Formations of Ritual: Colonial and Anthropological Discourses on the Sinhala Yaktovil PDF
Preview Formations of Ritual: Colonial and Anthropological Discourses on the Sinhala Yaktovil
Formations of Ritual This page intentionally left blank Formations of Ritual Colonial and Anthropological Discourses on the Sinhala Yaktovil David Scott University of Minnesota Press Minneapolis London Copyright 1994 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota Portions of this book previously appeared in the following publications: "The Cultural Poetics of Eyesight in Sri Lanka: Composure, Vulnerability, and the Sinhala Concept of Distiya," Dialectical Anthropology 16, no. 1 (1991), reprinted by permission of Kluwer Academic Publishers; "Anthropology and Colonial Discourse: Aspects of the Demono- logical Construction of Sinhala Cultural Practice," Cultural Anthropology 7, no. 3 (1992), reprinted by permission of the American Anthropological Association; "Conversion and Demonism: Colonial Christian Discourse and Religion in Sri Lanka," Comparative Studies in Society and History 34, no. 2 (1992), reprinted by permission of Cambridge University Press; "Criticism and Culture: Theory and Postcolonial Claims on Anthropological Dis- ciplinarity," Critique of Anthropology 12, no. 4 (1992), reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo- copying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published by the University of Minnesota Press 2037 University Avenue Southeast, Minneapolis, MN 55455-3092 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Fublication Data Scott, David, 1958-. Formations of ritual : colonial and anthropological discourses on the Sinhala yaktovil / David Scott, p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8166-2255-8 ISBN 0-8166-2256-6 (pbk.) 1. Sinhalese (Sri Lankan people)—Rites and ceremonies. 2. Sinhalese (Sri Lankan people)-Religion. 3. Medicine, Ayurvedic- Sri Lanka—Devinuvara-Religious aspects. 4. Exorcism—Sri Lanka- Devinuvara. 5. Devinuvara (Sri Lanka)-Religious life and customs. I. Title. DS489.25.S5S38 1994 306.6'943438'095493-dc20 93-5648 CIP The University of Minnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer. For my mother's memory and for my father This page intentionally left blank "He reviled me! He struck me! He defeated me! He robbed me!" They who gird themselves up with this, For them enmity is not quelled. "He reviled me! He struck me! He defeated me! He robbed me!" They who do not gird themselves up with this, For them is enmity quelled. Not by enmity are enmities quelled, Whatever the occasion here, By the absence of enmity are they quelled. This is an ancient truth. Dhammapada (1:3-5) As a bush fire burning out of control stops only when it reaches a vast body of water, so the rage of one who vows vengeance cannot be quelled except by the waters of compassion that fill the Ocean of Omniscience. "The Demoness Kali," Dharmasena Thera, Saddharmamtndvaliya, This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgments xi On Transliteration and Usage xiii Introduction xv Part I. Ethnographic Topoi 1. Situating Yakku 3 2. Malign Glances: Distiya and the Ethics of Composure 38 3. Tovil Ntitima (The Dancing of tovil) 67 Part II. Colonial Discourses 4. Exorcisms and Demonic Experience, Anthropology and Yaktovil III 5. Colonial Christian Discourse, Demonism, and Sinhala Religion 137 Part III. Reconstructing Anthropological Objects 6. Historicizing Tradition: Buddhism and the Discourse of Yakku 173 7. The Ends and Strategy of Yaktovil 204 Conclusion 241 Appendix 245 Notes 249 Glossary 279 Bibliography 283 Index 295 ix
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