Of beggars and Buddhas : the politics of humor in the Vessantara Jataka in Thailand

Resource Information

The work Of beggars and Buddhas : the politics of humor in the Vessantara Jataka in Thailand represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in University of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

Of beggars and Buddhas : the politics of humor in the Vessantara Jataka in Thailand

Title remainder

the politics of humor in the Vessantara Jataka in Thailand

Statement of responsibility

Katherine A. Bowie

Creator

• Bowie, Katherine Ann, 1950-

Author

• Bowie, Katherine Ann, 1950-

Subject

• Buddhism and state
• Buddhism and state -- Thailand -- History
• Buddhist giving
• Buddhist giving
• Buddhist stories, Thai
• Buddhist stories, Thai -- Humor
• Buddhist stories, Thai -- Political aspects
• History
• Humor
• Jataka stories, Thai
• Jataka stories, Thai -- Humor
• Jataka stories, Thai -- Political aspects
• RELIGION -- Comparative Religion
• Thailand
• Tipiṭaka, Suttapiṭaka | Khuddakanikāya | Jātaka | Vessantarajātaka
• Tipiṭaka, Suttapiṭaka | Khuddakanikāya | Jātaka | Vessantarajātaka
• Buddhism and politics
• Buddhism and politics -- Thailand -- History

Genre

• Humor
• History

Language

eng

Summary

The 547 Buddhist jatakas, or verse parables, recount the Buddha's lives in previous incarnations. In his penultimate and most famous incarnation, he appears as the Prince Vessantara, perfecting the virtue of generosity by giving away all his possessions, his wife, and his children to the beggar Jujaka. Taking an anthropological approach to this two-thousand-year-old morality tale, Katherine A. Bowie highlights significant local variations in its interpretations and public performances across three regions of Thailand over 150 years. The Vessantara Jataka has served both monastic and royal interests, encouraging parents to give their sons to religious orders and intimating that kings are future Buddhas. But, as Bowie shows, characterizations of the beggar Jujaka in various regions and eras have also brought ribald humor and sly antiroyalist themes to the story. Historically, these subversive performances appealed to popular audiences even as they worried the conservative Bangkok court. The monarchy sporadically sought to suppress the comedic recitations. As Thailand has changed from a feudal to a capitalist society, this famous story about giving away possessions is paradoxically being employed to promote tourism and wealth

Member of

• New perspectives in Southeast Asian studies

Cataloging source

P@U

Dewey number

294.3/82325

Index

index present

LC call number

BQ1470.V487

LC item number

B69 2017

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

• dictionaries
• bibliography

Series statement

New perspectives in Southeast Asian studies