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| Strīkāmā Vai Gandharvāḥ. Spirit-Possession, Women, and Initiation in Vedic India | ||
| 作者 | Norelius, Per-Johan (著) |
|---|---|
| 出處題名 | Acta Orientalia: Ediderunt Societates Orientales Batava Danica Norvegica |
| 卷期 | v.76 |
| 出版日期 | 2015 |
| 頁次 | 13 - 89 |
| 出版者 | E. J. Brill |
| 出版地 | Leiden, the Netherlands [萊登, 荷蘭] |
| 資料類型 | 期刊論文=Journal Article |
| 使用語言 | 英文=English |
| 附註項 | Author Affiliation: Uppsala University, Sweden. |
| 關鍵詞 | spirit possession; Vedic religion; Mahābhārata; apsaras; soma; women; marriage ceremonies; rites of passage; Männerbünde |
| 摘要 | The nature of the Vedic gandharvas, and their female counterparts, the apsarases, has been the subject of much controversy. While often appearing in Vedic texts as a spirit of procreation, opinions have differed as to whether the pali gandhabba-, mentioned in the Buddhist Nikāyas as a being whose presence is necessary for theconception of a human being, should be understood in this light, or (following Buddhist commentarial tradition) as a disembodied soul entering the womb in order to reincarnate. The present study, opting for the first alternative, will explore the older, Vedic gandharva’s nature not only as a genius of fertility and procreation, responsible for conception as well as miscarriage, but also as a lusty, potentially harmful spirit with a taste for mortal women –even married ones. The gandharva’s (in post-RV texts usually in plural) desire for women sometimes expresses itself in his taking possession of mortal females; thus explaining text-passages where gandharvas are said to cause mental illness. This possession could however have positive aspects, as the gandharva could speak through the possessed woman and leave oracular answers on questions of esoteric and ritualistic matters. This belief, it will be argued, shows affinities to possession cults around the world, where the role as possessed oracle is frequently played by girls or women –a fact well-known from anthropology. But gandharva-possession must also be understood in the light of a conception of the gandharva as mediator between this world and the other; as a being with a knowledge of divine secrets, which he could impart to mortals in exchange for the enjoyment of their women. This same kind of exchange often appears in myths, such as that of the contest between gods and gandharvas for the soma and the goddess Speech. In mythology, the gandharvas and apsarases are frequently depicted as youthful, good-looking, and fond of games and sports, music and dancing, and erotic activities. A case will be made for a connection between these beings and the adolescent period of life in Vedic society. In the domesticritual, offerings are made to “the gandharva” by girls about to get married, thus asking for his permission; while young men who have completed their studies and are about to settle down and marry, are given a staff representing the gandharva, to “guard” them in their new life. All this suggests that the single gandharva of older Vedic times was thought of as a tutelary deity of unmarried adolescents, male as well as female (the latter being “married” to him). There are also instances in the priestly ritual where “young, beautiful” boys and girls impersonate the gandharvas and apsarases. Some sort of bond between these deities and people in the adolescent, pre-married stage of Vedic life (the prathama-vayasá-or “first age-span”), is also suggested by the association of these beings with the sabhā – described by some scholars as a “men’s house” in the anthropological sense of the term – and with the vrātyaor member of the Vedic “sodalities” of young men. |
| 目次 | Abstract 13 Keywords 14 Early Buddhist gandhabba- 14 The Vedic gandharva as a procreation-divinity 21 gandharvá-in the Ṛgveda 31 Gandharvas, soma, women, and the notion of exchange between the worlds 41 Possessing women 50 Apsarases and men: fleeting relationships and gandharvic jealousy 58 Weddings and initiations: the gandharva and rites de passage 64 Concluding remarks 79 Abbreviations and bibliography 81 |
| ISSN | 00016438 (P); 16000439 (E) |
| DOI | 10.5617/ao.4451 |
| 點閱次數 | 137 |
| 建檔日期 | 2023.10.11 |
| 更新日期 | 2023.10.11 |
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