{"product_id":"storytellers-saints-and-scoundrels-folk-narrative-in-hindu-religious-teaching-paperback-softback-9780812212693","title":"Storytellers, Saints, and Scoundrels; Folk Narrative in Hindu Religious Teaching (Paperback \/ softback) 9780812212693","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eStorytellers, Saints, and Scoundrels\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eFolk Narrative in Hindu Religious Teaching\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eKirin Narayan (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780812212693\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 1 August 1989\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e304 pages, 7 illus.\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.352 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This volume is beautifully written, is a delightful read, is theoretically sophisticated, yet presents a rich human portrait of the ethnographer and her informant. Most important, we learn a great deal about folktales, Indian gurus, and India.\"-\u003ci\u003eAnthropology Newsletter\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSwamiji, a Hindu holy man, is the central character of \u003ci\u003eStorytellers, Saints, and Scoundrels\u003c\/i\u003e. He reclines in a deck chair in his modern apartment in western India, telling subtle and entertaining folk narratives to his assorted gatherings. Among the listeners is Kirin Narayan, who knew Swamiji when she was a child in India and who has returned from America as an anthropologist. In her book Narayan builds on Swamiji's tales and his audiences' interpretations to ask why religious teachings the world over are so often couched in stories.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor centuries, religious teachers from many traditions have used stories to instruct their followers. When Swamiji tells a story, the local barber rocks in helpless laughter, and a sari-wearing French nurse looks on enrapt. Farmers make decisions based on the tales, and American psychotherapists take notes that link the storytelling to their own practices. Narayan herself is a key character in this ethnography. As both a local woman and a foreign academic, she is somewhere between participant and observer, reacting to the nuances of fieldwork with a sensitivity that only such a position can bring.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEach story s reproduced in its evocative performance setting. Narayan supplements eight folk narratives with discussions of audience participation and response as well as relevant Hindu themes. All these stories focus on the complex figure of the Hindu ascetic and so sharpen our understanding of renunciation and gurus in South Asia.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhile \u003ci\u003eStorytellers, Saints, and Scoundrels\u003c\/i\u003e raises provocative theoretical issues, it is also a moving human document. Swamiji, with his droll characterizations, inventive mind, and generous spirit, is a memorable character. The book contributes to a growing interdisciplinary literature on narrative. It will be particularly valuable to students and scholars of anthropology, folklore, performance studies, religions, and South Asian studies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e A Note on Transliteration\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eI. ORIENTATIONS\u003cbr\u003e 1. There's Always a Reason\u003cbr\u003e 2. Lives and Stories\u003cbr\u003e 3. Sadhus\u003cbr\u003e 4. The Listeners\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eII. STORYTELLING OCCASIONS\u003cbr\u003e 5. Loincloths and Celibacy\u003cbr\u003e 6. False Gurus and Gullible Disciples\u003cbr\u003e 7. Death and Laughter\u003cbr\u003e 8. Heaven and Hell\u003cbr\u003e 9. The Divine Storyteller\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIII. CONCLUSIONS\u003cbr\u003e 10. The World of the Stories\u003cbr\u003e 11. Storytelling as Religious Teaching\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEpilogue\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAppendices\u003cbr\u003e 1. Glossary of Commonly Used Hindi Terms\u003cbr\u003e 2. Map of India\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotes\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"University of Pennsylvania Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52693182906648,"sku":"9780812212693","price":21.56,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/storytellers-saints-and-scoundrels-folk-narrative-in-hindu-religious-teaching-paperback-softback-9780812212693","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}