Tantra, Magic, and Vernacular Religions in Monsoon Asia

This book explores the cross- and trans-cultural dialectic between Tantra and intersecting magical and shamanic phenomena associated with vernacular religions across Monsoon Asia. It will be of interest to South Asian religions, Tantric traditions, and Asian and global folk religion, shamanism, and magic.

Autorentext

Andrea Acri is tenured Assistant Professor in Tantric Studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE, PSL University) in Paris, France. His publications include the monograph Dharma Patañjala (2011) as well as various edited volumes, including Esoteric Buddhism in Mediaeval Maritime Asia (2016). His main research and teaching interests are Saiva and Buddhist Tantric traditions, Indian philosophy, Yoga studies, Sanskrit and Old Javanese philology, and the comparative religious history of South and Southeast Asia from the pre-modern to the contemporary period, with special emphasis on connected histories and intra-Asian maritime transfers.

Paolo E. Rosati received his PhD in Asian and African Studies from 'Sapienza' University of Rome, Italy. He has also published a double special issue on Tantra for Religions of South Asia (14/1-2) in 2020 and several contributions on the yoni cult at Kamakhya. His current research focuses on magic, memory, and cultural identity in post-colonial Tantric contexts.

Inhalt

Acknowledgement; Introduction, Andrea Acri; 1. More Pre-Tantric Sources of Tantrism: Skulls and Skull-Cups, Ronald M. Davidson; 2. Charnel Ground Items, Smasanika*s, and the Question of the Magical Substratum of the Early Tantras, *Aleksandra Wenta and Andrea Acri; 3. Shamans and Bhuta Tantrikas: A Shared Genealogy? Michael Slouber; 4. Female Gäesa or Independent Deity? Tracing the Background of the Elephant-faced Goddess in Mediaeval Saiva Tantric Traditions, Chiara Policardi; 5. Crossing the Boundaries of Sex, Blood, and Magic in the Tantric Cult of Kamakhya, Paolo E. Rosati; 6. 'Let us Now Invoke the Three Celestial Lights of Fire, Sun and Moon into Ourselves': Magic or Everyday Practice? Revising Existentiality for an Emic Understanding of Srividya, Monika Hirmer; 7. Narrative Folklore of Khyä from Tantra to Popular Beliefs: Supernatural Experiences at the Margins among Newar Communities in the Kathmandu Valley, Fabio Armand; 8. Magical Tantra in Bengal, Bali, and Java: From Pisaca Tantrika*s to *Balian*s and *Dukuns, June McDaniel; 9. Tantrism and the Weretiger Lore of Burma, Thailand, and Cambodia, *Francesco Brighenti *