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Center for Southeast Asian Studies Friday Forum

Becoming Active in a Theravada Buddhist Narrative: The Vessantara Painted Scrolls of Northeast Thailand and Lowland Laos

Event Details

Date
Friday, October 17, 2008
Time
12 p.m.
Location
Description
Scholars have paid little attention to the elements of material culture used by the people of Northeast Thailand and Lowland Laos to insert themselves into the annual retelling of the story of Prince Vessantara. A focus on material culture, especially the 30-40 meter-long painted scrolls carried from forest into neighborhood and temple, highlights the assumption by participants of narrative voice, moral action, communal merit-making and the relationship of individual to state.
Cost
Free
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