The obsolescence of the demons? Modernity and possession in Sri Lanka

Sinhalese Buddhists, men and women alike, claim to be possessed by gods and act as their mediums in performing healing rituals and uttering sāstara, prophecies. In contemporary Sri Lanka, possession among Buddhists is no longer viewed only as an affliction that has to be healed but as a blessing, a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inHealth and Religious Rituals in South Asia pp. 199 - 212
Main Author Ambos, Eva
Format Book Chapter
LanguageEnglish
Published Routledge 2011
Edition1
Subjects
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Sinhalese Buddhism
Antisocial Behaviors
Young Man
Vas
Protestant Buddhism
Sach Khand
Body Mind Dissociation
Possession Phenomena
Sri Lankan Society
Buddhist Sinhalese Identity
Sinhala Buddhism
Tibetan Medicine
Theravada Buddhism
Sri Lankan
Healing Rituals
CHED
Sinhalese Buddhist Culture
Granth Sahib
Sri Lankan Moderns
Dominant Biomedical Discourses
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Summary:Sinhalese Buddhists, men and women alike, claim to be possessed by gods and act as their mediums in performing healing rituals and uttering sāstara, prophecies. In contemporary Sri Lanka, possession among Buddhists is no longer viewed only as an affliction that has to be healed but as a blessing, a gift from the divine. The following two ethnographic sketches are part of a larger picture and point toward transformations of healing rituals and the managing of possession phenomena occurring in Sri Lankan society in general and, in particular, in Sinhalese Buddhism, as a consequence of modernity.
ISBN:9780415561457
1138784796
9781138784796
0415561450
DOI:10.4324/9780203833865-18