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Of Beggars and Buddhas: The Politics of Humor in the Vessantara Jataka in Thailand - Couverture souple

Bowie, Katherine A.

 
9780299309541: Of Beggars and Buddhas: The Politics of Humor in the Vessantara Jataka in Thailand
Couverture souple
ISBN 10 : 0299309541 ISBN 13 : 9780299309541
Editeur : University of Wisconsin Press, 2020

Synopsis

The 547 Buddhist jatakas, or verse parables, recount the Buddha's lives in previous incarnations. In his penultimate and most famous incarnation, he appears as the Prince Vessantara, perfecting the virtue of generosity by giving away all his possessions, his wife, and his children to the beggar Jujaka. Taking an anthropological approach to this two-thousand-year-old morality tale, Katherine A. Bowie highlights significant local variations in its interpretations and public performances across three regions of Thailand over 150 years.
The Vessantara Jataka has served both monastic and royal interests, encouraging parents to give their sons to religious orders and intimating that kings are future Buddhas. But, as Bowie shows, characterizations of the beggar Jujaka in various regions and eras have also brought ribald humor and sly antiroyalist themes to the story. Historically, these subversive performances appealed to popular audiences even as they worried the conservative Bangkok court. The monarchy sporadically sought to suppress the comedic recitations. As Thailand has changed from a feudal to a capitalist society, this famous story about giving away possessions is paradoxically being employed to promote tourism and wealth.

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À propos de l'auteur

Katherine A. Bowie is the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is the author of Rituals of National Loyalty: An Anthropology of the State and the Village Scout Movement in Thailand.

Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Éditeur
University of Wisconsin Press
Date d'édition
2020
Langue
anglais
ISBN 10 
0299309541
ISBN 13 
9780299309541
Reliure
Broché
Nombre de pages
376
Coordonnées du fabricant
non disponible
Personne responsable
GPSR Kontakt
gpsr@libri.de

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Autres éditions populaires du même titre

9780299309503: Of Beggars and Buddhas: The Politics of Humor in the Vessantara Jataka in Thailand

Edition présentée

ISBN 10 :  0299309509 ISBN 13 :  9780299309503
Editeur : University of Wisconsin Press, 2017
Couverture rigide