BRILL

Sarasvati, riverine goddess of knowledge; from the manuscript-carrying vina-player to the weapon-wielding defender of the Dharma.

In the earliest textual source, the Rg Veda, composed sometime after 1750 BCE, Saraswati is depicted as the embodiment of beauty, music, flowing water, and above all wisdom. Ludvik (Kobe U., Japan) traces her development into the deity of all forms of knowledge as portrayed in epic and early Puranic sources, from to the seventh century CE, and in the oldest surviving Hindu, Jain, and possibly Buddhist images from the third to seventh centuries. Some of the material has been previously published. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Social dynamics in the highlands of Southeast Asia; reconsidering Political systems of highland Burma by E.R. Leach.

Originating from a panel commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Leach's classic at the EUROSEAS conference held at the Sorbonne in September 2004, these 12 papers examine the fieldwork, which was conducted at the onset and midst of the Second World War, the work's theoretical underpinnings, and the particulars of the findings. Topics include an introduction to Leach's analysis of Kachin society and its further applications by other researchers, the biographical origins of the work and its continuing relevance, the labor involved in translating the work and Leach himself, the limitations of the notion of "social systems," ethnography and Leach's model of semantics, the influence of sub-groups, analysis of economies and values, political hierarchies, and rethinking on Leach's opinions about wealth ownership, the language of sharing, common ritual language, and what Foucault has to say about "spaces of dispersion." (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The spread of Buddhism.

Although it tends to appear monolithic to Western observers, the tenets and practice of Buddhism varies widely depending on space and time, with geological, social, political, economic, philosophical and linguistic influences. This collection includes the latest research on the ways in which regions changed Buddhism as it progressed across the landscape, particularly that to the north and east of India, specifically central Asia, China, Tibet, Mongolia and Korea. After a very able introduction, contributors address the Sarvastivada and Mahasamghika controversy, the practice of Buddhism in Gandhara and its spread in Serindia amongst Iranians and Turks before the thirteenth century, the possibility that Buddhism reached Greece, the road from India to China, the accounts in the Samguk yusa, the Buddhist way into Tibet and its later spread, Buddhism amongst the Mongols, and the spread of Zen Buddhism. The result is a model of the study of the transmission of faith. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

When rituals go wrong; mistakes, failure, and the dynamics of ritual.

Sometimes its only a matter of the authorities showing up, but unfathomable forces could be unleashed into an unsuspecting world. The implications and effects of breaking ritual rules, of failed performances, and of the extinction of ritual systems are investigated from a range of disciplines, which alas are not identified. The topics include dealing with deviation in the performance of Masonic rituals, the 2004 Red Matsyendranatha incident in Lalitpur, the ritual side of serial killings and the conditions for fortunate failure, and new rituals among Taiwan's aborigines under the impact of religious conversion and competition between elites. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Wisdom in loose form; the language of Egyptian and Greek proverbs in collections of the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

Proverbs serve many purposes, including transmitting wisdom or social norms, serving as pedagogical frameworks, or even working as foundations of faith. Lazardis (Oriental studies, American U., Cairo) finds them also to be fascinating tools for understanding the similarities and differences between cultures, particularly when they are considered within the context of collections, because they contain relationships of ideas and offer fertile ground for comparisons. His insightful multi-level analysis, in which he compares the association of proverbs with the cultural context of their production and usage, clearly explains similarities and differences in the literature of Egypt and Greece in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The result is a careful examination of the contact these two civilizations had during changing times and establishes a case for intimate intellectual and social contact across the Mediterranean region. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Witchcraft, gender and society in early modern Germany.

Durant (early modern history, U. of Glamorgan) takes a new look at a well-examined space of history, noting most of those examinations were of individual trials and outbreaks of accusations. He takes a longitudinal approach, focusing on the town of Eichstatt and its witchcraft accusations, trials and sentences over several years. He finds links between accusations, sex and social status and that the resulting confessions reflected expectations of accusers and inquisitors, based upon what they knew about agrarian and small town life, its children, animals, attitudes about property, and the dangers of sexually available crones. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The Zurich connection and Tudor political theology.

Many Protestant reformers who had been working in England fled to Zurich when Mary ascended the throne, then returned to England when Elizabeth I came to power. Kirby (church history, McGill U.) describes how their time in Switzerland, and their continued correspondence with colleagues there, helped influence Elizabethan religious policies. The five essays are revised from his presentations to annual meetings of the Sixteenth Century Studies Conference. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)