Sinhalese; Deities; Political anthropology; Administration; Political Organization; Sri Lanka's Religion; Sri Lanka's Geography; Gods and Goddesses's Buddhism; Gods and Goddesses's Politics
摘要
The author of this article examines the role of Sinhalese Buddhist deities within the long Sinhalese tradition of using Buddhism to support political authority. Extensive contemporary information on deity territories suggests that because state political integration involves territorial integration localized deities have both reflected and been used to bring about an integration of local people into state administrative structures. However, this integration is not brought about by having the territories of the deities parallel administrative units (which they do not); it is brought about by having people think that they do, think that the territories of the gods correspond level by level to the administrative villages, districts, and provinces. As the relationship between these levels and the state has changed historically, that is, when center-hinterland integration has gone from strong to weak to strong again, people's understanding of the pantheon appears to have changed as well.
目次
Territory and the Sinhalese Buddhist Pantheon 275 Integration of the Kandyan Kingdom and the Pantheon280 Center Relations at Gurudeniya 281 The Pantbeon and Hinterland Political Change 284 Conclusion 288 List of References 290
