The Routledge Handbook of Tribe and Religions in India

The Routledge Handbook of Tribe and Religions in India
Author: Maguni Charan Behera
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 471
Release: 2024-09-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1040114334

This handbook explores the diversity of religious practice in tribal cultures in India. It looks at the interactive spaces where the religious practices of tribes and other communities have changed and adapted through the years in contemporary India. Tribe as a social category emerged in India during the colonial period; this handbook departs from the conventional approaches to studying ‘tribal religion’ and analyses the intersections of spirituality, rituals, gender and identities within tribal religion through a crosscultural and pan-Indian perspective. Tribes in India follow various religious denominations including Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and traditional indigenous faiths. The chapters in this volume provide insights into the cross-cultural religiosity of tribes via ethnographic accounts and the study of animism, life cycle rituals, ancestor worship, shrines and religious institutions, revivalism, religious identities, religious conversion, transcendental religious spaces and the space for gender, identity and politics within religious traditions. It also discusses conflicts, contestations, anxieties within and the politics of religious traditions and identities in India and how tribal communities and the state negotiate with these issues. This and its companion handbook, The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Readings on Tribe and Religions in India: Emerging Negotiations, provide a comprehensive look into the religious life and practices of a very diverse group of tribes in India. This book will be of interest to academics and researchers working in the fields of religion, anthropology, indigenous and tribal studies, social and cultural anthropology, sociology of culture, sociology of religion, development studies, history, political science, folkloristic, and colonialism.

Global Geographical Heritage, Geoparks and Geotourism

Global Geographical Heritage, Geoparks and Geotourism
Author: R.B. Singh
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 483
Release: 2020-10-31
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9811549567

This book explores the geographical, geomorphological, ecological, touristic and socioeconomic aspects of natural heritage, argues for the dynamic conservation of that heritage and explains its key characteristics, promotion, conservation and management to achieve sustainable development goals. Emerging concepts such as geodiversity, geographical heritage sites, geomonuments, geoparks and geotourism are increasingly being used by conservationists. At present, the development of geoparks is a major global theme involving the application of geosciences to promote the inclusive growth of society and the protection and conservation of our unique geoheritage. Currently, there are 147 UNESCO global geoparks across 41 countries, in addition to a number of national-level geoparks. Pursuing a holistic approach towards such sites will sensitise the general public to the need for geoconservation of significant geosites and promote it through geotourism. It is a crucial issue, as various countries around the world are eager to develop their geoparks and are working for the conservation of geoheritage sites at the national level. This unique book gathers contributions from 15 countries in the form of case studies analysing the realities on of geographical heritage, geoparks and geotourism. The respective chapters address the role of geoparks as essential tools for education, recreation and nature conservation. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable guide for geoscientists, planners, policymakers, civil society and anyone concerned about the conservation of geoheritage sites and geoparks for a sustainable future Earth.

Women and Monastic Buddhism in Early South Asia

Women and Monastic Buddhism in Early South Asia
Author: Garima Kaushik
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 299
Release: 2016-02-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 1317329392

This book uses gender as a framework to offer unique insights into the socio-cultural foundations of Buddhism. Moving away from dominant discourses that discuss women as a single monolithic, homogenous category—thus rendering them invisible within the broader religious discourse—this monograph examines their sustained role in the larger context of South Asian Buddhism and reaffirms their agency. It highlights the multiple roles played by women as patrons, practitioners, lay and monastic members, etc. within Buddhism. The volume also investigates the individual experiences of the members, and their equations and relationships at different levels—with the Samgha at large, with their own respective Bhikşu or Bhikşunī Sangha, with the laity, and with members of the same gender (both lay and monastic). It rereads, reconfigures and reassesses historical data in order to arrive at a new understanding of Buddhism and the social matrix within which it developed and flourished. Bringing together archaeological, epigraphic, art historical, literary as well as ethnographic data, this volume will be of interest to researchers and scholars of Buddhism, gender studies, ancient Indian history, religion, and South Asian studies.

Sacred Complexes of Deoghar and Rajgir

Sacred Complexes of Deoghar and Rajgir
Author: Sachindra Narayan
Publisher: Concept Publishing Company
Total Pages: 146
Release: 1983
Genre: Deoghar (India)
ISBN:

Study of the importance of Deoghar and Rajgir, Hindu pilgrimage centers in Bihar.