Performance as Religious Observance in Some Śaiva Ascetic Traditions from South and Southeast Asia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12797/CIS.20.2018.01.03Keywords:
dance, dramaturgy, comedy, Śaivism, Tantra, Atimārga, Pāśupatas, Lākulas,, Kārukas, Kāpālikas, Nāṭyaśāstra, Vidus, Canthang Balungs, Sidha KaryaAbstract
My essay synthesizes, and elaborates on, previous research on the overlaps between performative arts and ascetic traditions of the Śaiva Atimārga in South and Southeast Asia. My analysis focuses mainly on textual data from Sanskrit and Old Javanese literature from the 4th to the 15th centuries, with contributions from modern and contemporary ethnography of Java and Bali. Here I will argue that categories of Śaiva practitioners who combined dance, recitation, and drama in both areas may derive from a shared tantric fund, and that those low-status agents characterized by antinomian behaviours were not only driven by ideals of individual salvation or quest for powers, but also contributed to their local social milieus (i.e. as ‘folk’ entertainers) and ritual economies (i.e., as performers attached to temples and royal palaces).
PlumX Metrics of this article
References
Primary Sources
Anusasanaparvan, Electronic text (C) Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune, India. 1999. E-texts entered by Muneo Tokunaga et al., revised by John Smith, Cambridge et al. [http://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil/1_sanskr/2_epic/mbh/mbh_13_u.htm].
Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya: A Critical Edition With a Glossary. R. P. Kangle (ed.). 1960. Bombay: University of Bombay Studies.
Brahmasūtrabhāṣya of Bhāskara. Vindhyeśvarīprasāda Dvivedin (ed.). 1903–1915. Benares: Chowkhamba [Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series, 70, 185, 209].
Gaṇakārikā of Bhāsarvajña with the Commentary Ratnaṭīkā. C. D. Dalal (ed.). 1920. Baroda: Gaekwad’s Oriental Series.
Kuṭṭ anīmatam, Dāmodaraguptaviracitam = The Bawd‘s Counsel. C. Dezső and D. Goodall (ed. and transl.). 2012. Groningen: Egbert Forsten.
Mānavadharmaśāstra = Manu’s Code of Law: A Critical Edition and Translation of the Mānavadharmaśāstra. P. Olivelle (ed. and transl.). 2005. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharatamuṇi with the Commentary Abhinavabhāratī by Abhinavaguptācārya. M. Ramakrishna Kavi (ed.). 1954–1964. Baroda: Oriental Institute [Gaekwad’s Oriental Series 36, 68, 124, 145].
Niśvāsaguhya cf. Nisvāsatattvasaṃhitā
Niśvāsamukha cf. Kafle 2015.
Niśvāsatattvasaṃhitā
(1) Palm-leaf MS, early Nepalese “Licchavi” script, NAK 1-227, NGMPP Reel No. A 41/14; 114 leaves.
(2) e-text (Roman and Devanāgarī) prepared by Dominic Goodall, with the contribution of Diwakar Acharya, Peter Bisschop and Nirajan Kafle, from MS NAK 1-227, supplemented with readings from its two Devanāgarī apographs, MS 5-2401, NGMPP Reel No. A 159/18 and Sanskrit MS i.33 of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, London.
[Includes the Niśvāsamukha, Niśvāsamūla, Niśvāsottara, Niśvāsanaya and Niśvāsaguhya].
(3) The Niśvāsatattvasaṃhitā: The Earliest Surviving Śaiva Tantra, Volume 1. A Critical Edition of the Mūlasūtra, Uttarasūtra and Nayasūtra, ed. by Dominic Goodall in collaboration with Alexis Sanderson and Harunaga Isaacson. With contributions of Nirajan Kafle, Diwakar Acharya and others. 2015. Pondicherry: EFEO / IFP / Asien-Afrika-Institut, Universität Hamburg.
Pañcārthabhāṣya cf. Pāśupatasūtra.
Paramokṣanirāsakārikā cf. Watson et al. 2013.
Pārthayajña = Zoetmulder, P. J. 2011* (unpublished manuscript). Pārthayajña, Old Javanese Text (excerpts). In: T. Hunter and S. Supomo (eds.). Sěkar Inikět, a Reader in Old Javanese Kakawin Literature. Part XIV: Pārthayajña.
Pasupata Sutras with Pancharthabhashya of Kaundinya. R. Ananthakrishna Sastri (ed.). 1940. Trivandrum: The Oriental Manuscripts Library of the University of Travancore.
Pratiṣṭhālakṣaṇasārasamuccaya. Dāmodaraśarman and Bābukṛṣṇaśarman (eds.). Vikrama 2023 and 2025 [= AD 1966 and 1968]. Kathmandu: Rāṣṭriyābhilekhālaya.
Ratnaṭīkā cf. Gaṇakārikā
Siddhāntadarpaṇa = The Mirror of Philosophical Conclusions by Baladeva Vidyabhūṣaṇa with the Commentary of Nanda Miśra. D. Martins (ed.). 2013. Faridabad: Jiva Institute.
Svacchandatantram with Commentary Uddyota by Kṣemarājācārya. V. V. Dvivedi (ed.). 1985. Delhi: Parimal.
Tantu Paṅgәlaran cf. Pigeaud 1924.
Secondary Sources
Acharya, D. 2007. The Saṃskāravidhi: A Manual on the Transformatory Rite of the Lakulīśa-Pāśupatas. In: D. Goodall and A. Padoux (eds.). Mélanges tantriques à la mémoire d’Hélène Brunner / Tantric Studies in Memory of Hélène Brunner. Pondicherry: IFI/EFEO: 27–48.
—. 2013. How to Behave Like a Bull? New Insight into the Origin and Religious Practice of Pāśupatas. In: Indo-Iranian Journal, 56(2): 101–131, [online:] http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15728536-0000001.
Acri, A. 2008. The Vaimala Sect of the Pāśupatas. New Data from Old Javanese Sources. In: Tantric Studies, 1: 193–208.
—. 2011. More on Birds, Ascetics and Kings in Central Java. Kakawin Rāmāyaṇa, 24.111–115 and 25.19–22. In: A. Acri et al. (eds.). From Laṅkā Eastwards. Leiden: KITLV Press: 53–91.
—. 2014a. Birds, Bards, Buffoons, and Brahmans: (Re-)Tracing the Indic Origins of Some Ancient and Modern Javano-Balinese Performing Characters. In: Archipel, 88: 13–70.
—. 2014b. The Śaiva Atimārga in the Light of Niśvāsaguhya 12.1–22ab. In: Cracow Indological Studies, 16: 7–49 , [online:] http://dx.doi.org/10.12797/CIS.16.2014.16.03.
Aichele, W. 1931. Oudjavaansche beroepsnamen. In: Djåwå, 11: 147–158.
Bakker, H. 2000. Somaśarman, Somavaṃś a and Somasiddhānta: A Pāśupata Tradition in Seventh-century Dakṣiṇa Kosala. In: R. Tsuchida and A. Wezler (eds.). Haranandalahari. Volume in Honour of Professor Minoru Hara on His Seventieth Birthday. Reinbeck: Dr. Inge Wezler Verlag für Orientalistische Fachpublikationen: 1–20.
Böhtlingk, O. and R. Roth. 1855–1875. Sanskrit-Wörterbuch. 7 vols. St. Petersburg.
Brandts Buys, J. S. 1933. Uit de pers. De tjaṇṭang baloeng’s.—Javaansche en Balische kleppers.—Beḍåjå ketawang.—Édan-édanan. In: Djåwå, 13: 258–262.
Brunner, H. et al. (eds.). 2004. Tāntrikābhidhānakośa II. Dictionnaire des termes techniques de la littérature hindoue tantrique. Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
Chemburkar, S. and S. Kapoor. 2018. Pāśupata Sect in Ancient Cambodia and Champa. In: V. V. Thang and P. D. Sharrock (eds.). Vibrancy in Stone: Masterpieces of the Đà Nẵng Museum of Cham Sculpture. Bangkok: River Books: 45–56.
Coldiron, M. 2005a. Trance and Transformation of the Actor in Japanese Noh and Balinese Masked Dance-Drama. Lewiston–Queenston–Lampeter: The Edwin Mellew Press.
—. 2005b. Lions, Witches, and Happy Old Men: Some Parallels between Balinese and Japanese Ritual Masks. In: Asian Theatre Journal, 22(2): 227–248, [online:] http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/atj.2005.0021.
Davidson, R. M. 2002. Indian Esoteric Buddhism. A Social History of the Tantric Movement. New York: Columbia University Press.
Emigh, J. 1996. Masked Performance. The Play of Self and Other in Ritual and Theatre. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Ganser, E. 2016. When Dramatic Performance Domesticated Tantric Ritual: Insights on Mimicry, Parody and Oblivion of Transgressive Practices from Medieval Dramaturgical Sources. Draft paper (unpublished) presented at the workshop “Transgression and Encounters with the Terrible in Buddhist and Śaiva Tantras”, University of Zurich, 19–20 February 2016.
Ganser, E. and Cuneo, D. 2012. The Actor’s Social Status and Agency: Fame or Misery? In: Cracow Indological Studies, 14: 87–131.
Geertz, H. 1994. Images of Power; Balinese Paintings Made for Gregory Bateson and Margaret Mead. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Hara, M. 1966. Materials for the Study of Paśupata Śaivism. Ph. D. dissertation, University of Harvard.
—. 2002. Pāśupata Studies. Edited by J. Takashima. Vienna: Sammlung de Nobili, Institut für Südasien-, Tibet- und Buddhismuskunde.
Ingalls, D. H. H. 1962. Cynics and Pāśupatas: The Seeking of Dishonor. In: Harvard Teological Review, 55(4): 281–298, [online:] http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S001781600000794X.
Kafle, N. 2015. The Niśvāsamukha, the Introductory Book of the Niśvāsatattvasaṃhitā Critical Edition, with an Introduction and Annotated Translation Appended by Śivadharmasaṅgraha 5–9. Ph. D. dissertation, Leiden University.
Kangle, R. P. 1963. The Kauṭilya Arthaśāstra. An English Translation with Critical and Explanatory Notes. Bombay: University of Bombay Studies.
Keul, I. 2013. Introduction: Tracing Yoginīs: Religious Polysemy in Cultural Contexts. In: I. Keul (ed.). ‘Yoginī’ in South Asia: Interdisciplinary Approaches. London: Routledge: 1–18.
Kiss, C. 2015. The Brahmayāmalatantra or Picumata. Volume II. The Religious Observances and Sexual Rituals of the Tantric Practitioner: Chapters 3, 21, and 45. Pondicherry–Hamburg: Institut Français de Pondichéry / Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient / Asien-Afrika-Institut, Universität Hamburg.
Kodi, K. et al. 2005. Topeng Sidha Karya: A Balinese Mask Dance. In: Asian Theatre Journal, 22(2): 171–198, http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/atj.2005.0030.
Koppers, W. 1940–1941. Probleme der indischen Religionsgeschichte. In: Anthropos, 35–36(4–6): 761–814.
Lorenzen, D. N. 1991. The Kāpālikas and Kālāmukhas. Two Lost Śaivite Sects. 2nd, revised edition. New Delhi: Thomson.
Lutgendorf, P. 1991. The Life of a Text: Performing the Ramcaritmanas of Tulsidas. Berkeley–Los Angeles–Oxford: University of California Press.
Monier-Williams, M. 1899. Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Pigeaud, Th. 1924. De Tantu Panggĕlaran: Uitgegeven, vertaald en toegelicht. Ph. D. dissertation, Leiden University.
Rajaguru, S. S. 1966. Inscriptions of Orissa, Vol. 4. Bhubaneswar: Orissa State Museum.
Samuel, G. 2005. Tantric Revisionings: New Understandings of Tibetan Buddhism and Indian Religion. Aldershot–Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing.
Sanderson, A. 2006. The Lākulas: New Evidence of a System Intermediate between Pāñcārthika Pāśupatism and āgamic Śaivism. In: Indian Philosophical Annual, 24 [2003–2005]: 143–217.
—. 2015. Tolerance, Exclusivity, Inclusivity, and Persecution in Indian Religion during the Early Mediaeval Period. In: J. Makinson (ed.). Honoris Causa: Essays in Honour of Aveek Sarkar. London: Allen Lane: 155–224.
Serbaeva Saraogi, O. 2012. Mudrās. In: K. A. Jacobsen et al. (eds.). Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism, vol. 5. Leiden–Boston: Brill, 91–99, http://dx.doi.org/10.5167/uzh-86419.
Stephen, M. 2002. Returning to Original Form; A Central Dynamic in Balinese Ritual. In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 158(1): 61–94.
Törzsök, J. 2011. Kāpālikas. In: K. A. Jacobsen et al. (eds.). Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism, vol. 3. Leiden: Brill: 355–361.
—. 2016. Theatre, Acting and the Image of the Actor in Abhinavagupta’s Tantric Sources. In: E. Franco and I. Ratié (eds.). Around Abhinavagupta: Aspects of the Intellectual History of Kashmir from the Ninth to the Eleventh Century. Berlin: LIT Verlag: 451–493.
Varma, K. M. 1962. The Art Medium of Śaubhikas and Its Nature. In: Asiatische Studien/Études Asiatiques, 15(3/4): 95–109, [online:] http://doi.org/10.5169/seals-145864.
Watson, A. et al. 2013. An Enquiry into the Nature of Liberation; Bhaṭṭa Rāmakaṇṭ ha’s Paramokṣanirāsakārikāvṛtti, a Commentary on Sadyojyotiḥ’s Refutation of Twenty Conceptions of the Liberated State (mokṣa), for the First Time Critically Edited, Translated into English and Annotated. Pondicherry: IFP-EFEO.
White, D. G. 2005. Review of Ronald M. Davidson. Indian Esoteric Buddhism. A Social History of the Tantric Movement. In: Journal of the International Association of Tibetan, 1 (on-line: http://www.thlib.org/static/reprints/jiats/01/pdfs/whiteJIATS_01_2005.pdf).
Zoetmulder, P. J. 1982. Old Javanese-English Dictionary. With the collaboration of S.O. Robson. Two vols. The Hague: Nijhoff.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2018 Andrea Acri
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
