High Religion: A Cultural and Political History of Sherpa Buddhism

by Sherry B. Ortner

An eminent anthropologist examines the foundings of the first celibate Buddhist monasteries among the Sherpas of Nepal in the early twentieth century--a religious development that was a major departure from "folk" or "popular" Buddhism. Sherry Ortner is the first to integrate social scientific and historical modes of analysis in a study of the Sherpa monasteries and one of the very few to attempt such an account for Buddhist monasteries anywhere. Combining ethnographic and oral-historical methods, she scrutinizes the interplay of political and cultural factors in the events culminating in the foundings. Her work constitutes a major advance both in our knowledge of Sherpa Buddhism and in the integration of anthropological and historical modes of analysis.


At the theoretical level, the book contributes to an emerging theory of "practice," an explanation of the relationship between human intentions and actions on the one hand, and the structures of society and culture that emerge from and feed back upon those intentions and actions on the other. It will appeal not only to the increasing number of anthropologists working on similar problems but also to historians anxious to discover what anthropology has to offer to historical analysis. In addition, it will be essential reading for those interested in Nepal, Tibet, the Sherpa, or Buddhism in general.

Genres: Anthropology, History, Buddhism, Nonfiction

269 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1989

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am puzzled why this book has so many negative reviews. I am going to venture to say that some people here just didn't "get it."
This book is Ortner's attempt to combine long durée history with her earlier ideas on key symbols. This combination of synchronic
and diachronic marks the paradigm of "practice theory" that this book is part of.

Ortner looks at Sherpa oral history as an elaborating symbol that provides a cultural schema for Sherpas. As history progresses from the 16th to the 20th century, Sherpas interpret economic and political changes (and the social shifts they engender) through these cultural tales. The focus of the argument is balancing these cultural schemas and personal agency. How do Sherpas change if they always reduce events to their folk tales. Ortner seems to be arguing that the Sherpas act out of their schemas when they pursue economic benefit, social status, and religious merit. It is only after the fact, when they and others' rationalize their the behavior, that grounds it into the cultural schema. I do write "it seems" because I was unclear exactly how where the actor begins. Is it all about "rationalizing" behavior? Don't people only set their goals within their schemas? And if this is true, isn't it more difficult to explain "outside of the box" actions, such as moving to Darjeeling for work? At times, Ortner's actor seems too much of the economic rational actor. What about how these exogenous influences change Sherpas' goals through re-mediation? I think that Life and Death on Mount Everest deals with these issues better, though it does drop the strong research on folk tales.

[Carlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ortner does an incredible job at sketching a clear picture of this often misunderstood religion with the clearest and most concise language. Although a lay reader may feel a little intimidated by the details with which Ortner discusses the history, if they just hang on they will find that she explains every detailed with marvelous ease.

[versarbre · Rating 5 out of 5]

An anthropologist's masterpiece that is "the product of clear thinking"! I completely agree with this comment.

[Marsha Altman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book on the history of Sherpa religion that there is. I should probably knock off a star because she gets lost in the weeds of discussion of anthropology as anthropologists tend to do, but I won't because I just appreciate that this book got written and published. Be warned that it was published in 1989 so it doesn't cover any recent developments.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Readable, thoughtful, magical, provocative! I am sold on practice theory and sad that Part I of the seminar is over!!!