Papers by Ginni Ishimatsu
Hinduism and Tribal Religions, 2022
Hinduism and Tribal Religions, 2022
Hinduism and Tribal Religions, 2022
From the late 19th century, Tamil nationalists, as represented by the Self-Respect Movement, prom... more From the late 19th century, Tamil nationalists, as represented by the Self-Respect Movement, promoted Shaiva Siddhānta as the ’original ’ Tamil religion in an imagined ancient past, where social equality and harmony reigned before Brahmans forced the caste system and other social ills on the Tamils. Claims that Shaiva Siddhānta is specifically Tamil and non-Brahman in origin or essence continue to inform debates concerning Dravidian identity, the rights of Brahman temple priests, and the language of Hindu worship. These arguments have also prompted scholarly inquiry into the history of Tamil Shaivism. Research shows that Shaiva Siddhānta first developed in central India among male Brahman spiritual lineages; a distinct regional variation developed later in the south, with non-Brahman Vēlāla leaders and authoritative writings in Tamil. However, traditional narratives of the lives of early non-Brahman gurus highlight the difficulty of transferring authori...
Journal of the American Oriental Society, 2014
Oxford Bibliographies Online Datasets, 2000
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Papers by Ginni Ishimatsu