Title Storytellers, saints, and scoundrels : folk narrative in Hindu religious teaching / Kirin Narayan

Published Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, ©1989

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Description 1 online resource (x, 285 pages) : illustrations Series Contemporary ethnography series Contemporary ethnography series. Publications of the American Folklore Society. New series (Unnumbered) Contents Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgment -- A Note on Transliteration -- Introduction -- 1. There's Always a Reason -- 2. Lives and Stories -- 3. Sadhus -- 4. The Listeners -- 5. Loincloths and Celibacy -- 6. False Gurus and Gullible Disciples -- 7. Death and Laughter -- 8. Heaven and Hell -- 9. The Divine Storyteller -- 10. The World of the Stories -- 11. Storytelling as Religious Teaching -- Epilogue -- Appendix I: Glossary of Commonly Used Hindi Terms -- Appendix 11: Map of India -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index Summary Swamiji, a Hindu holy man, is the central character of Storytellers, Saints, and Scoundrels. He reclines in a deck chair in his modern apartment in western India, telling subtle and entertaining folk narratives to his assorted gatherings. Among the listeners is Kirin Narayan, who knew Swamiji when she was a child in India and who has returned from America as an anthropologist. In her book Narayan builds on Swamiji's tales and his audiences' interpretations to ask why religious teachings the world over are so often couched in stories. For centuries, religious teachers from many traditions have used stories to instruct their followers. When Swamiji tells a story, the local barber rocks in helpless laughter, and a sari-wearing French nurse looks on enrapt. Farmers make decisions based on the tales, and American psychotherapists take notes that link the storytelling to their own practices. Narayan herself is a key character in this ethnography. As both a local woman and a foreign academic, she is somewhere between participant and observer, reacting to the nuances of fieldwork with a sensitivity that only such a position can bring. Each story s reproduced in its evocative performance setting. Narayan supplements eight folk narratives with discussions of audience participation and response as well as relevant Hindu themes. All these stories focus on the complex figure of the Hindu ascetic and so sharpen our understanding of renunciation and gurus in South Asia. While Storytellers, Saints, and Scoundrels raises provocative theoretical issues, it is also a moving human document. Swamiji, with his droll characterizations, inventive mind, and generous spirit, is a memorable character. The book contributes to a growing interdisciplinary literature on narrative. It will be particularly valuable to students and scholars of anthropology, folklore, performance studies, religions, and South Asian studies Analysis English Religion Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-282) and index Notes Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 MiAaHDL This edition in English digitized 2010 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve pda MiAaHDL Print version record Subject Storytelling -- Religious aspects -- Hinduism. Asceticism -- Hinduism. Hindus -- Folklore -- History and criticism Tales -- India -- History and criticism Hinduism -- Customs and practices SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Anthropology -- General. Asceticism -- Hinduism Hinduism -- Customs and practices Hindus Storytelling -- Religious aspects -- Hinduism Tales Hinduismus Religionsunterricht Volkserzählung Hindoeïsme. Goeroes (religie) Volksverhalen. Art de conter -- Aspect religieux -- Hindouisme. Ascétisme -- Hindouisme. Hindouisme -- Coutumes et pratiques. India Genre/Form Ethnography Criticism, interpretation, etc. Folklore Form Electronic book LC no. 89031363 ISBN 0585199892 9780585199894 9780812205831 0812205839

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