Úvahy o význame niektorých buddhistických dedinských slavností v oblastiach Horný Kinnaur a Západný Tibet
Question of meaning in the case of t Buddhist villages festivals in Upper Kinnaur and Western Tibet

Summary/Abstract: This paper deals with the question of meaning in the case of two Buddhist villages festivals or communal ritual performances in Upper Kinnaur and Western Tibet. For this purpose, the model of ‘script’, ‘ritual stage’ and the dynamic or constrained (re-)production of meaning(s) as they were employed by Joanna Pfaff-Czarnecka and Andre Gingrich in recent contributions to the debate on ritual theory in social and cultural anthropology are discussed. A particular focus is thereby on emic aspects in the notion of ‘script(s)’. On the basis of two ethnographic case studies, including also relevant textual sources and local Buddhist concepts, it is suggested that what is termed ‘script’ should be conceptualized in a wider sense that also includes visual and material aspects as well as music and dance. With regard to methodology and the assessment of the dynamics of the ritual process, the inclusion of a diachronical perspective and a greater variety of sources and aspects emerges as expedient for studies of this kind in village communities of Western Tibet and adjacent Tibetan-speaking areas in northwestern India.

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