Chair person
Prof. Hermann Kulke
Hermann Kulke is retired
Professor of Asian History, Kiel University. He did his Ph D in Indology
on thetemple city of Chidambaram in 1967 and the Habilitation in Indian
History on Gajapati kingship of Orissa at the SAI at Heidelberg and
in1975. He was co-founder of the first and coordinator of the second
Orissa Research Projects of the German Research Council. His fields
of specialization are early and early medieval history of India and
Southeast Asia, early state formation, Indian Ocean Studies and historiography.
Major publications
include The Devaraja Cult (1978); (together with A.Eschmann and
G.C.Tripathi)The Cult of Jagannath and the Regional
Tradition of Orissa(1978); (together with G.Sontheimer)Hinduism
Reconsidered(1989); Kings and Cults: State Formation and Legitimation
in India and Southeast Asia(1993);The State in India
1000-1700 (1995);(together with B.Schnepel) Jagannath Revisited(2002);(together
with D.Rothermund) A History of India(4th ed.2004);
Indische Geschichte bis 1750 (2005).
P 21 - Rituals and the State in India
Chair: Prof. Hermann Kulke hermannkulke@gmx.de
Download preliminary daily schedule here (pdf)
(for better readability kindly print it out)
Common activities:
Reception
On Monday, 29 September, we will officially open the conference with a
reception from 19.30 to 22.00
Key Note Lecture
Tuesday, 30 September:
Key Note Speaker Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c.
"Magie und Ritual"
Plenary Discussion
Wednesday, 1 October at 18.00 introductory presentation:
Prof. Dr. Christoph Wulf, Freie Universität Berlin
"The Future of the Science of Ritual in a transcultural Context"
Exchange meeting
Thursday, 2 October from 9:00 - 12:00:
Exchange meeting between scientists from
the German Archaeological Institute
and the Collaborative Research
Center SFB 619
Speakers (synonym for referee, panelist, active participant)
Day 3 – Wednesday, 1 October 2008
9:00-9:45 Hermann Kulke
Introduction:
Ritual Sovereignty or Ritual Policy? Rituals and the State in India
9:45-10:30 Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya
Festivals, Rituals, Mutations and Royal Participation:
Aspects of State, and Society in Early Medieval India
11:00-11:45 Bhairabi Prasad Sahu
Rituals, Royalty and ‘Rajya’ in Early Medieval Orissa
11:45-12:30 Georg Berkemer
Royal Inscriptions and
Narratives of Rituals
14:00-14:45 Tilman Frasch
Buddha's Tooth Relic:
Contesting Rituals and the Making of the Early State in Sri Lanka
14:45-15:30 Ulrike Teuscher
Rituals and the State in Medieval Western India
16:00-16:45 Rameshwar Prasad Bahuguna
Religious festivals as political rituals:
Kingship and legitimation in late pre-colonial Rajasthan
16:45-17:30 Margret Frenz
Mahabali Returns to Kerala.
Rituals of Sovereignty in Past and Present
17:30-18:15 Chandi Prasad Nanda
Sitting on the Lap of a Bhuiyan:
Coronation Ceremonies in Keonjhar
Day 4 – Thursday, 2 October 2008
9:00-9:45 Biswamoy Pati
The diverse implications of legitimacy: Rituals, state
and the common people in colonial Orissa, 1800s-1940s
9:45-10:30 Uwe Skoda
State Rituals after the Abolition of the State:
Dossehra Rituals in Bonai /
Orissa before and after Merger
11:00-12:30 General Discussion
Abstract
There is general agreement that the performance of grand royal rituals like the Vedic Rajasuya or Mahanavami in medieval south Indian Vijayanagara is an essential aspect of Hindu kingship. However, since C. Geertz’ invention of the “Theatre State” in Bali and B. Stein’s rather rigid distinction between “ritual sovereignty” and “actual political control” as a basic feature of the early medieval south Indian state, the political meaning and function of these rituals are contested. The panel intends to explore the political significance of various aspects of these rituals in their broader context of an intended “ritual policy” as essential means of actual political integration and control. The papers of the panel cover the time from early medieval to colonial India and focus on Rajasthan, Orissa, South India and Sri Lanka.
