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Individual Papers: New Perspectives on South and Southeast Asia: Religion and State Formation
Organizer & Chair: Cynthia J. Brokaw, Ohio State University
Pain and Gain: Renovation in Vietnam's Spirit World
Mai Lan Gustafsson, Christopher Newport University
“Renovation” is the name of sweeping economic reforms instituted in Vietnam in the mid to late 1980s. As a rule, the standard of living in Vietnam rose following the adoption of the Renovation policy. Moreover, many Vietnamese subsequently enjoyed greater personal freedoms as the state’s power to control its people waned with economic liberalization.
Some Vietnamese, however, while enjoying the material gains made possible by Renovation, have experienced an intensification of a wide range of illness they attribute to angry ghosts. These unhappy souls, denied transformation into benevolent ancestral spirits by dint of their violent deaths during the war in Vietnam, have long victimized those who survived the conflict. With the boons of Renovation, my informants tell of the increased fury and envy of the war ghosts. Unable to rest in peace, these spirits make sure their victims cannot live in prosperity.
This paper examines the effects of Renovation on the living and the dead in Vietnam, and highlights how politics affects the relationship between this world and the next
A Study of Human Impact on Sacred Groves in India
Neelam Singh, Ohio University
Graduate thesis based on field study in the Western Ghats region of Pune district, Maharashtra, India. The paper describes the influence of human activities on four sacred groves in Pune district, Maharashtra, which is situated at the northern end of the Western Ghats region of India. The study explores the extent to which sacred groves as religious entities may also be considered as representative of community-driven environmental conservation practices. Sacred groves are forest patches set aside for a local deity, and their use is regulated by various rules governing resource extraction. Pune has one of the highest numbers of sacred groves in Maharashtra. Qualitative interviews conducted in the four villages associated with the groves, and quantitative data describing forest characteristics in the sacred and non-sacred stands served as the basis for the analysis in the paper. A host of socio-religious and economic activities are carried out in the sacred groves, but restrained use helps in minimizing human impact on the groves as compared to the non-sacred forest. However, restrictions on use are motivated by religion and economics rather than any inherent regard for forest and wildlife conservation. Moreover, the groves are isolated fragments of forest, and often small in extent, which limits their conservation potential.
Dharma Beyond the Temple: Buddhist Monks and New Media in Thailand
Rachelle M Scott, University of Tennessee
Over the past decade, several studies have concluded that the religious institution of the sangha (the community of monks) in Thailand is in a state of crisis. Some observers point to a decline in the moral authority of the sangha as the primary index of this religious crisis, as evidenced by the numerous sexual and monetary scandals in the press. Others argue that the bureaucratic structure of the modern Thai sangha has not enabled it to address the needs of a new Thai society; consequently, fewer Thai men are donning the saffron robe, and fewer laypersons are attending temple services on a regular basis. While these studies reflect genuine concerns within Thai Buddhist communities, we should not ignore those aspects of the Thai sangha that represent the continued vitality and relevance of the sangha in public and private life. In my paper, I contend that one index of the sangha’s vitality and relevance can be found in the use of new technologies of religious instruction, such as the radio, television, and the Internet, that enable monks to reach audiences far beyond the confines of their local temples and to address issues of national import such as the violent conflict in the south. My research on Buddhist discourses in these new media will redirect our analysis of contemporary Thai Buddhism away from analyses of social and religious crises and towards an analysis of the regeneration of religious communities through new technologies of instruction and transmission.