
Page 56 and 57: partly a process by which the gods
Page 59 and 60: Chapter 3: Meditation upon death an
Page 61 and 62: Being a part of a religious elite i
Page 63 and 64: The dangers of social interaction S
Page 65 and 66: Third party observing and legitimat
Page 67 and 68: Fig. 3.4. Tyaginath sitting next to
Page 69 and 70: 57 Top: Fig. 3.6. The grave of Nara
Page 71 and 72: the Mahabrahmans mostly consume the
Page 73 and 74: Religion and ritual Studies of deat
Page 75 and 76: purest in common sense is not alway
Page 77 and 78: Fig. 4.3. Modes of fleshly incarnat
Page 79 and 80: e reincarnated into regarding spiri
Page 81 and 82: Fig. 4.5. Hocart’s and Dumont’s
Page 83 and 84: impure and still treated as a Brahm
Page 85: Part 2: The Sisters Kali and Ganga
Page 88 and 89:
Ganga Brahmaputra • Faridpur Bay
Page 90 and 91:
Fig. 5.4. Ambikapur Shashan Ghat. F
Page 92 and 93:
Fig. 5.6. Channel from the pyre whe
Page 94 and 95:
The head is always supposed to be d
Page 96 and 97:
Hinduism. She is employed as a care
Page 98 and 99:
Only Hindus are cremated at the cem
Page 100 and 101:
According to Hazera, Badol cremated
Page 102 and 103:
Fig. 6.1. Statue of Jagadbandhu. 90
Page 104 and 105:
Fig. 6.2. Rajani receives the bless
Page 106 and 107:
His disciples are like missionaries
Page 108 and 109:
In the Ashram all the expenses are
Page 110 and 111:
Fig. 6.7. Burial in coffin. 98
Page 112 and 113:
Fig. 6.8. Private Kali temple in Ba
Page 114 and 115:
Fig. 6.9. Jagadbandhu temple in Ban
Page 116 and 117:
The importance of the priest in rit
Page 118 and 119:
the rituals, and they have differen
Page 120 and 121:
108
Page 122 and 123:
Fig. 7.1. The mighty Ganga. Fig. 7.
Page 124 and 125:
Fig. 7.3. Tara. Fig. 7.4. Tripur-Su
Page 126 and 127:
Fig. 7.11. Chinnamasta. 114
Page 128 and 129:
immediate divine access and godly g
Page 130 and 131:
Fig. 7.12. Pot-maker in front by th
Page 132 and 133:
Fig. 7.14. The making of Durga. 120
Page 134 and 135:
This image is the most important pa
Page 136 and 137:
Fig. 7.17. Replacement of Shashan K
Page 138 and 139:
Fig. 7.18. The Baishanti Durga puja
Page 140 and 141:
tradition. The Bhaishanti Durga sta
Page 142 and 143:
enlightenment and achieve liberatio
Page 144 and 145:
132
Page 146 and 147:
cloth. Although the Hindus in Farid
Page 148 and 149:
Fig. 8.1. A combined Kali and Saras
Page 150 and 151:
high-caste and priests as religious
Page 152 and 153:
1979:115-118). As seen in Faridpur
Page 154 and 155:
142
Page 156 and 157:
144
Page 158 and 159:
Fig. 9. 1. Map of Nepal. Kaligandak
Page 160 and 161:
The opposite approach is the histor
Page 162 and 163:
Fig. 9.2. Manang and Gangapurna gla
Page 164 and 165:
Fig. 9.5. Bone grinding. 152
Page 166 and 167:
Only 20-25 years ago air-burials we
Page 168 and 169:
was completed by the end of the 18
Page 170 and 171:
As a cultural construct water is al
Page 172 and 173:
These sacrifices rebuild the deceas
Page 174 and 175:
giving mother. A “spirit” is
Page 176 and 177:
Gorakhnath promised the Nepalese th
Page 178 and 179:
“Shiva, the god of eroticism, is
Page 180 and 181:
Fig. 10. 3. Dagbatti - the lighting
Page 182 and 183:
Fig. 10.4. Sexual engravings at the
Page 184 and 185:
priori”, Jung argues; “The repr
Page 186 and 187:
174
Page 188 and 189:
are there in a quite objective sens
Page 190 and 191:
Purana, “those who recite them wi
Page 192 and 193:
forms of colour, 4) water with the
Page 194 and 195:
Fig. 11.2. The spot where humans we
Page 196 and 197:
Fig. 11.4. Bagmati originating from
Page 198 and 199:
186
Page 200 and 201:
Fig. 12.1. Sadhu fasting for Nepali
Page 202 and 203:
If the river could not cleanse itse
Page 204 and 205:
The trust is not directly involved
Page 206 and 207:
Fig. 12.6. The outlet of treated wa
Page 208 and 209:
As an example, once a complete drun
Page 210 and 211:
Fig. 12.10. Bagmati River with clea
Page 212 and 213:
positive or negative feedback upon
Page 214 and 215:
this process happens slowly and pro
Page 216 and 217:
Fig. 13.1. Decaying corpse at Nire
Page 218 and 219:
achievement of a wanted state or co
Page 220 and 221:
while unmarried girls and boys with
Page 222 and 223:
Logic of sin and pollution Cosmogon
Page 224 and 225:
212
Page 226 and 227:
214
Page 228 and 229:
less “true”, unimportant, or in
Page 230 and 231:
From the present to the past, urban
Page 232 and 233:
Dating traditions - the development
Page 234 and 235:
The Muluki Ain aimed to arrange all
Page 236 and 237:
spiritual fold took them to the upp
Page 238 and 239:
choose one’s own path because onl
Page 240 and 241:
esult of a variety of combinations
Page 242 and 243:
practice, common people are ignoran
Page 244 and 245:
procured for the people. The import
Page 246 and 247:
Fig. 15.1. Gundestrup cauldron with
Page 248 and 249:
236
Page 250 and 251:
took place, at some time in history
Page 252 and 253:
Fig. 16.1. Maneckji Seti Agiary in
Page 254 and 255:
stony desert. The polluted body was
Page 256 and 257:
Fig. 16.3. Zoroastrian ossuary from
Page 258 and 259:
Fig. 16.4. Zarathushtra and fire-te
Page 260 and 261:
Fig. 16.6. Inside a Tower of Silenc
Page 262 and 263:
Fig. 16.7. Zarathushtra. 250
Page 264 and 265:
meaningfully constituted and situat
Page 266 and 267:
creative act in world-history - unl
Page 268 and 269:
Alexander there offered sacrifices
Page 270 and 271:
therefore concentrate on his docume
Page 272 and 273:
Marshall suggested that the height
Page 274 and 275:
Fig. 17.5. Dharmarajika: plan of re
Page 276 and 277:
Fig. 17.6. Buddha from Building L n
Page 278 and 279:
Fig. 17.8. The “smaller” Buddha
Page 280 and 281:
is always explaining, instructing,
Page 282 and 283:
Pakistan Fig. 17.9. Mohenjo-daro an
Page 284 and 285:
Fig. 17.10. The Great Bath. From Ma
Page 286 and 287:
This is problematic for several rea
Page 288 and 289:
As mentioned before, Schutz has mad
Page 290 and 291:
278
Page 292 and 293:
of birth and death. The soul is ete
Page 294 and 295:
constructions are applied and mater
Page 296 and 297:
many possibilities such an approach
Page 298 and 299:
follows her husband purifies the th
Page 300 and 301:
improper performances of funerals.
Page 302 and 303:
290
Page 304 and 305:
292
Page 306 and 307:
kept perpetually ablaze for over a
Page 308 and 309:
Gange Farid million people. Muslim
Page 310 and 311:
Manosha The patron saint of serpent
Page 312 and 313:
Ratnasambhava The third dhyanibuddh
Page 314 and 315:
Tirtha Spiritual ford, crossing pla
Page 316 and 317:
304
Page 318 and 319:
very nice. The last son (or husband
Page 320 and 321:
y putting faces on people who other
Page 322 and 323:
Hence, I have a feeling that I am o
Page 324 and 325:
Fig. 18.3. Ram Mani Gyawali, author
Page 326 and 327:
314
Page 328 and 329:
When it again closes then Shiva bec
Page 330 and 331:
or the opposite? Is the Aghori capa
Page 332 and 333:
A man, after taking a bath in the P
Page 334 and 335:
Vishnu said: Obeisance to you, O de
Page 336 and 337:
The linga is pure, auspicious and i
Page 338 and 339:
326
Page 340 and 341:
Cambridge. Barth, F. 1990. The Guru
Page 342 and 343:
Art, Religion & Culture: 184-191. M
Page 344 and 345:
Priest. Cambridge University Press.
Page 346 and 347:
Insoll, T. 1999b. Introduction. Res
Page 348 and 349:
Lahiri, N. 2000. Archaeology and id
Page 350 and 351:
Ahmedabad. Mirza, H. K. 2002. Liter
Page 352 and 353:
Gandhi National Centre for the Arts
Page 354 and 355:
(eds.). Representing Hinduism: 51-8
show all

Cremation, Caste, and Cosmogony in Karmic Traditions.

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?