A Spirit Map of Bangkok: Spirit Shrines and the City in Thailand

As many scholars of Thai Buddhism have shown, Thailand's religious sphere incorporates animist and Brahminist elements into a new fusion. But this religious system is not seamless, rather it rests upon internal contradiction and division, between upper and lower class, rural and urban. Alongsid...

Description complète

Enregistré dans:  
Détails bibliographiques
Auteur principal: Johnson, Andrew Alan (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
Vérifier la disponibilité: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
En cours de chargement...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Publié: Equinox Publ. [2015]
Dans: Journal for the academic study of religion
Année: 2015, Volume: 28, Numéro: 3, Pages: 293-308
Sujets / Chaînes de mots-clés standardisés:B Bangkok / Buddhisme / Sanctuaire / Pensée animiste
Classifications IxTheo:AG Vie religieuse
BL Bouddhisme
KBM Asie
Sujets non-standardisés:B the city
B Spirits
B Urban Religion
B Shrines
B Mediumship
B PILGRIMS & pilgrimages
B Religion
B Social aspects
B Thailand
B BANGKOK (Thailand)
B Buddhism
B Hybridity
B Cults
Accès en ligne: Volltext (doi)
Description
Résumé:As many scholars of Thai Buddhism have shown, Thailand's religious sphere incorporates animist and Brahminist elements into a new fusion. But this religious system is not seamless, rather it rests upon internal contradiction and division, between upper and lower class, rural and urban. Alongside the official spirit shrines devoted to the Thai state and the continued progress and expansion of the city, via an analysis of urban spirit cults, I address the unexpected irruption of nature, death, and accident into the planned urban cityscape. Here, I examine one nocturnal pilgrimage by a spirit medium and her devotees across Bangkok's spiritual cityscape. I ask what this 'spirit map' of Bangkok opens up for analysis in the context of those areas of Bangkok swallowed up by its continuous expansion, and address the nature of urban religious aspirations for her and her spirit's devotees. Ultimately, drawing from Bhabha's idea of hybridity, I argue that this medium's Bangkok presents a challenge to established hierarchies of power, a challenge that focuses on the unusual (e.g. accident sites) as evidence for the appearance of the transcendent.
ISSN:2047-7058
Contient:Enthalten in: Journal for the academic study of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1558/jasr.v28i3.28434