"The Coming of Brahmin Migrants : The Sudra Fate of an Indian Elite in Sri Lanka" lecture by Gananath Obeyesekere at Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg > 5:30pm on 31st January 2013
Time : 5:30 pm
Entry : Free (Seating on First-Come First-Served basis)
For more information about the speaker, the series, please contact the Department of Sociology, South Asian University at sociology@sau.ac.in or via telephone: 24122512, 13, 14 (Ext.: 261)
Place : Seminar Room, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML), Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg, New Delhi
Venue Info : Events | About | Map | Nearest Metro Station - 'Race Course(Yellow Line)'
Event Description : Faculty of Social Sciences, South Asian University, New Delhi presents Contributions to Contemporary Knowledge Lecture Series, 2013
'The Coming of Brahmin Migrants : The Sudra Fate of an Indian Elite in Sri Lanka' lecture by Gananath Obeyesekere, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, Princeton University.
About the Series : Starting in 2013, the Contributions to Contemporary Knowledge lecture series will invite a distinguished scholar to present his or her work on a topic of broad relevance to South Asian studies every January. Facilitated by the Faculty of Social Sciences at South Asian University, the annual lecture series will be part of a wider public engagement that will also include a series of seminars on selected themes for South Asian University faculty and students. These seminars will also be open to external participants. In 2013, the lecture and seminars will be facilitated by the Department of Sociology, South Asian University.
Abstract of Lecture : Most Sri Lankans assume that due to the contemporary absence of a Brahmin presence there have been no Brahmins in Sri Lanka at all, particularly among the Sinhalas, except in Jaffna and other Hindu areas where a small number of Brahmin and non-Brahmin kurukkals officiate in major temples. For Sinhala Buddhist areas there is no record of Brahmins from the 19th century onwards although it is evident from historical evidence that Brahmin purohitas were present in most, if not all the kingdoms of Sri Lanka. It is often assumed that Brahmins were not part of the general population, in spite of the fact that there were constant South Indian migrations throughout history. Over the last ten years, the speaker and his research assistants have collected palm leaf manuscripts written from the 16th century onwards by village intellectuals, and these texts mention not only the mass immigration of South Indian peoples but also deal with Brahmin movements into Sri Lanka, and list some of the villages they were settled in. Several contain the term Brahmin or bamunu and hence village names such as Bamunugama and Kiribamuna. Texts from an important shrine for Skanda in the Uva District mention its founding by two Brahmin brothers and their descendants who have non-Brahmin names. Dutch sources mention the existence of Brahmins in the city of Kandy during the reign of King Vimaladharmasuriya (1591-1604). The question then is: where have all the Brahmins gone? A clue is found in two palm leaf manuscripts from the mid 17 and mid 18th centuries that list the names of important families in the Matale district, north of Kandy. They mention several prominent goyigama/vellala (farmer caste) families with the name ‘Brahmana’ attached to it. The hypothesis presented by Prof Obeyesekere suggests that given the numerical and political importance of the goyigama caste, various migrant groups, be they merchants or Brahmins, were assimilated into that caste with the more prominent Brahmins often enough placed in its aristocratic segment (radala). Recent research indicates the constant movement of Brahmins from the north to the very south of India from ancient times, and it is improbable that they did not extend their journeys into Sri Lanka. This lecture will demonstrate their movement into Sri Lanka
where they were in a sense “demoted” in terms of the classical varna scheme but “promoted” in terms of Sri Lankan values. The speaker will also briefly discuss the local variations of the varna scheme in relation to Brahmin migratory movements.
Opening with tea and snacks: 05.30 pm- 05.50 pm
Introductory remarks by Prof Sasanka Perera, Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences, South Asian University:
05.50 pm - 06.00 pm
Chair’s introduction by Prof. Patricia Uberoi: 06.00 pm – 06.15 pm
Public Lecture, by Prof. Gananath Obeyesekere: 06.15 pm – 07.15 pm
Questions and answers: 07.15 pm – 07.45 pm
Vote of Thanks: 07.45 pm – 07.50 pm
About the Speaker : After receiving his undergraduate education from the University of Ceylon (1955), Professor Gananath Obeyesekere studied at the University of Washington, Seattle where he received his MA in Cultural Anthropology in 1958, and his PhD in 1964. Subsequently, he taught at the University of Ceylon, at the University of Washington, Seattle and in the Department of Anthropology, University of California, San Diego. From 1980 to 1983, he was Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University, serving as Department Chair from 1983 to 1988. He
retired from Princeton University in 2000 as Emeritus Professor of Anthropology. He is best known for his many books: Land Tenure in Village Ceylon: A Sociological and Historical Study (Cambridge University Press, 1967); Medusa’s Hair: An Essay on Personal Symbols and Religious Experience (University of Chicago Press, 1981); The Cult of the Goddess Pattini (University of Chicago Press, 1984); Buddhism Transformed: Religious Change in Sri Lanka (with Richard Gombrich, Princeton University Press, 1988); The Work of Culture: Symbolic Transformation
in Psychoanalysis and Anthropology (University of Chicago Press, 1990); The Apotheosis of Captain Cook: European Mythmaking in the Pacific (Princeton University Press, 1993); Imagining Karma: Ethical Transformation in Amerindian, Buddhist, and Greek Rebirth (University of California Press, 2002); Cannibal Talk: The Man-eating Myth and Human Sacrifice in the South Seas (University of California Press, 2005); The Awakened Ones: Phenomenology of Visionary Experience (Columbia University Press, 2012).
Related Events : Talks | External Affairs
Entry : Free (Seating on First-Come First-Served basis)
For more information about the speaker, the series, please contact the Department of Sociology, South Asian University at sociology@sau.ac.in or via telephone: 24122512, 13, 14 (Ext.: 261)
Place : Seminar Room, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML), Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg, New Delhi
Venue Info : Events | About | Map | Nearest Metro Station - 'Race Course(Yellow Line)'
Event Description : Faculty of Social Sciences, South Asian University, New Delhi presents Contributions to Contemporary Knowledge Lecture Series, 2013
'The Coming of Brahmin Migrants : The Sudra Fate of an Indian Elite in Sri Lanka' lecture by Gananath Obeyesekere, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, Princeton University.
About the Series : Starting in 2013, the Contributions to Contemporary Knowledge lecture series will invite a distinguished scholar to present his or her work on a topic of broad relevance to South Asian studies every January. Facilitated by the Faculty of Social Sciences at South Asian University, the annual lecture series will be part of a wider public engagement that will also include a series of seminars on selected themes for South Asian University faculty and students. These seminars will also be open to external participants. In 2013, the lecture and seminars will be facilitated by the Department of Sociology, South Asian University.
Abstract of Lecture : Most Sri Lankans assume that due to the contemporary absence of a Brahmin presence there have been no Brahmins in Sri Lanka at all, particularly among the Sinhalas, except in Jaffna and other Hindu areas where a small number of Brahmin and non-Brahmin kurukkals officiate in major temples. For Sinhala Buddhist areas there is no record of Brahmins from the 19th century onwards although it is evident from historical evidence that Brahmin purohitas were present in most, if not all the kingdoms of Sri Lanka. It is often assumed that Brahmins were not part of the general population, in spite of the fact that there were constant South Indian migrations throughout history. Over the last ten years, the speaker and his research assistants have collected palm leaf manuscripts written from the 16th century onwards by village intellectuals, and these texts mention not only the mass immigration of South Indian peoples but also deal with Brahmin movements into Sri Lanka, and list some of the villages they were settled in. Several contain the term Brahmin or bamunu and hence village names such as Bamunugama and Kiribamuna. Texts from an important shrine for Skanda in the Uva District mention its founding by two Brahmin brothers and their descendants who have non-Brahmin names. Dutch sources mention the existence of Brahmins in the city of Kandy during the reign of King Vimaladharmasuriya (1591-1604). The question then is: where have all the Brahmins gone? A clue is found in two palm leaf manuscripts from the mid 17 and mid 18th centuries that list the names of important families in the Matale district, north of Kandy. They mention several prominent goyigama/vellala (farmer caste) families with the name ‘Brahmana’ attached to it. The hypothesis presented by Prof Obeyesekere suggests that given the numerical and political importance of the goyigama caste, various migrant groups, be they merchants or Brahmins, were assimilated into that caste with the more prominent Brahmins often enough placed in its aristocratic segment (radala). Recent research indicates the constant movement of Brahmins from the north to the very south of India from ancient times, and it is improbable that they did not extend their journeys into Sri Lanka. This lecture will demonstrate their movement into Sri Lanka
where they were in a sense “demoted” in terms of the classical varna scheme but “promoted” in terms of Sri Lankan values. The speaker will also briefly discuss the local variations of the varna scheme in relation to Brahmin migratory movements.
Opening with tea and snacks: 05.30 pm- 05.50 pm
Introductory remarks by Prof Sasanka Perera, Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences, South Asian University:
05.50 pm - 06.00 pm
Chair’s introduction by Prof. Patricia Uberoi: 06.00 pm – 06.15 pm
Public Lecture, by Prof. Gananath Obeyesekere: 06.15 pm – 07.15 pm
Questions and answers: 07.15 pm – 07.45 pm
Vote of Thanks: 07.45 pm – 07.50 pm
About the Speaker : After receiving his undergraduate education from the University of Ceylon (1955), Professor Gananath Obeyesekere studied at the University of Washington, Seattle where he received his MA in Cultural Anthropology in 1958, and his PhD in 1964. Subsequently, he taught at the University of Ceylon, at the University of Washington, Seattle and in the Department of Anthropology, University of California, San Diego. From 1980 to 1983, he was Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University, serving as Department Chair from 1983 to 1988. He
retired from Princeton University in 2000 as Emeritus Professor of Anthropology. He is best known for his many books: Land Tenure in Village Ceylon: A Sociological and Historical Study (Cambridge University Press, 1967); Medusa’s Hair: An Essay on Personal Symbols and Religious Experience (University of Chicago Press, 1981); The Cult of the Goddess Pattini (University of Chicago Press, 1984); Buddhism Transformed: Religious Change in Sri Lanka (with Richard Gombrich, Princeton University Press, 1988); The Work of Culture: Symbolic Transformation
in Psychoanalysis and Anthropology (University of Chicago Press, 1990); The Apotheosis of Captain Cook: European Mythmaking in the Pacific (Princeton University Press, 1993); Imagining Karma: Ethical Transformation in Amerindian, Buddhist, and Greek Rebirth (University of California Press, 2002); Cannibal Talk: The Man-eating Myth and Human Sacrifice in the South Seas (University of California Press, 2005); The Awakened Ones: Phenomenology of Visionary Experience (Columbia University Press, 2012).
Related Events : Talks | External Affairs
"The Coming of Brahmin Migrants : The Sudra Fate of an Indian Elite in Sri Lanka" lecture by Gananath Obeyesekere at Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg > 5:30pm on 31st January 2013
!["The Coming of Brahmin Migrants : The Sudra Fate of an Indian Elite in Sri Lanka" lecture by Gananath Obeyesekere at Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg > 5:30pm on 31st January 2013]()
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Thursday, January 31, 2013
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