Research Catalog
Of beggars and Buddhas : the politics of humor in the Vessantara Jataka in Thailand
- Title
- Of beggars and Buddhas : the politics of humor in the Vessantara Jataka in Thailand / Katherine A. Bowie.
- Author
- Bowie, Katherine Ann, 1950-
- Publication
- Madison, Wisconsin : The University of Wisconsin Press, [2017]
- ©2017
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| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schwarzman Building to submit a request in person. | Text | Use in library | JFE 17-2479 | Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315 |
Details
- Description
- xvi, 357 pages : illustrations; 24 cm
- Summary
- The 547 Buddhist jatakas, or verse parables, recount the Buddha's lives in previous incarnations. In his penultimate and most famous incarnation, he appears as the Prince Vessantara, perfecting the virtue of generosity by giving away all his possessions, his wife, and his children to the beggar Jujaka. Taking an anthropological approach to this two-thousand-year-old morality tale, Katherine A. Bowie highlights significant local variations in its interpretations and public performances across three regions of Thailand over 150 years. The Vessantara Jataka has served both monastic and royal interests, encouraging parents to give their sons to religious orders and intimating that kings are future Buddhas. But, as Bowie shows, characterizations of the beggar Jujaka in various regions and eras have also brought ribald humor and sly antiroyalist themes to the story. Historically, these subversive performances appealed to popular audiences even as they worried the conservative Bangkok court. The monarchy sporadically sought to suppress the comedic recitations. As Thailand has changed from a feudal to a capitalist society, this famous story about giving away possessions is paradoxically being employed to promote tourism and wealth.
- Series Statement
- New perspectives in Southeast Asian studies
- Uniform Title
- New perspectives in Southeast Asian studies.
- Subject
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Contents
- Introduction : of monarchs, monks, and peasant masses -- Part I. Diversity in humor. Central Thailand : humor defeated -- Northeastern Thailand : humor diverted -- Northern Thailand : humor delighted -- Part II. The politics of diversity. Jujaka as trickster : the peasant imaginaire -- Jujaka as threat : consolidating control -- Jujaka as deity : rebirths under global capitalism -- Conclusion : the journey's end.
- Call Number
- JFE 17-2479
- ISBN
- 9780299309503 (cloth : alk. paper)
- 0299309509 (cloth : alk. paper)
- LCCN
- 2016017724
- OCLC
- 947104961
- Author
- Bowie, Katherine Ann, 1950- author.
- Title
- Of beggars and Buddhas : the politics of humor in the Vessantara Jataka in Thailand / Katherine A. Bowie.
- Publisher
- Madison, Wisconsin : The University of Wisconsin Press, [2017]
- Copyright Date
- ©2017
- Type of Content
- text
- Type of Medium
- unmediated
- Type of Carrier
- volume
- Series
- New perspectives in Southeast Asian studiesNew perspectives in Southeast Asian studies.
- Bibliography
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Research Call Number
- JFE 17-2479