
Water Powers
Sacred Aquatic Animals of the Asia-Pacific
University of Hawai'i Press
Will be published approx. on 30. June 2026
Book
Hardback
346 pages
979-8-8807-0208-4 (ISBN)
Description
Water Powers is an interdisciplinary collection that presents timely, original research on sacred aquatic animals-from dragons and nagas to crocodiles, eels, dugongs, and whales-and environmental change. Contributors examine the past and present significance of these creatures in Nepal, India, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Japan, Okinawa, Indonesia, and Aotearoa-New Zealand to explore the diverse relationships between animals, deities, humans, and bodies of water. In so doing, they challenge narratives about disenchantment as a core aspect of modernization, seeking to give the sacred creatures and the rituals associated with them a more central place in debates about environmental degradation and conservation initiatives. Their work converges around three core themes: (1) divine embodiment and materiality (how sacred beings manifest themselves and act in the world); (2) making and crossing boundaries (how aquatic animals are constrained by but also challenge physical, ontological, and conceptual boundaries); and (3) crises and relationality (how more-than-human relationships change in response to environmental and other crises).
Water Powers will appeal to scholars and students across multiple fields, including anthropology, religious studies, environmental humanities, geography, development studies, history, and archaeology. The book will also interest development experts, conservationists, museum curators, and readers engaged with culture, religion, and environmental change in the Asia-Pacific region.
Water Powers will appeal to scholars and students across multiple fields, including anthropology, religious studies, environmental humanities, geography, development studies, history, and archaeology. The book will also interest development experts, conservationists, museum curators, and readers engaged with culture, religion, and environmental change in the Asia-Pacific region.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Honolulu, HI
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
20 b&w illustrations, 2 maps - 2 Maps
Dimensions
Height: 231 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
703 gr
ISBN-13
979-8-8807-0208-4 (9798880702084)
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
Persons
Aike P. Rots is a professor of East Asian religions at the University of Oslo who specializes in rituals, heritage, and the environment.
Florence Durney is an environmental anthropologist and postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Oslo.
Lindsey DeWitt Prat is a director of research at Bold Insight and conducts research on language, culture, and religion in Japan and globally.
Sonja Aman is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Oslo Center of Environmental Humanities, University of Oslo.
Florence Durney is an environmental anthropologist and postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Oslo.
Lindsey DeWitt Prat is a director of research at Bold Insight and conducts research on language, culture, and religion in Japan and globally.
Sonja Aman is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Oslo Center of Environmental Humanities, University of Oslo.