In her dissertation Revealing Śiva’s Superiority by Retelling Viṣṇu’s Deeds – Viṣnu’s Manifestation Myths in the Skandapurāṇa, Sanne Dokter-Mersch examines three myths in the Skandapurāṇa, a... Show moreIn her dissertation Revealing Śiva’s Superiority by Retelling Viṣṇu’s Deeds – Viṣnu’s Manifestation Myths in the Skandapurāṇa, Sanne Dokter-Mersch examines three myths in the Skandapurāṇa, a Sanskrit Purāṇa composed in the sixth to seventh century. Although myths about god Śiva and devotion to him are central in the text, it also contains narratives about other gods. This dissertation focusses on those myths in which god Viṣṇu manifests himself as Man-Lion (Narasiṃha), Boar (Varāha) and Dwarf (Vāmana) in order to conquer the enemies of the gods. At the time of composition of the Skandapurāṇa, Śiva and Viṣṇu each had their own religious ideology and devotees, which raises the questions why the composers of this Śaiva Purāṇa dedicated so much attention to Viṣṇu and how these manifestation myths are retold. With the help of different (narratological) methods, Dokter-Mersch addresses these questions by looking at the manifestation myths as part of a literary genre, the Purāṇas. Show less
Besides the official care for cultural heritage on Java, which in the 1920s and 1930s was under the responsibility of the Dutch Archeological Service, different attitudes towards heritage are... Show moreBesides the official care for cultural heritage on Java, which in the 1920s and 1930s was under the responsibility of the Dutch Archeological Service, different attitudes towards heritage are identified of which three are discussed more elaborately using three typical case studies. It will become clear how for the local population on Java statues and sites were still places of worship where offerings were made and rituals performed. This use of heritage often clashed with repairs undertaken by the Archeological Service, for instance, for constructional reasons, but which in practice sealed off the heritage for local people for whom it was a site of veneration still. On the other hand, local people sometimes also deliebrately destroyed heritage such as statues who would have had a negative agency. This chapter aims to contribute to how such responses and attitudes should be explained and what questions need to be addressed further to understand the meaning of cultural heritage for the people living nearby heritage sites to whom they are more than reminders of an ancient past. Show less
‘Let us Live as Hindus’: Narrating Hindu Identity Through Temple Building Processes in Amsterdam Zuidoost (1988-2015) asks how Hindu identity has been narrated through turbulent processes of... Show more‘Let us Live as Hindus’: Narrating Hindu Identity Through Temple Building Processes in Amsterdam Zuidoost (1988-2015) asks how Hindu identity has been narrated through turbulent processes of temple building in Amsterdam Zuidoost. It focuses on a critical event in 2010, when a community of Hindus was ordered to evacuate a temporary space that the local district government had provided them. The author argues that struggles to establish a purpose built temple in the neighbourhood are articulated as forms of 'Hindu hurt' that are strategically narrated through the experiences of being ex-colonised indentured workers. However, the ways in which Hindu hurt are articulated shift dramatically after 2010, revealing the ways in which the trauma of losing their temporary space has constructed a moral economy in which transparency, democracy and Hindu solidarity become central tenets of ideal Hindu practice. This dissertation analyses a body of correspondence from 1988-1996 and uses extensive ethnographic interviews with various Hindu and non-Hindu actors in Amsterdam Zuidoost. It also attempts to link current discussions of citizenship in the Netherlands to scholarship on Hindu hurt in the diaspora. Show less
A lamak is a long narrow hanging that is an essential requirement at most rituals in Bali. Made usually of palm leaves, it is by nature ephemeral. Although permanent forms of lamak, made of... Show more A lamak is a long narrow hanging that is an essential requirement at most rituals in Bali. Made usually of palm leaves, it is by nature ephemeral. Although permanent forms of lamak, made of cloth or coins, exist, the ephemeral palm leaf form must be present. Hung from altars and shrines, a lamak serves as base for offerings and attracts deities and deified ancestors to them. Decorative motifs representing sources of life are ordered according to Balinese concepts of the vertical structure of the cosmos. Through offerings and the active role of the lamak, worshippers offer thanks to their deities and request prosperity and protection. Despite decades of change and modernization in Bali, the role of the lamak has survived intact. This is the first study to examine in detail this unique form of ephemeral material culture which is a prominent aspect of Balinese creativity. The study answers the question: why do Balinese make lamak and why do they continue to make them time and again? It examines the use and function of the lamak in ritual, the motifs that decorate them, the materials and techniques to make them, regional and individual styles, and processes of change and commercialization. Show less
