The synergy between Theravada Buddhist modernism and the ethnicization of politics in post-1990 Nepal caused the propagation of Buddhism as a tool of ethnic revival and claims against the Hindu state. Tharu ethnic leaders reversing two centuries of Hinduization, presented Buddha as Tharus' common ancestor and the adoption of Buddhism as a return to their true ancestral religion. This article present a short ethnography of one of the lay activists engaged in diffusing Buddhism in his own group, searching for evidence of Buddhist past in Tharu customs, organizing 'Buddhist Awareness Camps' and celebrating new Buddhist life-cycle rituals.
Letizia, C. (2016). Buddha was Tharu?. In J. Samuels, M. Rowe, J. McDaniel (a cura di), Figures of Buddhist Modernity in Asia (pp. 88-91). University of Hawai'i Pres.
Buddha was Tharu?
LETIZIA, CHIARAPrimo
2016
Abstract
The synergy between Theravada Buddhist modernism and the ethnicization of politics in post-1990 Nepal caused the propagation of Buddhism as a tool of ethnic revival and claims against the Hindu state. Tharu ethnic leaders reversing two centuries of Hinduization, presented Buddha as Tharus' common ancestor and the adoption of Buddhism as a return to their true ancestral religion. This article present a short ethnography of one of the lay activists engaged in diffusing Buddhism in his own group, searching for evidence of Buddhist past in Tharu customs, organizing 'Buddhist Awareness Camps' and celebrating new Buddhist life-cycle rituals.
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