DOCSLIB.ORG

An Anthropological Study of Health-Seeking Strategies for Mental and Emotional Distress in Post-War Eastern Sri Lanka

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
An Anthropological Study of Health-Seeking Strategies for Mental and Emotional Distress in Post-War Eastern Sri Lanka University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology Anthropology 2020 WE DIED AND WERE REBORN: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDY OF HEALTH-SEEKING STRATEGIES FOR MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL DISTRESS IN POST-WAR EASTERN SRI LANKA Daniel Ball University of Kentucky, [email protected] Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2020.369 Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Ball, Daniel, "WE DIED AND WERE REBORN: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDY OF HEALTH-SEEKING STRATEGIES FOR MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL DISTRESS IN POST-WAR EASTERN SRI LANKA" (2020). Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology. 50. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/anthro_etds/50 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Anthropology at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of my work. I understand that I am free to register the copyright to my work. REVIEW, APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on behalf of the advisory committee, and by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), on behalf of the program; we verify that this is the final, approved version of the student’s thesis including all changes required by the advisory committee. The undersigned agree to abide by the statements above. Daniel Ball, Student Dr. Erin Koch, Major Professor Dr. Richard Jefferies, Director of Graduate Studies WE DIED AND WERE REBORN: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDY OF HEALTH- SEEKING STRATEGIES FOR MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL DISTRESS IN POST-WAR EASTERN SRI LANKA DISSERTATION A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By Daniel David Ball Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Erin Koch, Professor of Anthropology Lexington, Kentucky 2020 Copyright © Daniel David Ball 2020 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION WE DIED AND WERE REBORN: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDY OF HEALTH- SEEKING STRATEGIES FOR MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL DISTRESS IN POST-WAR EASTERN SRI LANKA Since the early 2000s, Sri Lanka has made major gains in decentralizing and expanding state-based mental healthcare access and services outside of Colombo. However, little evidence exists related to on-the-ground experiences of Sri Lankans who access these services, the quality and sustainability of services, and the effects services have on individual therapy management of mental and emotional distress. In addition to an extensive historical review of mental health service provision, this dissertation explores strategic health-seeking practices among Tamil- speaking communities in eastern Sri Lanka—an area ravaged by high rates of poverty, 26 years of civil war, and the 2004 tsunami catastrophe. Across 21 months of ethnographic research, I observed psychiatric, traditional, and religious mental healthcare practices and client interactions with both doctors and healers. I also conducted 58 semi-structured interviews with clients, family members, mental health doctors and staff, and traditional healers. I analyze clients’ life histories, local pluralistic therapies, as well as socioeconomic changes in post-war eastern Sri Lanka shaping experiences of suffering, treatment practices, and accessibility to resources and knowledge. I document the origin of mental health services in the east, subsequent barriers associated with increased demand for services, organizational changes, and a significant decrease in resources. Such social changes led to a heavy reliance on inexpensive biomedical drugs to alleviate mental illness and emotional distress. Given these shifts, and stigma associated with state-based mental healthcare, clients find strategic ways to associated with psychiatric treatments. This research positions local expressions of distress as tied to South Asian cultural ideas about mental health, and social inequalities linked to changing gender roles, transnational labor, sexual morality, and family economic status. Evidence collected from this research builds on existing contextually-based analyses to inform global health campaigns aimed at improving access to mental healthcare. Research and practice must adopt a more nuanced view of historical features, cultural processes, and socioeconomic changes that present challenges and/or opportunities for doctors and residents seeking out mental healthcare in post-war settings. KEYWORDS: Health-Seeking Strategies, Anthropology of Medical Pluralism, Global Mental Health, Sri Lanka, Social Suffering Daniel David Ball_________________ ___June 25, 2020_________________ Date WE DIED AND WERE REBORN: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDY OF HEALTH- SEEKING STRATEGIES FOR MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL DISTRESS IN POST-WAR EASTERN SRI LANKA By Daniel David Ball _______________Dr. Erin Koch ___________ Director of Dissertation ______________Dr. Richard Jefferies_______ Director of Graduate Studies ________________June 25, 2020___________ Date ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Erin Koch, for cultivating my own intellectual curiosities, while keeping me grounded to evidence and academic professionalism. Your quality scholarship and perseverance throughout this process enabled me to develop my skills as a writer, researcher, and scholar. Without your help, this project would not have been realized. I also gratefully acknowledge the assistance of my dissertation committee, Dr. Mary Anglin, Dr. Mark Whitaker, and Dr. Clare Batty, for all their time, feedback, and unique contributions to my studies of medical anthropology, the anthropology of South Asia and Sri Lanka, and the philosophy of mind. Prior to my PhD studies at University of Kentucky (UK), I was mentored by Dr. Carl Kendall at Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. I wish to thank him for his willingness to engage in long discussions and nurture my interests in medical anthropology. His guidance strongly encouraged my anthropological graduate studies and subsequent dissertation research. I am grateful to my parents, Margaret and David Ball, and best friend, Connor Hanan, for decades of encouragement and support in my academic and life pursuits. I wish to also thank my advisors, colleagues, and friends while at Tulane University and UK, especially helpful during this period were Aeleka Schortman, Emily Capilouto, and Dr. Carmen Britton for their emotional support and assistance with writing, editing, and making deadlines that ensured my progress with this PhD process. This dissertation would not be possible without financial and intellectual support from U.S. Fulbright, American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS), American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies, and the Department of Anthropology at UK. I want to thank Nasrudeen Buhary who spent numerous hours with me interviewing clients and discussing relevant issues to this dissertation project. Dr. Tissa Jayatilaka and other colleagues helped me navigate Sri Lankan institutions and channels of authority to carrying out this research. I am grateful for this assistance. Thanks also to organizations and various language tutors at AIIS in Madurai, South Asian Summer Language Institute, and in Batticaloa District who tirelessly worked with me to improve my Tamil language proficiency. I wish to show my sincere gratitude to all the Sri Lankan mental health staff, clients, family members, and other research participants. With kindness and hospitality, these individuals spent countless hours telling me their stories, sometimes describing terrible circumstances living under the conditions of war and poverty. I do not list these people individually in order to protect their privacy. I hope this research sheds light on both challenges and achievements of local therapies that residents use to manage mental and emotional distress in eastern Sri Lanka. iii TRANSLITERATION All Tamil words and expressions are transliterated with an English spelling that closely imitates the Tamil pronunciation without the use of diacritical marks. These words, when first used, are italicized. All Tamil interviews were completed using a research assistant, Nasrudeen Buhary, a psychiatric social worker in eastern Sri Lanka. I solely carried out all English medium interviews with mental health physicians, staff, and key informants.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Newsletter Supporting Communities in Need
    NEWSLETTER ICRC JULY-SEPTEMBER 2014 SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES IN NEED Economic security and water and sanitation for the vulnerable Dear Reader, they could reduce the immense economic This year, the ICRC started a Community Conflicts destroy livelihoods and hardships and poverty under which they Based Livelihood Support Programme infrastructure which provide water and and their families are living at present” (para (CBLSP) to support vulnerable communities sanitation to communities. Throughout 5.112). in the Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi districts the world, the ICRC strives to enable access to establish or consolidate an income to clean water and sanitation and ensure The ICRC’s response during the recovery generating activity. economic security for people affected by phase to those made vulnerable by the conflict so they can either restore or start a conflict was the piloting of a Micro Economic The ICRC’s economic security programmes livelihood. Initiatives (MEI) programme for women- are closely linked to its water and sanitation headed households, people with disabilities initiatives. In Sri Lanka today, the ICRC supports and extremely vulnerable households in vulnerable households and communities In Sri Lanka, the ICRC restores wells the Vavuniya district in 2011. The MEI is in the former conflict areas to become contaminated as a result of monsoonal a programme in which each beneficiary economically independent through flooding, and renovates and builds pipe identifies and designs the livelihood sustainable income generation activities and networks, overhead water tanks, and for which he or she needs assistance to provides them clean water and sanitation by toilets in rural communities for returnee implement, thereby employing a bottom- cleaning wells and repairing or constructing populations to have access to clean water up needs-based approach.
    [Show full text]
  • Sri Lanka – Tamils – Eastern Province – Batticaloa – Colombo
    Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE Research Response Number: LKA34481 Country: Sri Lanka Date: 11 March 2009 Keywords: Sri Lanka – Tamils – Eastern Province – Batticaloa – Colombo – International Business Systems Institute – Education system – Sri Lankan Army-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam conflict – Risk of arrest This response was prepared by the Research & Information Services Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. This research response may not, under any circumstance, be cited in a decision or any other document. Anyone wishing to use this information may only cite the primary source material contained herein. Questions 1. Please provide information on the International Business Systems Institute in Kaluvanchikkudy. 2. Is it likely that someone would attain a high school or higher education qualification in Sri Lanka without learning a language other than Tamil? 3. Please provide an overview/timeline of relevant events in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka from 1986 to 2004, with particular reference to the Sri Lankan Army (SLA)-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) conflict. 4. What is the current situation and risk of arrest for male Tamils in Batticaloa and Colombo? RESPONSE 1. Please provide information on the International Business Systems Institute in Kaluvanchikkudy. Note: Kaluvanchikkudy is also transliterated as Kaluwanchikudy is some sources. No references could be located to the International Business Systems Institute in Kaluvanchikkudy. The Education Guide Sri Lanka website maintains a list of the “Training Institutes Registered under the Ministry of Skills Development, Vocational and Tertiary Education”, and among these is ‘International Business System Overseas (Pvt) Ltd’ (IBS).
    [Show full text]
  • Batticaloa District
    LAND USE PLAN BATTICALOA DISTRICT 2016 Land Use Policy Planning Department No.31 Pathiba Road, Colombo 05. Tel.0112 500338,Fax: 0112368718 1 E-mail: [email protected] Secretary’s Message Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) made several recommendations for the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka so as to address the issues faced by the people in those areas due to the civil war. The responsibility of implementing some of these recommendations was assigned to the different institutions coming under the purview of the Ministry of Lands i.e. Land Commissioner General Department, Land Settlement Department, Survey General Department and Land Use Policy Planning Department. One of The recommendations made by the LLRC was to prepare Land Use Plans for the Districts in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. This responsibility assigned to the Land Use Policy Planning Department. The task was completed by May 2016. I would like to thank all the National Level Experts, District Secretary and Divisional Secretaries in Batticaloa District and Assistant Director (District Land Use.). Batticaloa and the district staff who assisted in preparing this plan. I also would like to thank Director General of the Land Use Policy Planning Department and the staff at the Head Office their continuous guiding given to complete this important task. I have great pleasure in presenting the Land Use Plan for the Batticaloa district. Dr. I.H.K. Mahanama Secretary, Ministry of Lands 2 Director General’s Message I have great pleasure in presenting the Land Use Plan for the Batticaloa District prepared by the officers of the Land Use Policy Planning Department.
    [Show full text]
  • Agastya Nadi Samhita
    CHAPTER NO. 1 Sri. Agastya Naadi Samhita A mind - boggling Miracle In today’s world of science, if just from the impression of your thumb somebody accurately tells you, your name, the names of your mother, father, husband/wife, your birth-date, month, age etc. what would you call such prediction? Would you regard it as an amazing divination or as black magic? No, it is neither black magic nor a hand trick. Such prediction, which defies all logic and boggles one’s mind, forms the subject-matter of the Agastya Naadi. Those predictions were visualised at different places by various ancient Sages, with their divine insight and factually noted by their chosen disciples, thousands of years ago, to be handed down from generation to generation. This great work makes us realize the limitations of human sciences. That great compilation predicting the future of all human beings born or yet to be born, eclipses the achievements of all other sciences put together! Naadi is a collective name given to palm-leaf manuscripts dictated by ancient sages predicting the characteristics, family history, as well as the careers of innumerable individuals. The sages (rishis), who dictated those Naadis, were gifted with such a remarkable foresight – that they accurately foretold the entire future of all mankind. Many scholars in different parts of India have in their safekeepings several granthas (volumes) of those ancient palm-leaf manuscripts dictated by the great visualizing souls, alias sages such as Bhrugu, Vasistha, Agastya, Shukra, and other venerable saints. I had the good-fortune to consult Sri. Agastya Naadi predictions.
    [Show full text]
  • IDP Numbers and Access 30042009 GA Figures
    IDP information updated as at 30th April, 2009 & District: Batticaloa Access information updated as at 13th May, 2009 81°15'0"E 81°20'0"E 81°25'0"E 81°30'0"E 81°35'0"E 81°40'0"E 81°45'0"E 81°50'0"E 81°55'0"E TRINCOMALEE (! IDP Trend - Batticaloa District Verugal Returnees Trend - Batticaloa / Trincomalee Districts 8°15'0"N 180,000 159,355 (! 160,000 Kathiravely 136,084 137,659 140,000 127,837 119,527 120,742 136,555 120,000 132,728 97,405 100,000 108,784 72,986 80,000 81,312 8°10'0"N IDPs/Returnees 60,272 68,971 60,000 51,901 (! Vaharai (! 52,685 38,230 Kaddumurivu 40,000 38,121 26,484 24,987 17,600 18,171 12,551 20,000 8,020 1,140 8,543 6,872 (! 0 Panichankerny Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr 2006 2006 2006 2006 2006 2006 2006 2006 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2009 2009 2009 2009 8°5'0"N Months IDP Trend Returnees' Trend Koralai Pattu North A 1 Persons: 201 5 Families: 55 (! Please Note: Kirimichchai In areas of "Controlled Access" UN agencies, ICRC Mankerny (! and INGO have regular access after following pre-set procedures.
    [Show full text]
  • Sri Lanka –Eastern Province – Trincomalee – Security Situation – Human Rights – Military and Paramilitary Groups – TMVP – Tamils with LTTE Links – Kiliveddy - Muthur
    Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE Research Response Number: LKA35265 Country: Sri Lanka Date: 5 August 2009 Keywords: – Sri Lanka –Eastern Province – Trincomalee – Security situation – Human Rights – Military and paramilitary groups – TMVP – Tamils with LTTE Links – Kiliveddy - Muthur This response was prepared by the Research & Information Services Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. This research response may not, under any circumstance, be cited in a decision or any other document. Anyone wishing to use this information may only cite the primary source material contained herein. Questions 1. Please provide an update of the security situation in the East of Sri Lanka, particularly Trincomalee. 2. Is there a large military presence in Trincomalee? Are there reports of human rights abuses by the military in the east? 3. Do paramilitary groups/pro-government militias (such as those previously headed by Karuna and/or Pilliyan) still operate in Trincomalee? Are they still a threat to Tamils who are suspected of having LTTE links? 4. Is there any evidence of a town called Kiliveddy Muthur Trincomalee? Prior to the Sri Lankan government claiming victory over the LTTE, was Kiliveddy controlled by the LTTE or the government? RESPONSE 1. Please provide an update of the security situation in the East of Sri Lanka, particularly Trincomalee. The response to this question has been divided into two sections, the first dealing specifically with security in Trincomalee and the second relating more generally to the security situation in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka.
    [Show full text]
  • {PDF} World Record Paintings of Lord Hanuman Ebook, Epub
    WORLD RECORD PAINTINGS OF LORD HANUMAN PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Amrita Gupta | 118 pages | 01 Jan 2017 | Createspace Independent Publishing Platform | 9781542852432 | English | none World Record Paintings of Lord Hanuman PDF Book Notification Center. In our Hindu scriptures we find countless references to powerful beings in the previous ages. Sandeep palyal on August 14, at am. Chattarpur Temple Hanuman ft Hanuman Statue in Chattarpur Temple complex is located in a down town area in south of Delhi, It is the second largest temple complex in India and one of the largest in the world. Explore our online art gallery and grab your choice of painting or portraits or craft. He is generally depicted as a man with the face of a monkey and a long tail. Even the Bible gives mention to the giants who walked the earth in ancient times:. Having become a master of all that he set out to learn, it was now time for Hanuman to pay for his education guru-dakshina. However, it turned out to be an empty promise and was never materialized. Very well composed. Total redeemable TimesPoints 0. Something went wrong. It was decreed that Hanuman would remain blissfully unaware of his own prowess, unless, during the course of a meritorious deed, his memory would remind him of his superhuman ability. Gladiator Drawing. Mickey Mouse Head Drawing. Hanuman's quest is suggestive of a much deeper symbolism than a mere search for the 'physical' Sita At last the monkeys confronted Mandodari, the chief wife of Ravana. Predictably there was panic in the cosmos.
    [Show full text]
  • (Sri Lanka) - Mid-Term Joint Evaluation
    Integrated programme for empowering conflict-affected countries (Sri Lanka) - Mid-Term Joint Evaluation Quick Facts saw the end of armed conflict almost two years before Vavuniya district in the Northern Countries: Sri Lanka Province, and the recovery phase is more Mid-Term Evaluation: August 2012 advanced into the development phase in Mode of Evaluation: Independent Batticaloa, although there are pockets of need ILO Administrative responsibility: CO- in areas where social indicators and civil society Colombo capacities are relatively weak and protection Technical Area: EMP/SKILLS needs high. Evaluation Management: Joint evaluation 2. ECAC which prioritizes a human security Evaluation Team : Dr. Darini Rajaisngham approach to recovery and development had Senanayake generated new networks and synergies among Project End: September 2013 beneficiaries, partners, local government Project Code: SRL/10/03/HSF institutions and service providers, NGOs and Donor: UNDP, UNICEF and ILO CSOs and opened new spaces for information (US$ 967,815) and knowledge sharing on protection and rights Keywords: economic reconstruction, skills based development. This in turn has aided development beneficiary, family and social empowerment and trust building. It has also helped create a sense of security, particularly for women and Executive summary of the joint children, which is visible where inter-agency evaluation report coordination and partnership with GoSL is strong as expressed by state officials and 1. The Integrated Program for empowering partners. Conflict Affected Communities in North East Sri Lanka (ECAC) had a solid reputation and was 3. There is good coverage of vulnerable well regarded among all stakeholders communities from the different ethno-religious interviewed in the course of the Mid Term communities in both districts, which serves to Review that covered the Vavuniya and promote social integration and harmony in a Batticaloa Districts.
    [Show full text]
  • Paradox of Healthcare in Sri Lanka
    Paradox of healthcare in Sri Lanka Paradox of healthcare in World Health Organization World Sri Lanka A snapshot of the last decade from a partnership of sixty years Paradox of healthcare in Sri Lanka 1 Paradox of healthcare in Sri Lanka A snapshot of the last decade from a partnership of sixty years September 2014 ISBN 978-955-0261-05-5 World Health Organization Colombo - Sri Lanka First Print - September 2014 © World Health Organization 2014 This document is not a formal publication of the World Health Organization (WHO) and all rights are reserved by the Organization. The document may, however be freely reviewed, abstracted, reproduced or translated, in part or in whole, but not for use in conjunction with commercial purposes. Contents Communicable Diseases 8 Non-Communicable Diseases, Injuries and Mental Health 20 Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition 38 Health Systems 48 Emergency Preparedness and Response 56 Enhanced Partnerships and Resource Mobilisation for Health 64 Message from the Minister of Health I am pleased to send this message of WHO was designated as health coordinator within the UN family by the appreciation for the publication, reminiscing the Government of Sri Lanka and its role was clearly demonstrated when Sri Lanka achievements of the World Health Organization faced major disasters such as the tsunami in 2004 and the humanitarian operations in Sri Lanka over the last decade. in 2009 and was able to maximise on long established knowledge gathered from decades of helping member states respond to large scale disasters, with support Since the establishment of the WHO Country from the Regional Office and Headquarters of WHO.
    [Show full text]
  • Hanuman Chalisa in English and with Description in English Page 1 of 4
    Hanuman Chalisa In English And With Description In English Page 1 of 4 Hanuman Chalisa In English And With Description In English Shri Guru Charan Saroj Raj After cleansing the mirror of my mind with the pollen Nij mane mukure sudhar dust of holy Guru's Lotus feet. I Profess the pure, Varnao Raghuvar Vimal Jasu untainted glory of Shri Raghuvar which bestows the four- Jo dayaku phal char fold fruits of life.(Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha). Budhi Hin Tanu Janike Fully aware of the deficiency of my intelligence, I Sumirau Pavan Kumar concentrate my attention on Pavan Kumar and humbly Bal budhi Vidya dehu mohe ask for strength, intelligence and true knowledge to Harahu Kalesa Vikar relieve me of all blemishes, causing pain. Jai Hanuman gyan gun sagar Victory to thee, O'Hanuman! Ocean of Wisdom-All Jai Kapis tihun lok ujagar hail to you O'Kapisa! (fountain-head of power,wisdom and Shiva-Shakti) You illuminate all the three worlds (Entire cosmos) with your glory . Ram doot atulit bal dhama You are the divine messenger of Shri Ram. The Anjani -putra Pavan sut nama repository of immeasurable strength, though known only as Son of Pavan (Wind), born of Anjani. Mahavir Vikram Bajrangi With Limbs as sturdy as Vajra (The mace of God Indra) Kumati nivar sumati Ke sangi you are valiant and brave. On you attends good Sense and Wisdom. You dispel the darkness of evil thoughts. Kanchan varan viraj subesa Your physique is beautiful golden coloured and your dress Kanan Kundal Kunchit Kesa is pretty. You wear ear rings and have long curly hair.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ramayana by R.K. Narayan
    Table of Contents About the Author Title Page Copyright Page Introduction Dedication Chapter 1 - RAMA’S INITIATION Chapter 2 - THE WEDDING Chapter 3 - TWO PROMISES REVIVED Chapter 4 - ENCOUNTERS IN EXILE Chapter 5 - THE GRAND TORMENTOR Chapter 6 - VALI Chapter 7 - WHEN THE RAINS CEASE Chapter 8 - MEMENTO FROM RAMA Chapter 9 - RAVANA IN COUNCIL Chapter 10 - ACROSS THE OCEAN Chapter 11 - THE SIEGE OF LANKA Chapter 12 - RAMA AND RAVANA IN BATTLE Chapter 13 - INTERLUDE Chapter 14 - THE CORONATION Epilogue Glossary THE RAMAYANA R. K. NARAYAN was born on October 10, 1906, in Madras, South India, and educated there and at Maharaja’s College in Mysore. His first novel, Swami and Friends (1935), and its successor, The Bachelor of Arts (1937), are both set in the fictional territory of Malgudi, of which John Updike wrote, “Few writers since Dickens can match the effect of colorful teeming that Narayan’s fictional city of Malgudi conveys; its population is as sharply chiseled as a temple frieze, and as endless, with always, one feels, more characters round the corner.” Narayan wrote many more novels set in Malgudi, including The English Teacher (1945), The Financial Expert (1952), and The Guide (1958), which won him the Sahitya Akademi (India’s National Academy of Letters) Award, his country’s highest honor. His collections of short fiction include A Horse and Two Goats, Malgudi Days, and Under the Banyan Tree. Graham Greene, Narayan’s friend and literary champion, said, “He has offered me a second home. Without him I could never have known what it is like to be Indian.” Narayan’s fiction earned him comparisons to the work of writers including Anton Chekhov, William Faulkner, O.
    [Show full text]
  • ​P Art​1. Framing Fieldwork in the Batticaloa Region
    part 1. framing fieldwork in the batticaloa region Downloaded from http://read.dukeupress.edu/books/book/chapter-pdf/633593/9780822389187-001.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 introduction ri Lanka has been a remarkably fertile site for Sresearch in social and cultural anthropology, starting with C. G. and Brenda Z. Seligmann’s colo- nial monograph on the Veddas (1911) and continuing to this day with important ethnographic studies by Edmund R. Leach (1961), Nur Yalman (1967), Stanley J. Tambiah (1958), Gananath Obeyesekere (1967, 1981, 1984), James Brow (1978), Michael Roberts (1982), Bruce Kapferer (1983), Jonathan Spencer (1990a), R. L. Stirrat (1992), E. Valentine Daniel (1996), Rohan Bastin (2002), and many others. Despite “postcolo- nial and postempiricist” objections to anthropology in Sri Lanka (Ismail 2005), my intention was always to produce a book in the same scholarly tradition, a study that would extend understanding of the island’s remarkable sociological complexity through long- term, community-based fieldwork, as well as through critical engagement with anthropological writing on South Asia more generally. Now, however, given the brutal ethnic conflict which has consumed Sri Lan- kan society since the 1980s, this study also helps to illuminate what has become the most critical and divided conflict zone of the Eelam War—the island’s Downloaded from http://read.dukeupress.edu/books/book/chapter-pdf/633593/9780822389187-001.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Map 1. Sri Lanka and South India eastern coastal region—and the two Tamil-speaking minority communities who have lived there side by side for centuries—the Tamils and the Muslims (or Sri Lankan Moors).
    [Show full text]