Transgressing religious boundaries: the power of aesthetics in tamil catholic and hindu worship

This article discusses shared material culture and sensorial practices in prayer among Hindu and Catholic Sri Lankan Tamils living in Paris, such as the clockwise circling of incense, the use of flower garlands, and the worship of Mother Mary. Rather than classifying these practices into religious c...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Material religion
Main Author: Bruland, Stine (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Taylor & Francis [2013]
In: Material religion
Further subjects:B Tamils
B arati
B Catholicism
B Hinduism
B Aesthetics
B Mother Mary
B sensational forms
B Creativity
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Description
Summary:This article discusses shared material culture and sensorial practices in prayer among Hindu and Catholic Sri Lankan Tamils living in Paris, such as the clockwise circling of incense, the use of flower garlands, and the worship of Mother Mary. Rather than classifying these practices into religious categories, I argue for a need to examine how such practices come to be shared. By employing a material approach to religious aesthetics which recognizes that objects or "things" are active and have agency and affect how we sense and thus experience our world, I suggest that common aesthetic elements are able to produce feelings of religiosity and, particularly for people who share a common aesthetic in everyday life, to bridge the levels between humans and the divine.
ISSN:1751-8342
Contains:Enthalten in: Material religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.2752/175183413X13823695747408