
Sherpas through their Rituals
Sherry B. Ortner(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 14. April 1978
Book
Paperback/Softback
208 pages
978-0-521-29216-0 (ISBN)
Description
The Sherpas of the Himalayas practice Tibetan Buddhism, a variety of Mahayana Buddhism. This is a general interpretation of Sherpa culture through examining the relationship between the Sherpas' Buddhism and other aspects of their society, and a theoretical contribution to the study of ritual and religious symbolism. In analysing the symbols of Sherpa rituals, professor Ortner leads us toward the discovery of conflict, contradiction, and stress in the wider social and cultural world. Following a general ethnographic sketch, each chapter opens with a brief description of a ritual. The ritual is then dissected, and its symbolic elements are used as guides in the exploration of problematic structures, relationships, and ideas of the culture. The author uses these rituals to illuminate the interconnections between religious ideology, social structure and experience. Professor Ortner analysis of the rituals reveals both the Buddhist pull toward exaggerating the isolation of individuals, and the secular pull that attempts to overcome isolation and to reproduce the conditions for social community.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
346 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-29216-0 (9780521292160)
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Additional editions

Sherry B. Ortner
Sherpas through their Rituals
Book
04/1978
Cambridge University Press
€27.86
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Previous edition

Sherry B. Ortner
Sherpas through their Rituals
Book
04/1978
Cambridge University Press
€27.86
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Content
Preface; 1. Introduction: some notes on ritual; 2. The surface contours of the Sherpa world; 3. Nyungne: problems of marriage, family and asceticism; 4. Hospitality: problems of exchange, status and authority; 5. Exorcisms: problems of wealth, pollution and reincarnation; 6. Offering rituals: problems of religion, anger and social cooperation; 7. Conclusions: Buddhism and society; Notes; Bibliography; Index.