Burma At The Turn Of The Twenty-first Century

Twelve essays from anthropologists and scholars of religion explore, in the words of editor Skidmore (Centre for Cross Cultural Research, Australian National U.), "how everyday negotiations about culture, power, and group and individual identity play out in contemporary Burma." Topics addressed include the values of pilgrimage and reciprocity between monks and laity in the context of Burma's lottery practices, the participation of urban women in Buddhist renunciation practices, the political appropriation of Buddhist spirits, the forms of modernity encapsulated in the National League for Democracy's use of Buddhism for moral and political legitimacy, the contemporary Burmese literary world and its links to pro-democracy demonstrations, pwes (or festivals) as the public performance of contemporary masculinity, state patronage and the transformation of Burmese music, and Burmese beliefs about value and worth in the domestic sphere. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)