ERIC Number: EJ1467943
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1745 -7823
EISSN: EISSN-1745-7831
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Crafting Selves: Learning Tradition and Becoming a Monk at a Hindu Monastery
Ethnography and Education, v20 n2 p99-116 2025
This study examines how monks (bhakats) at Hindu monasteries (satra) in Assam become legitimate members of their monastic community. Rooted within the Neo-Vaishnavite tradition of the fifteenth century, satras were established to foster an egalitarian society and became vital spiritual and cultural institutions where religious teachings were disseminated through music and dance dramas. Bhakats continue these practices today within a framework where learning, religious practice, livelihood and daily life intertwine. Tradition and resistance coexist within the satra, creating unique dynamics. Drawing on concepts of embodied and situated learning within a 'community of practice', this study highlights the educational significance of satra-based learning as an ongoing and relational process. Bhakats preserve traditions, and transform them while negotiating with an ever-changing world. By examining how bhakats craft and perform different identities as adaptive agents, this study contributes to broader discussions on the evolving nature of religious communities and institutions in contemporary societies.
Descriptors: Clergy, Religion, Communities of Practice, Folk Culture, Cultural Maintenance, Adjustment (to Environment), Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: India
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Department of Education, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK