
The Materiality of the Past
History and Representation in Sikh Tradition
Anne Murphy(Author)
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 29. November 2012
Book
Paperback/Softback
336 pages
978-0-19-991629-0 (ISBN)
Description
Anne Murphy offers a groundbreaking exploration of the material aspects of Sikh identity, showing how material objects, as well as holy sites, and texts, embody and represent the Sikh community as an evolving historical and social construction.
Widening traditional scholarly emphasis on holy sites and texts alone to include consideration of iconic objects, such as garments and weaponry, Murphy moves further and examines the parallel relationships among sites, texts, and objects. She reveals that objects have played dramatically different roles across regimes-signifers of authority in one, mere possessions in another-and like Sikh texts, which have long been a resource for the construction of Sikh identity, material objects have served as a means of imagining and representing the past.
Murphy's deft and nuanced study of the complex role objects have played and continue to play in Sikh history and memory will be a valuable resource to students and scholars of Sikh history and culture.
Widening traditional scholarly emphasis on holy sites and texts alone to include consideration of iconic objects, such as garments and weaponry, Murphy moves further and examines the parallel relationships among sites, texts, and objects. She reveals that objects have played dramatically different roles across regimes-signifers of authority in one, mere possessions in another-and like Sikh texts, which have long been a resource for the construction of Sikh identity, material objects have served as a means of imagining and representing the past.
Murphy's deft and nuanced study of the complex role objects have played and continue to play in Sikh history and memory will be a valuable resource to students and scholars of Sikh history and culture.
Reviews / Votes
This welcome addition to Sikh Studies also suggests a basis for approaching issues of materiality across faith traditions, especially given Murphy's allusions to Buddhist, Christian, and Hindu views of religious objects. * Eleanor Nesbitt, Journal of Contemporary Religion *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Students and scholars of Sikh history and culture; anthropology, material culture
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
512 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-991629-0 (9780199916290)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
11/2012
Oxford University Press Inc
€98.90
Shipment within 15-20 days

E-Book
09/2012
1st Edition
Oxford University Press, USA
€52.09
Available for download
Person
Assistant Professor, Department of Asian Studies, University of British Columbia
Author
Assistant Professor of Asian StudiesAssistant Professor of Asian Studies, University of British Columbia
Content
Acknowledgements ; Chapter 1 Introduction: The Forms of Sikh Memory ; Chapter 2 Sikh Materialities ; SECTION 1 The Past in the Sikh Imagination ; Chapter 3 Representation of a Community: Literary Sources from the Eighteenth Century ; Chapter 4 Into the Nineteenth Century: History and Sovereignty ; SECTION 2 Possessing the Past ; Chapter 5 A History of Possession ; Chapter 6 Colonial Governance and Gurdwara Reform ; Chapter 7 Territory and the Definition of Being Sikh ; Chapter 8 Conclusion Community, Territory, and the Afterlife of the Object ; Bibliography ; Index