This article sets out to clarify the wide range of relationships between religions and humanitarian traditions as ideological movements, taking Islam as a case study. It postulates that the concept of the “sacred,” which is culturally restricted, is a special case of boundary maintenance or “purism.” Metaphorically, “puripetal force” is defined as a tendency common to all ideological systems, a resistance to social entropy or anomie. The importance of purity in Islamic doctrine is well attested, but within that wider sphere we may identify the specially puritan version of Islam known as Wahhabi-Salafism. As for humanitarianism and philanthropy, these occupy in the West a “space” protected by special laws and conceived of as untainted by either politics or economics. Within the wider sphere of humanitarianism we may locate a more concentrated form in Dunantism, which has underpinned the world view and habitus of the International Committee of the Red Cross. This article outlines how the policies and programs of various Islamic charity and welfare organizations—originating in Britain, Indonesia, and Saudi-Arabia—interact differentially with on the one hand Islamic doctrines and on the other hand humanitarian traditions. Finally, it is suggested that this explanatory model could equally be applied to Christian and other religious traditions, with the concluding thought that the common ground between the institutions of international humanitarianism and religion is currently expanding.
{"title":"Puripetal Force in the Charitable Field","authors":"J. Benthall","doi":"10.18874/AE.75.1.02","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18874/AE.75.1.02","url":null,"abstract":"This article sets out to clarify the wide range of relationships between religions and humanitarian traditions as ideological movements, taking Islam as a case study. It postulates that the concept of the “sacred,” which is culturally restricted, is a special case of boundary maintenance or “purism.” Metaphorically, “puripetal force” is defined as a tendency common to all ideological systems, a resistance to social entropy or anomie. The importance of purity in Islamic doctrine is well attested, but within that wider sphere we may identify the specially puritan version of Islam known as Wahhabi-Salafism. As for humanitarianism and philanthropy, these occupy in the West a “space” protected by special laws and conceived of as untainted by either politics or economics. Within the wider sphere of humanitarianism we may locate a more concentrated form in Dunantism, which has underpinned the world view and habitus of the International Committee of the Red Cross. This article outlines how the policies and programs of various Islamic charity and welfare organizations—originating in Britain, Indonesia, and Saudi-Arabia—interact differentially with on the one hand Islamic doctrines and on the other hand humanitarian traditions. Finally, it is suggested that this explanatory model could equally be applied to Christian and other religious traditions, with the concluding thought that the common ground between the institutions of international humanitarianism and religion is currently expanding.","PeriodicalId":53972,"journal":{"name":"Asian Ethnology","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2016-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67697058","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This research note discusses the challenges of post-disaster filmmaking and introduces two short films about religious responses to the 11 March 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster in Japan that were produced to accompany this special issue. The first clip presents perspectives on the cherry blossom festival at Jōnenji, a Pure Land Buddhist temple that functioned as an evacuation center in the tsunami-stricken city of Kesennuma. Volunteers started the festival in 2012, and it has since grown into a major annual event that, besides commemorating the tragic events of 3.11, provides an important opportunity for recreation. The second vignette examines the training of rinshō shūkyōshi, literally “clinical religious specialists,” or “interfaith chaplains,” at Tohoku University in Sendai. As the video shows, this program, which comprises a distinctive collaboration of religious and nonreligious aid providers, has contributed to a shifting image of religion in Japan’s public sphere. Instructors and students may find the audiovisual component useful in discussing different intersections of religion and relief in contemporary Japan and as a means of exploring practical and theoretical dimensions of religious responses to disaster. The vignettes can be streamed or downloaded for free from Vimeo. Vignette One (Jōnenji): https://vimeo.com/141396760 and Vignette Two (Interfaith Chaplains): https://vimeo.com/141380269.
{"title":"Research Note: Documenting Religious Responses to 3.11 on Film","authors":"Tim Graf","doi":"10.18874/AE.75.1.09","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18874/AE.75.1.09","url":null,"abstract":"This research note discusses the challenges of post-disaster filmmaking and introduces two short films about religious responses to the 11 March 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster in Japan that were produced to accompany this special issue. The first clip presents perspectives on the cherry blossom festival at Jōnenji, a Pure Land Buddhist temple that functioned as an evacuation center in the tsunami-stricken city of Kesennuma. Volunteers started the festival in 2012, and it has since grown into a major annual event that, besides commemorating the tragic events of 3.11, provides an important opportunity for recreation. The second vignette examines the training of rinshō shūkyōshi, literally “clinical religious specialists,” or “interfaith chaplains,” at Tohoku University in Sendai. As the video shows, this program, which comprises a distinctive collaboration of religious and nonreligious aid providers, has contributed to a shifting image of religion in Japan’s public sphere. Instructors and students may find the audiovisual component useful in discussing different intersections of religion and relief in contemporary Japan and as a means of exploring practical and theoretical dimensions of religious responses to disaster. The vignettes can be streamed or downloaded for free from Vimeo. Vignette One (Jōnenji): https://vimeo.com/141396760 and Vignette Two (Interfaith Chaplains): https://vimeo.com/141380269.","PeriodicalId":53972,"journal":{"name":"Asian Ethnology","volume":"303 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2016-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67697108","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The phenomenal rise of Hindu nationalism in Indian politics is in part attrib uted to its grassroots work centered on a strategy of sevā (social service), which is operated through an array of Hindu nationalist organizations. Participation in service activities paves the way for an embedded form of mobiliza tion that is seemingly unthreatening as it is subtle, nonviolent, and clothed in humanitarianism, in contrast to the more virulent forms of mobilization that are common to the politics of the Hindu Right. Based on empirical evidence drawn from three villages in rural Kutch, this article attempts to understand the ways in which participation in relief and reconstruction after the Bhuj earthquake of 2001 provided an opportunity for the Hindu Right to under take a creative form of political mobilization that deepened and broadened its support. The disaster relief operation enabled Hindu Right organizations, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), to disseminate and con solidate their ideology of Hinduness ( hindutva) and recruit new members. The role of the Hindu Right in relation to the state government in Gujarat is also critically examined. The article highlights the under-analyzed aspects of the moral complexity of evaluating the humanitarian work of the Hindu Right by drawing attention to the compassionate side of the movement.
{"title":"Sevā, Hindutva, and the Politics of Post-Earthquake Relief and Reconstruction in Rural Kutch","authors":"Malini Bhattacharjee","doi":"10.18874/AE.75.1.04","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18874/AE.75.1.04","url":null,"abstract":"The phenomenal rise of Hindu nationalism in Indian politics is in part attrib uted to its grassroots work centered on a strategy of sevā (social service), which is operated through an array of Hindu nationalist organizations. Participation in service activities paves the way for an embedded form of mobiliza tion that is seemingly unthreatening as it is subtle, nonviolent, and clothed in humanitarianism, in contrast to the more virulent forms of mobilization that are common to the politics of the Hindu Right. Based on empirical evidence drawn from three villages in rural Kutch, this article attempts to understand the ways in which participation in relief and reconstruction after the Bhuj earthquake of 2001 provided an opportunity for the Hindu Right to under take a creative form of political mobilization that deepened and broadened its support. The disaster relief operation enabled Hindu Right organizations, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), to disseminate and con solidate their ideology of Hinduness ( hindutva) and recruit new members. The role of the Hindu Right in relation to the state government in Gujarat is also critically examined. The article highlights the under-analyzed aspects of the moral complexity of evaluating the humanitarian work of the Hindu Right by drawing attention to the compassionate side of the movement.","PeriodicalId":53972,"journal":{"name":"Asian Ethnology","volume":"75 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2016-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67697222","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Hard Lessons Learned: Tracking Changes in Media Presentations of Religion and Religious Aid Mobilization after the 1995 and 2011 Disasters in Japan","authors":"Levi McLaughlin","doi":"10.18874/AE.75.1.05","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18874/AE.75.1.05","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":53972,"journal":{"name":"Asian Ethnology","volume":"70 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2016-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67697261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article explores the roles of folk performing arts within the wider context of disaster relief in Japan following the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disasters. It focuses on two Shinto-based troupes located along the devastated Sanriku coastal region—Kadonaka-gumi Toramai and Unotori Kagura. Both groups perform ludic, entertaining acts as part of their repertoires. Their playful ritual practices draw upon elements of local religious traditions as they provide a form of relief to aid the victims of disaster by helping them rebuild their lives and communities.
{"title":"Playful relief: Folk performing arts in Japan after the 2011 Tsunami","authors":"Ken Miichi","doi":"10.18874/AE.75.1.06","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18874/AE.75.1.06","url":null,"abstract":"This article explores the roles of folk performing arts within the wider context of disaster relief in Japan following the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disasters. It focuses on two Shinto-based troupes located along the devastated Sanriku coastal region—Kadonaka-gumi Toramai and Unotori Kagura. Both groups perform ludic, entertaining acts as part of their repertoires. Their playful ritual practices draw upon elements of local religious traditions as they provide a form of relief to aid the victims of disaster by helping them rebuild their lives and communities.","PeriodicalId":53972,"journal":{"name":"Asian Ethnology","volume":"75 1","pages":"139-162"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2016-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67697345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Effectiveness and Limitations of “Context”: Reflections Based on Ethnographic Research of Myth Traditions","authors":"Li-hua Yang","doi":"10.18874/AE.74.2.06","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18874/AE.74.2.06","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":53972,"journal":{"name":"Asian Ethnology","volume":"74 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2015-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67696745","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Field Note: The Impact of Christianity on Traditional Agricultural Practices and Beliefs among the Kimaragang of Sabah: A Preliminary Study","authors":"Kok On Low, Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan","doi":"10.18874/AE.74.2.08","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18874/AE.74.2.08","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":53972,"journal":{"name":"Asian Ethnology","volume":"74 1","pages":"401-424"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2015-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67696501","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Review of: Wilt L. Idema and Stephen H. West, \"The Generals of the Yang Family: Four Early Plays\"","authors":"A. McLaren","doi":"10.18874/AE.74.2.12","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18874/AE.74.2.12","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":53972,"journal":{"name":"Asian Ethnology","volume":"74 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2015-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67696847","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Review Essay: Critical Reflections on Religion and Media in Contemporary Bali","authors":"B. Heimarck","doi":"10.18874/AE.74.2.09","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18874/AE.74.2.09","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":53972,"journal":{"name":"Asian Ethnology","volume":"74 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2015-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67696533","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Folk beliefs about Great Yu and Emperor Shun in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, are of great significance in the local area. Two rituals recently named Reverence for Yu the Great and the Emperor Shun Temple Festival respectively have been recognized by the state as intangible cultural heritage (ICH). This recognition has become another driving force to simultaneously revive and objectify local culture in support of China’s rising tourism industry. During this process, when folk beliefs at the grassroots level are transformed into the objects of the state ICH movement, regional governments replace folk groups as the main, official bodies that regulate and represent these folk beliefs. Folk groups lose their rights to the social and economic values of these cultural resources. In this context, the displaced agency of folk groups leads to the redistribution of economic resources and the restructuring of their power relations. Thus, this article aims to explore a fundamental question regarding the ICH-driven process of cultural reconstruction: for whom we should conserve ICH?
{"title":"For Whom to Conserve Intangible Cultural Heritage : The Dislocated Agency of Folk Belief Practitioners and the Reproduction of Local Culture (Chinese Folklore Studies : Toward Disciplinary Maturity)","authors":"Zhiqin Chen","doi":"10.18874/AE.74.2.04","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18874/AE.74.2.04","url":null,"abstract":"Folk beliefs about Great Yu and Emperor Shun in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, are of great significance in the local area. Two rituals recently named Reverence for Yu the Great and the Emperor Shun Temple Festival respectively have been recognized by the state as intangible cultural heritage (ICH). This recognition has become another driving force to simultaneously revive and objectify local culture in support of China’s rising tourism industry. During this process, when folk beliefs at the grassroots level are transformed into the objects of the state ICH movement, regional governments replace folk groups as the main, official bodies that regulate and represent these folk beliefs. Folk groups lose their rights to the social and economic values of these cultural resources. In this context, the displaced agency of folk groups leads to the redistribution of economic resources and the restructuring of their power relations. Thus, this article aims to explore a fundamental question regarding the ICH-driven process of cultural reconstruction: for whom we should conserve ICH?","PeriodicalId":53972,"journal":{"name":"Asian Ethnology","volume":"1 1","pages":"307-334"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2015-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67696662","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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