Inspirations from the East

Non-Wives & Their Networks
in Medieval Tamilnadu, India
Leslie C. Orr
P r o f e s s o r o f R e l i g i o n
Specializing in South Indian Tamil Studies
C o n c o r d i a U n i v e r s i t y

The Department of History & Classics Presents

Cosponsored by The Women’s Studies Program
In the inscriptions of the 8th through 13th centuries, engraved on the
stone walls of temples in Tamilnadu, women frequently appear, most
often in the role of donor. Some of these women – by no means the
majority – are identified as wives or there are other indications of their
situation within what one might consider a normative household. These
“family women” may be contrasted with other categories of women
whom we encounter. In this paper, I will take as a starting point the cases of
several such non-wives, including a Jain religious woman (a member of a
female teaching lineage), a woman described as the “intimate” of a local
lord (who bore him a daughter), and a temple woman of the kaikkolar
community. The examination of the various patterns of relationship that
surrounded these three types of women – nun, concubine, and temple
woman – opens out into a broader discussion of women’s affiliations,
activities, and implication in kinship networks and concludes with the
suggestion that even for many “family women,” marriage was not the
primary constitutive factor of their households.

3:00pm September 15
Room 326 Old Arts, University of Alberta
http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/historyandclassics

The Department of History & Classics Presents

HINDU TEMPLES: Antiquity, Aesthetics & Conflict

Leslie C. Orr
Professor of Religion, Specializing in South Indian Tamil Studies, Concordia University

Stone temples have been made and remade in India for 1500 years or more – added to, abandoned, renewed, and completely rebuilt. These activities are in evidence particularly in the case of Hindu temples in Tamilnadu, in the far south of India, many of which have grown into vast complexes. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, in the time of British rule, European orientalist and colonial interest was directed toward the temple, as it was toward other monuments regarded as having historical or cultural significance. But these conservationist and antiquarian concerns – and Western tastes – came into direct conflict with the priorities and aesthetics of Indians who used the temple as a place of worship. From the Western perspective, a “good” temple was one that was as nearly as possible in its pristine or original form, without “accretions” or signs of its ongoing use, a fixed document of the past, which if faded or ruined should be preserved in that state. “Bad” were the temples that had been renovated or rebuilt, even if – as was usual – traditional architectural styles were employed in the new construction. And the clutter and busy-ness of the temple complex, the accumulation of buildings, and especially the bright paint applied to stone surfaces were what was “ugly.” For the Hindu worshipper, on the other hand, the “good” temple was one in use, full and shining with fresh paint, with a new and clean appearance. The bad/ ugly temple was tumble-down, damaged and worn, empty and unused. In my presentation, I will examine – and illustrate – the nature of these different perspectives, with reference to the South Indian temple, and explore the dynamics of the conflicts they have given rise to, which continue to this day.

5:00pm 16 September, 2010
Room 1-5 Business Building, University of Alberta
http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/historyandclassics