Sacred Play : Ritual Levity and Humor in South Asian Religions.

Intro -- Sacred Play -- Contents -- List of Figures -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Introduction: Ritual Levity in South Asian Traditions -- Part 1. Laughing Inside Out: Playful Breaks with Convention -- 2. Serious Levity at the Shrine of St. Anne in South India -- 3. Don't Take It Badly, It's Holi: Ritual Levity, Society, and Agriculture -- 4. Playing the Married Lady: Primary Marriage among the Newars of Nepal -- 5. The "Artful Trick": Challenging Convention through Play in Upstate New York -- Part 2. Gods and Humans at Play: Religious Humor and Divine Intimacy -- 6. Friendship, Humor, Levity, and Love in a Hindu Women's Ritual Tradition -- 7. Laughing until It Hurts . . .Somebody Else: The Pain of a Ritual Joke -- 8. Gods' Play and the Buddha's Way: Varieties of Levity in Contemporary Sinhala Practice -- Part 3. Playing to Win: Edging Out the Competition -- 9. Playing with Durga in Bengal -- 10. Turning Karbala Inside Out: Humor and Ritual Critiquein South Asian Muharram Rites -- 11. A Catholic Charismatic Healer at Play in North India -- 12. Response -- Contributors -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z.

Explores the significance of levity and humor in South Asian religious traditions.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.