| Summary: | "At the pilgrimage site of Adam's Peak, also known as Sri Pada, in Sri Lanka, a footprint is embedded atop a mountain summit, variously identified as belonging to the Buddha by Buddhists, to Lord Siva by Hindus, and to Adam, the first man, by Muslims and Christians. Considering such diverse heritage, Mountain at a Center of the World asks: How can the pluralism of such a place be best understood historically and practically managed? Despite increasing Buddhist hegemony, the peak is often a prop of the Sri Lankan state used to convey a harmonious image of religious pluralism. Alexander McKinley intervenes to present a more realistic definition of pluralism based in political ecology, one that represents the full array of actors and issues on the mountain. From its diverse people to rare species to deep geology, the peak models a planetary pluralism that comes with competition and disorder and may require active maintenance to preserve its social and ecological health. Combining history and ethnography, this book shows how religious traditions share literal common ground in their reverence for the mountain, making the peak an agent conditioning human existence through its rocks, forests, and waters, which promote pilgrimage and inspire storytelling, whether combative or cooperative"--
|
|---|
