Masataka Suzuki, "Religion and Society in Sri Lanka: A Cultural Anthropological Study" Summary and Comments - A great book to learn about Sri Lankan Buddhism from a cultural anthropological perspective!
The book introduced here is "Religion and Society in Sri Lanka: A Cultural Anthropological Study" by Masataka Suzuki, published by Shunju-sha in 1996.
Let's take a quick look at the book.
This is the first full-scale academic study in Japan to comprehensively examine the social structure and religious rituals of Sri Lanka, paying close attention to ethnic conflicts and the economy, through field research conducted not only in villages and local communities but also in cities undergoing changes.
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This book is an authentic study of Sri Lankan religions, as you can see in the book introduction above. Previous Article.Theravada Buddhism in Contemporary Sri Lanka, edited by Maeda Egaku: "A great book for systematic study of contemporary Sri Lankan Buddhism!"As I mentioned in the previous issue, this book, "Religion and Society in Sri Lanka: A Cultural Anthropological Study," is also a tremendous volume.
The paperback book on the far right is placed for size comparison. This picture clearly shows how huge this book, "Religion and Society in Sri Lanka: A Cultural Anthropological Study," is. The number of pages is over 900! It is an amazing volume.
As you can see in the photo above, for some reason, books on Sri Lankan religious studies are very thick. It must be because there is such a large number of events to cover.
Now, what makes this book unique is that it was written by a cultural anthropologist.
This book looks at religion in Sri Lanka through the eyes of a cultural anthropologist who is not a specialist in Buddhism. It was very interesting for me to be able to look at Buddhism from the perspective of a non-Buddhist expert.
The author states the following about the book in his afterword
This book is a compilation of various essays on religion and society in Sri Lanka, which have been conducted intermittently from 1980 to the present, from the standpoint of cultural anthropology, with Sinhalese people as the main subjects. During this period, I conducted research in South India and Myanmar (Burma) to broaden my knowledge of the South Asian world and the Theravada Buddhist world, and I have also made use of comparative perspectives in my discussions. (omitted).
Although many ethnographies and essays have been written abroad on the Sinhalese, who constitute the majority of Sri Lanka's population, there has not been a sufficient accumulation of full-scale studies by Japanese, with the exception of those related to Buddhism. The aim of this book was to clarify, from a broad perspective, the relationship between Buddhism and Shintoism, people's way of life, and their ideas about festivals, pilgrimages, and sacred places, and to discuss them in relation to national and ethnic issues that transcend regional society. (omitted).
This book examines rituals, worldviews, life rituals, pilgrimages, and myths in as unique a way as possible, while scooping up local perspectives, in an attempt to develop a different and new perspective. We are also continuing our research in South India, seeking a direction that will backlight Sri Lanka.
Shunju-sha, Masataka Suzuki, Religion and Society in Sri Lanka: A Cultural Anthropological Study, p. 871-872
In my previous article.Theravada Buddhism in Contemporary Sri Lanka."In the book, you could learn about Sri Lankan Buddhism systematically, but in this book, you can go beyond Buddhism and learn about Sri Lankan folk religion and pilgrimages to sacred places.
I especially appreciated the explanations about Lord Katharagama, who is fervently worshipped by Sinhala Buddhists in Sri Lanka, and Mount Sree Parda, which is worshipped by people of all religions.
I was very grateful for this book, which allowed me to learn about the reality of Sri Lankan religion in an easy-to-understand manner from the unique perspective of a cultural anthropologist, which is different from that of a Buddhist scholar.
Also, as quoted above, the social conditions behind those religions are discussed in detail. Religion is not only religion. In this book, you can also learn how the background of the times influences religion.
It is an incredibly thick work, but it is surprisingly easy to read. The author's narrative is very accessible.
This is an interesting masterpiece that gives us an insight into Sri Lankan Buddhism not as a Buddhist book, but as a book of cultural anthropology. I highly recommend this work. I highly recommend you to pick up a copy.
This is "Masataka Suzuki's "Religion and Society in Sri Lanka" - A great book to learn about Sri Lankan Buddhism from a cultural anthropological perspective! The book is a great book to learn about Sri Lankan Buddhism from the perspective of cultural anthropology!
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