An anthropological study of dynamic intersections among developmental projects, environmental movements, and religious practices.

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26370949
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Cultural anthropology
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: Ishii Miho 京都大学, 人文科学研究所, 准教授 (40432059)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 開発 / 環境運動 / 宗教実践 / インド / カルナータカ州 / 神霊祭祀 / 自然

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This project investigated the influence of development projects in Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka State of India. Since the 1980s, these projects have affected the lives of villagers. I examined how villagers have coped with deforestation and the fragmentation of village communities. How do spirit, or buuta, rituals interact with villagers’ responses to development projects? How are the outsiders who implement development projects related to the land and deities in the area? To address these questions, I investigated the following three topics: buuta worship in anti-development activism, conflicts arising from development projects, and the case of buuta worship inside an industrial plant. I clarified the ambivalent effects of the buutas, who both strongly support anti-development activism and bind people to their land. Furthermore, I examined new manifestations of buuta worship within plants in the special economic zone.

Free Research Field

文化人類学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本プロジェクトの調査を通して、南インドにおいて自然と人々の関係性を媒介する神霊祭祀の重要性が明らかになった。また、大規模開発の進展という状況にあって、神霊祭祀が単に衰退するのではなく、新たな形で復活を遂げているという状況が明らかになった。この研究成果は平成28年度に『環世界の人類学--南インドにおける野生・近代・神霊祭祀』として京都大学学術出版会から刊行された。また英語版の著書の執筆も完成しており、現在出版社によるレビュー中である。