Attentive Minds: A History of the Indian Performative Art of Avadhāna from the Origin to Modern Times

Hermina Cielas (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

382 Seiten

2023
Brill (Verlag)
978-90-04-68561-1 (ISBN)

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The book offers a study of avadhāna, a centuries-old Indian performing art. Through the analysis of epigraphic and literary sources and field research, the author reconstructs avadhāna’s history in the socio-cultural context and gives a detailed systematization of the art.

From tenth-century South India to twenty-first-century cultural events, from the court assemblies to the public space: Attentive Minds takes you on a journey through the fascinating world of avadhāna, a complex and long-living performative art of India whose practitioners showcase highly developed cognitive skills (like attention, ability to multitask, memory) and specialized knowledge.

With the help of epigraphic and literary sources and field research, Hermina Cielas reconstructs avadhāna’s history in its socio-cultural context and provides a detailed systematization of the art. Her multifaceted study investigates the cultural phenomenon scarcely known outside of India. It explores avadhāna’s multiple forms, from games and puzzles, through a display of mnemonic or motor skills, to multilingual literary feasts.

Hermina Cielas, Ph.D. (2018), Jagiellonian University in Kraków, is a Researcher in the Department of Languages and Cultures of India and South Asia at that university. She is the author of several articles on Indian culture and literature.

Contents

Acknowledgements

List of Figures

Abbreviations

Introduction

Part 1: Towards the Avadhāna

1 Celebration of Cognitive Skills

1 Concentration and Attentiveness

2 Memory, Memorization, and Chanting Vedas

3 Retention

2 Riddles, Skills, and Arts

1 Creating and Solving Riddles

2 The 64 (or More) Arts and Skills

3 The Influence of Theatre and Nāṭyaśāstra

3 Performing Literary Composition

1 The Underlying Principles of Indian Poetry

2 The Four Types of Poetry

3 Multilingualism

4 Kavigoṣṭhī

Part 2: The Great (Systematized) Improvisation

4 The Systematization of Avadhāna

1 The General Tenets and Basic Division of Avadhāna

2 Hidden behind the Numbers

3 The Duration of a Performance

4 Mnemonic Forms of Avadhāna

5 Technical Avadhānas and Their Tasks

6 Artistic Forms of Avadhāna

5 The Languages of Avadhāna

6 Performing Traditions, Fostering Communities

1 A (Cultural) Performance

2 The Ritualistic and Liminoid Aspects of Avadhāna

Part 3: Voices from the Stones and Scriptures

7 Tablets, Stones, and Copperplates

1 The Inscription from Vallimalai

2 The Nandampundi Grant and Nārāyaṇa

3 Mallikārjuna Bhaṭṭa and Someśvara in the Epigraphs from Belagami and Ablur

4 Devaśarmā in the Inscription from Halsi

5 Viśvanātha from Belvola in the Inscriptions from Kembalu and Haranahalli

6 The Avadhānīs of the Nānāka praśastis

8 Avadhāna in the Literary Sources

1 Vedāvadhānīs

2 Avadhāna at the Mughal Courts

3 Female Artists at the 17th-Century Nāyaka Court in Tanjore

4 Avatāṉis

5 The Others

9 Spatial and Temporal Aspects of Avadhāna

1 On the Origin of Avadhāna

2 The Time and Place of Avadhāna Performances

Part 4: Figures on the Stage

10 The Preparation of Avadhānī

1 The Ideal Kavi and Preparation for Performing Sāhityāvadhāna

2 Preparing to Perform Technical and Non-literary Artistic Avadhānas

3 Memory Training and the Methods of Enhancing Cognitive Skills

11 In the Milieu of Avadhānīs

1 The Avadhānīs and Their Position in Society

2 Women in Avadhāna

3 The Role of the Teacher in Avadhāna

4 The Questioners

12 The Challenges of the 20th and 21st Centuries

1 Changes of Patronage, Critique of the Art, and the Crisis of Sāhityāvadhāna

2 The Revival, Influence of Technology and Media, and Commercialization of Avadhāna

3 Organizing Avadhāna

4 The Prospects

Appendix 1: Selected Examples of Historical and Contemporary Practitioners of Avadhāna

Appendix 2: Selected Verses Composed by Avadhānīs and Pṛcchakas

Appendix 3: A Glossary of Terms Connected to Avadhāna

Bibliography

Erscheinungsdatum	28.12.2023
Reihe/Serie	Brill's Indological Library ; 58
Verlagsort	Leiden
Sprache	englisch
Maße	155 x 235 mm
Gewicht	788 g
Themenwelt	Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Theater / Ballett
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Anglistik / Amerikanistik
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Literaturwissenschaft
ISBN-10	90-04-68561-8 / 9004685618
ISBN-13	978-90-04-68561-1 / 9789004685611
Zustand	Neuware