1st Edition
Gendered Agency in Transcultural Hinduism and Buddhism
Focusing on complex entanglements of religion and gender from a diversity of perspectives, this book explores how women enact agencies in transcultural Hindu and Buddhist settings. The chapters draw on original, in-depth empirical research in various contexts in South Asian religious traditions. Today, in an increasing number of such contexts, women are able to undergo monastic and priestly education, receive ordination/initiation as nuns and priestesses, and are accepted as ascetic religious leaders. They are starting to establish new religious communities within conservative traditions, occupying religious leadership positions on par with men. This volume considers the historical background, contemporary trajectories, and potential impact of the emergence of these new and powerful female agencies in conservative South Asian religious traditions. It will be of particular interest to scholars of religion, women’s and gender studies, and South Asian studies.
1. From Matriarch to Divine Mother: Caste, Gender, and Deification in Hagiographies of Satīmā
Arkamitra Ghatak
2. Biographies of Enhanced Agency and Self-Made Gurus: From Housewives into Founders of Guru-Bhakti Communities
Michal Erlich
3. Women’s Ritual Expression and Religious Agency: Om Śakti Communicating Innovation in Contemporary Hinduism
Nanette R. Spina
4. Forgotten Priestesses: A ‘witch,’ a Queen and a Ritual Stew
Tara Sheemar Malhan
5. Women Sharing Bhakti, Women Singing Devotion: Friends, Teachers, and Leaders in the Hindu Diaspora
Vasudha Narayanan
6. Reinventing Selves: Religiosity and Female Agency in the Siri Tradition of Tulunad in India
Pauline Schuster-Löhlau and Yogitha Shetty
7. Yoga’s Red Tent: Menstrual-Oriented Iyengar Yoga Practices
Agi Wittich
8. Womanhood and Female Agency in Bengali Vaishnava Sahajiya Tradition
Amnuaypond Kidpromma
9. Encountering in a New Phase: Monastic Education for Buddhist Nuns in Sri Lanka
Gihani De Silva
10. Against Marginality, Inequality, and Dependency: Remarkable Buddhist Nuns in Sikkim
Marlene Erschbamer
11. Global South Coalition for Dignified Menstruation
Interview with Radha Paudel, conducted by Ute Hüsken
12. The Changing Attitudes Towards Female Priesthood in Hinduism: Insights from Pune, Southern India
Interview with Aaryaa Joshi, conducted by Agi Wittich
13. Beyond Boundaries: A Modern Buddhist Nun’s Journey Towards Enlightenment
Interview with Ayyā Phalañāṇī, conducted by Agi Wittich
14. Luminous Insight: An Interview with Ayyā Tathālokā from Dhammadharini Monastery (USA)
Interview with Ayyā Tathālokā, conducted by Nanette R. Spina
Biography
Ute Hüsken is Professor and Head of the Department of Cultural and Religious History of South Asia (Classical Indology) in the South Asia Institute at Heidelberg University, Germany.
Agi Wittich holds a PhD in Comparative Religions from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
Nanette R. Spina is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Georgia, USA.
