Suchergebnisse

Abstract
This contribution outlines the project of a global history of religion that examines the historical formations and epistemic structures in non-European regions prior to the encounter with Europeans just as much as the current entanglements of the global discourse on religion. Based on a case study of the encounter between Tibetans and Catholic missionaries in 18th century Lhasa, three important aspects in the project of a global history of religion will be discussed: comparison, both at the subject level and as a scholarly method; the practice of translation; and finally the genealogical tracing of taxonomic orders in non-European regions beyond colonial orders. In addition, a suggestion is offered to expand our analytical repertoire to include non-European worlds of experience in a conceptual-historical approach.

The huge Shambhala thangka preserved at the National Gallery in Prague, Czech Republic, is allegedly of Tibetan origin and dates to the nineteenth century. The conventional depiction of the realm of Shambhala in this thangka shows some surprisingly unconventional details in the scenes that illustrate the battle between the infidels and the Buddhist warriors led by Raudracakrin, the last ruler (kalki) of Shambhala. These details hint at a possible Mongolian origin. This article examines the visual aspects of the Shambhala myth as depicted in the Prague thangka, paying special attention to the representation of the final battle and the so-called enemies of the dharma. By engaging with textual, visual, and performative sources that inform the Prague thangka, the author argues that the production of knowledge in the visual language of the thangka is tied to the emerging conditions of globality, incorporating local life-worlds in the context of religious encounters, trade relations, and political negotiations. Keywords: Mongolia, Tibet, Shambhala, Prague thangka, Kālacakratantra, millennialism, Muslims, Islam, Westerners, alterity

AbstractSince the early 2000s the Mongolian Buddhist masked ritual dance, in the Khalkh-Mongolian language calledTsam, has been re-introduced to the Mongolian religious field. Nowadays a couple of Buddhist monasteries in Mongolia perform theTsamonce a year. This paper examines the Mongolian masked dance in its historical and contemporary aspects, with a special focus on theKhüree Tsam. It provides an overview of the Tibetan history of the masked ritual dance and its historical Mongolian developments, as well as an ethnographic study of the 2009 performance of theKhüree Tsamin Dashchoilin monastery of Ulaanbaatar. Whereas the historical part of this paper draws on Tibetan and Mongolian dance manuals and chronicles, the ethnographic part is methodologically based on participant observation, expert and semi-structured interviews. Finally, the paper discusses the changes and adaptations theKhüree Tsamunderwent within and outside the monastic context in today's Mongolia.