Burma at the Turn of the 21st Century / / ed. by Monique Skidmore.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Asian Studies Backlist (2000-2014) eBook Package
• MitwirkendeR: Douglas, Gavin,; Houtman, Gustaaf,; Jordt, Ingrid,; Keeler, Ward,; Leehey, Jennifer,; Rozenberg, Guillaume,; Sadan, Mandy,; Schober, Juliane,; Skidmore, Monique,; Tosa, Keiko,; de la Perrière, Bénédicte Brac,
• HerausgeberIn: Skidmore, Monique,
• Place / Publishing House: Honolulu : : University of Hawaii Press, , [2005]; ©2005
• Year of Publication: 2005
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (312 p.)

This is the first study in a half century of one of the least known societies in the contemporary world. Burma at the Turn of the 21st Century provides insight into the everyday lives, concerns, and values of the people of this reclusive nation. Prominent anthropologists and religion scholars with in-depth, long-term knowledge of central Burma offer detailed analyses of the ways in which Burmese actively manage and create lives for themselves in the shadow of a military dictatorship. Their research crosses the domains of religious, political, and social life, examining public festivals and performance, local-state relations, literary life, lottery frenzies, mass meditators, political rumors and black humor, the value of children, changing male identities, and more in this impressive, wide-ranging collection.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Introduction: Burma at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century -- Part 1: Spirituality, Pilgrimage, and Economics -- 2. The Cheaters: Journey to the Land of the Lottery -- 3. Women's Practices of Renunciation in the Age of Sāsana Revival -- 4. The Taungbyon Festival: Locality and Nation-Confronting in the Cult of the 37 Lords -- 5. Respected Grandfather, Bless This Nissan: Benevolent and Politically Neutral Bo Bo Gyi -- Part 2: Political and Moral Legitimation -- 6. Buddhist Visions of Moral Authority and Modernity in Burma -- 7. Sacralizing or Demonizing Democracy? Aung San Suu Kyi's "Personality Cult" -- 8. The Chicken and the Scorpion: Rumor, Counternarratives, and the Political Uses of Buddhism -- Part 3: Public Performance -- 9. Writing in a Crazy Way: Literary Life in Contemporary Urban Burma -- 10. "But Princes Jump!": Performing Masculinity in Mandalay -- 11. Who's Performing What? State Patronage and the Transformation of Burmese Music -- Part 4: The Domestic Domain -- 12. The Future of Burma: Children Are Like Jewels -- References -- Contributors -- Index