Storytellers, Saints, and Scoundrels: Folk Narrative in Hindu Religious Teaching (Contemporary Ethnography) [Paperback]

Kirin Narayan (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 081221269X | ISBN-13: 978-0812212693 | Publication Date: August 1, 1989

Swamiji, a Hindu holy man, is the central character of Storytellers, Saints, and Scoundrels. He reclines in a deck chair in his modern apartment in western India, telling subtle and entertaining fold narratives to his assorted gatherings. Among the listeners is Kirin Narayan, who knew Swamiji when she was a child in India and who has returned from America as an anthropologist. In her book Narayan builds on Swamiji's tales and his audiences' interpretations to ask why religious teachings the world over are so often couched in stories.

For centuries, religious teachers from many traditions have used stories to instruct their followers. When Swamiji tells a story, the local barber rocks in helpless laughter, and a sari-wearing French nurse looks on enrapt. Farmers make decisions based on the tales, and American psychotherapists take notes that link the storytelling to their own practices. Narayan herself is a key character in this ethnography. As both a local woman and a foreign academic, she is somewhere between participant and observer, reacting to the nuances of fieldwork with a sensitivity that only such a position can bring.

Each story s reproduced in its evocative performance setting. Narayan supplements eight folk narratives with discussions of audience participation and response as well as relevant Hindu themes. All these stories focus on the complex figure of the Hindu ascetic and so sharpen our understanding of renunciation and gurus in South Asia.

While Storytellers, Saints, and Scoundrels raises provocative theoretical issues, it is also a moving human document. Swamiji, with his droll characterizations, inventive mind, and generous spirit, is a memorable character. The book contributes to a growing interdisciplinary literature on narrative. It will be particularly valuable to students and scholars of anthropology, folklore, performance studies, religions, and South Asian studies.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This volume is beautifully written, is a delightful read, is theoretically sophisticated, yet presents a rich human portrait of the ethnographer and her informant. Most important, we learn a great deal about folktales, Indian gurus, and India."—Anthropology Newsletter

About the Author

Kirin Narayan is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (August 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081221269X
• ISBN-13: 978-0812212693
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #435,205 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laughing & learning: Hindu holymen tales..., January 2, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Storytellers, Saints, and Scoundrels: Folk Narrative in Hindu Religious Teaching (Contemporary Ethnography) (Paperback)

This book makes folklore accessible and interesting. The subject--stories recounted by hindu holymen and why and how they are told--is fascinating. Ethnographic information on the hindu religion and culture is brillant and full of life and humor. Kirin Narayan was also my University of Wisconsin-Madison anthropology professor and she was awesome!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful tales., May 21, 2008

By 

M. R. Hils "A'ishah" (Charlottesville, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Storytellers, Saints, and Scoundrels: Folk Narrative in Hindu Religious Teaching (Contemporary Ethnography) (Paperback)

Kirin Narayan's ethnography is an amazing work. I originally bought it for a class but could not put it down. I love ethnographies and study religion (mainly Buddhism, although Hinduism is another interest of mine), so I approach this book from the perspective of a Western academic, but honestly, Narayan's writing is extremely down-to-earth and readable by anyone, I believe. Her story reads like a novel rather than an ethnography, and she intertwines Swamiji's stories, the history surrounding him and them, and Swamiji's life and her own seemingly effortlessly.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars storytellers,saints and scoundrels:folk narrative in hindu religious teaching, September 1, 2009

By 

Claudia foster (los angeles, usa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Storytellers, Saints, and Scoundrels: Folk Narrative in Hindu Religious Teaching (Contemporary Ethnography) (Paperback)

This book is based on the stories of Swamiji (name anon) who I happened to spend 1 year with in the late 70ies. It is an interesting and vivid portrayal of swamiji and his stories which were spoken in his native language and not therefore available to westerners who visited him. I was one of those westerners and received his teachings through his presence more than literal understanding of his stories, which he used as a teaching tool. This book has been wonderful for me , bringing alive his stories and his teachings in a visceral way. I am very grateful to Kirin Narayan for her dedicated work and enjoyed the light and entertaining way she presented her information. I believe the only other book written about this particular saint was by my brother, Titus foster, who wrote a biography of swamiji entitled, Agaram Bagaram Guru