Holy things : the genealogy of the sacred in Thai religion / Nathan McGovern.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McGovern, Nathan, 1981- author.

Series:

Oxford scholarship online.

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Buddhism--Social aspects--Thailand.

Buddhism.

Thailand--Social life and customs.

Thailand.

Buddhism--Thailand--History.

Syncretism (Religion).

Thailand--Religion.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (289 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2024]

Summary:

Thai Buddhists themselves are increasingly adopting the language of syncretism, referring to traditional Thai religion as a mixture of local, Hindu and Buddhist practices. This raises the question: If syncretism is so wrong, then why does it seem so right? In 'Holy Things', Nathan McGovern answers this question through an in-depth study of the worship of spirits, gods and Buddha images - all known as sing saksit, or 'holy things' - in Thailand.

Contents:

Cover

Half Title

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Contents

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Transliteration, Transcription, and Translation

Vowels and Diphthongs

Consonants

1 Introduction

Asking for Boons: Making and Fulfilling Vows

"Holy Things" and the Limits of Religious Taxonomy

Moving Beyond Syncretism

Buddhist Inclusivism

The Genealogy of Saksit

Part I Contextualizing Holy Things

2 Buddhism as Implicit Theology

Implicit Theologies

The Implicit Theology of Devas in Vedic India

Buddhism's Intervention in Implicitly Theological Discourse in Ancient India

Modern Disenchantment and Buddhism's Theological Project

The Cosmological Agency of Buddhist Implicit Theology

3 Situating Siam in History

The Sanskrit Cosmopolis and the Śaiva World

The Collapse of the Sanskrit Cosmopolis and the Rise of Persianate and Arabic Cosmopoleis

The Ripple Effects of the Persianate Cosmopolis and the Rise of the Pali Cosmopolis

The Historical Origins of Siam

Continuities Between the Sanskrit and Pali Cosmopoleis

4 The Genealogy of the Sacred

How Saksit Became "Holy"

The Literary Corpus for This Study

Saksit in Siamese Literature

The Saiyasāt Context of Saksit

Saiyasāt, Magic, and Religion

Summary

Part II Deconstructing the Syncretism of Holy Things

5 Spirits

The Chinese Roots of Tai "Spirits"

Historicizing "Indigenous" Tai Spirits

"Local Spirits" in Thailand Today

The Modern Discourse of Religion and the Construction of "Local Religion"

6 Gods

Saiyasāt and Extra-Pali Discourses in Sukhōthai and Ayutthayā

The Bangkok Restoration and Interest in Hinduism in Prerevolutionary Siam

The Ērāwan Shrine and Rise of Brahmā Worship in Thailand

Hindu Enthusiasm in Contemporary Thailand

Saiyasāt, the Gods, and the Work of World Religions.

7 Buddha Images

Early Evidence for the Propitiation of Buddha Images in Siam

The Culture of Buddha Images and Their Miraculous Power in Lānnā

Explaining Miraculous Buddha Relics Within the Pali Imaginaire

Luang Phǭ Sōthǭn and the Origins of Modern Kānbonbānsānklāo

The Changing Meaning of Saksit and Modern Kānbonbānsānklāo

8 Conclusion

Appendix A Explicit Theology From Plato to the Abrahamic Traditions

Appendix B Corpus of Siamese Literary Works Consulted

Corpus of Sukhōthai Inscriptions Consulted

Works of Siamese Literature Consulted

Notes

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Appendix A

Appendix B

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (viewed on May 23, 2024).

ISBN:

9780197759912

0197759912

9780197759899

0197759890

OCLC:

1435817824