This book examines the worship of devas and demons in Sri Lanka, illustrating how diverse influences interacted to create the Sinhala Buddhist cosmology.
The work explains the processes by which apotheosis plays an important role in revitalizing that cosmology. The author offers an examination of holy sites associated with the worship of Hūniyam. These sacred spaces each have a unique background historically, and the ritualists associated with these sites have divergent understandings concerning Hūniyam. Building upon the examination of the temples, the book delves into the iconography of Hūniyam, illustrating his transformation from demon to deity in the manner that he is depicted in imagery associated with his worship. The book moves to a discussion of Ariṭṭa Kivenḍu Perumāl, a South Indian adventurer, demonstrating the likelihood that he is the historical figure later apotheosized as Hūniyam. Sri Lankan society felt his impact so strongly, that in death he became a demon in the Sinhala Buddhist cosmology. Finally, the book demonstrates that the same apotheosis processes are at work today.
This book will be of interest to researchers and students engaged in the study of religion, anthropology, folklore, and history, specifically in the South Asian context.
Author(s): Achala Gunasekara-Rockwell
Series: Routledge South Asian Religion Series, 22
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 172
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
List of illustrations
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Deva and demon worship in Sri Lanka
Deva and demon worship
Devas
Indigenous devas
Saman
Uppalavaṇṇa
Demons
Sammuti-deva and the concept of apotheosis in Sri Lanka
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 2: Temples, shrines, and sacred spaces of Hūniyam
Lunāva Śrı̄ Visuddārāmaya Temple
Hūniyam mahā dēvālaya at Lunāva Śrı̄ Visuddārāmaya Temple
Case study one
Case study two
Case study three
Visuddārāmaya Lunāva shrine, Baseline Road, Colombo
Nānumura mangalya
Case study one
Case study two
Case study three
Śrı̄ Gambāra Sidha Hūniyam Mahā Dēvālaya, Borella
Case study one
Case study two
Hūniyam Dēvālaya at Nātha Dēvālaya, Kandy
Case study one
Hūniyam Dēvālaya, Käbälläva, Aembawa
Case study one
Aluthnuwara Hūniyam Dēvālaya
Case study one
Embekke Hūniyam Dēvālaya
Case study one
Case study two
Case study three
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 3: Iconography of Hūniyam
Hūniyam as a malevolent deity
Hūniyam as a deity in transition
Hūniyam as a benevolent deity
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 4: Historical context
Anurādhapura period
Invasions
Devas and demons
Pattinı̄
Kataragama
Poḷonnaruwa and Dambadeniya periods
Kalinga invasion and Kālı̄
Muslim king becomes a syncretic demon
Tambralinga invasion and Nātha
Fragmentation of power
Conservative resistance
Apotheosis of a Kōṭṭe prince
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 5: European colonialism versus the indigenous kingdoms
Kōṭṭe and the Portuguese versus Sı̄tāwaka
Hindu influence in the Sı̄tāwaka Kingdom
Portuguese Kōṭṭe versus the Kandyan Kingdom
Dutch colonial period and the Kandyan Kingdom: (1658–1798)
Indian immigrants among the general population
Nāyakkar rule and South Indian influence
Apotheoses and Sammuti-devas of the Kandyan Kingdom
British colonialism and the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 6: From British hegemony to the modern era
British colonial rule
Independence and the modern era
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 7: The potential apotheosis of Mahinda Rājapakṣa
A new leading actor
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 8: Hūniyam as an invader
A likely candidate
A common legend of Hūniyam
Tales of South Indian braggarts and interlopers
Hūniyam as the interloper par excellence
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 9: Conclusion
The fieldwork
Proposed future research
Note
Bibliography
Primary sources and translations
Secondary sources
Interviews and correspondence
Index
