Description
Book SynopsisSwamiji, a Hindu holy man, is the central character of Storytellers, Saints, and Scoundrels. 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.
For 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
Trade Review
"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." * Anthropology Newsletter *
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
A Note on Transliteration
Introduction
I. ORIENTATIONS
1. There's Always a Reason
2. Lives and Stories
3. Sadhus
4. The Listeners
II. STORYTELLING OCCASIONS
5. Loincloths and Celibacy
6. False Gurus and Gullible Disciples
7. Death and Laughter
8. Heaven and Hell
9. The Divine Storyteller
III. CONCLUSIONS
10. The World of the Stories
11. Storytelling as Religious Teaching
Epilogue
Appendices
1. Glossary of Commonly Used Hindi Terms
2. Map of India
Notes
Bibliography
Index
