Kiss of the Yogini: "Tantric Sex" in its South Asian Contexts (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Curiously, the most balanced overview of Tantra in South Asia written to date is the work of a Sinologist..." (more)
Key Phrases: clan fluid, clan nectar, fluid gnosis, South Asian, Netra Tantra, Hindu Tantra (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Kiss of the Yogini is one of the few good, interesting books about Tantra, a passionately argued work that transforms scholarly understanding of its subject.... By reconstructing the medieval South Asian Kaula and Tantric traditions that involved sexual practices, David White hopes to restore the dignity and autonomy of the people who invented them and continue to practise them. This monumental scholarly work does precisely that." - Wendy Doniger, Times Literary Supplement" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

"There are many good, dull books about Tantra and many that are bad but interesting. This is true of many areas of knowledge, but Tantra is particularly susceptible both to juicy sensationalism and to an overcompensating academic desiccation. Kiss of the Yogini is one of the few good, interesting books about Tantra, a passionately argued work that transforms scholarly understanding of its subject. . . . By reconstructing the medieval South Asian Kaula and Tantric traditions that involved sexual practices, David White hopes to restore the dignity and autonomy of the people who invented them and continue to practise them. This monumental scholarly work does precisely that."-Wendy Doniger, Times Literary Supplement (Wendy Doniger Times Literary Supplement )

"A masterfully researched, eloquently written, and compelling scholarly work. From her hazy Indo-European roots to contemporary Nike ads, White brings us a rich interdisciplinary study of the Hindu Yogini. . . . A valuable contribution to disciplines across the humanities and social sciences, and a much-needed and timely response to the rampant commodification of Tantra."-Andrea Custodi, Anthropological Quarterly (Andrea Custodi Anthropological Quarterly )

"White's significant new work sheds welcome light on the topic of Hindu Tantric sex. . . . The main strategic procedure White employs is, radically enough, to read Tantric language . . . literally. The result is a revelation of the internal logic of Tantric ritual and a new perspective on a wide range of old confusions,"-Jonathan C. Gold, Journal of Religion (Jonathan C. Gold Journal of Religion )

"White argues that the truly perennial tradition within Indian religion, the predominant religious paradigm, has always been Tantric. Unfortunately, this Tantric tradition has been, to a larger extent, ignored by serious scholarship. White makes a valiant effort to remedy this omission."-Apratim Barua, Contemporary South Asia (Apratim Barua Contemporary South Asia )

"A welcome and much-needed critical study of the role of sex in Indian Tantric texts, ritual, and iconography. Not only does this book force us to rethink the role of sex in Indian Tantra, but it also forces us to reevaluate the landscape of South Asian religions as a whole. . . . This is an important, powerful, provocative, and in many ways brilliant book that does reorient our understanding of Tantra and South Asian religion. As such it should be of serious interest not only to South Asianists, but to scholars of comparative religion, art historians, and anyone working in sexuality studies."-Hugh B. Urban, History of Religions (Hugh B. Urban History of Religions )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (July 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226894835
• ISBN-13: 978-0226894836
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,262,753 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thought provoking book and indispensable research source, May 8, 2006

By	Kent Davis "Devata.org - Khmer Studies" (Anna Maria Island, FL USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

David White gives clear, detailed insights into the origins and evolution of Tantric practices. Serious students of South Asian religious history will find his meticulous work a wealth of information filled with practical examples, diverse sources and original accounts rarely, if ever, this accessible in English.

The work's logical analysis of Tantric traditions visits its roots, components, rituals and development through the centuries. White states his goal "to reconstruct a history as well, perhaps, as a religious anthropology, a sociology, and a political economy of (mainly Hindu) Tantra, from the medieval period down to the present day." Indeed, this is what his book accomplishes. Unlike other works focusing on a particular aspect of Tantra, White takes a holistic approach that includes texts, imagery, politics, art, architecture, social relationships and practice in his sources.

His linguistic abilities enabled him to include translated excerpts from more than 25 ancient Sanskrit works. He also references many modern sources that had me frequently returning to Amazon to order more books!

White's creative vocabulary delights and stimulates; Acoustic phoneme, aestheticize, cosmeticized, countercasuistry, dissimulation, doctrine of radical nonduality, gerocomy, gnoseological, homologous, hegemonic, nondiscursive agglomerations, occulted, photeme, photic grapheme, polyvalence, postmodernisme oblige, semanticize, scholasticist, soteriology and typology are a few examples of the verbal tools he wields to make his finer points.

The resulting prose is necessarily dense; a complex treatment by an expert immersed in his topic. Most paragraphs cite multiple sources, all thoroughly described in his bibliography and copious endnotes. The book also includes more than 25 helpful illustrations that give visual representations of many concepts.

My only suggestion to improve future editions is that it would be helpful to add the following graphics: [1] Timelines - to illustrate chronological relationships of literary works, religious traditions and teachers referenced; [2] Hierarchical diagrams - to illustrate relationships among the multiple systems of gods, goddesses, demons, deities, yogis, yoginis, dakinis, etc. and; [3] Maps - to show geographical and temporal relationships in the spread of Tantric practices and related political systems.

Finally, I must comment on a few of the poor "reviews" of this work that sadly appear on Amazon. It is obvious that some people have not read the book. Like most fanatics, they leap to judge something they don't care to accept or understand.

In his five page preface, and in many other chapters, White makes it quite clear that he is a scholar with tremendous respect for Indian and Hindu religious traditions. His years of investigative effort in original sources establish strong pedigrees of origin that, in fact, enhance the basis of these traditions. The only groups White directly criticizes are "New Age" proponents of Tantra who have hijacked Indian culture and distorted it for commercial gain in the West. His historically accurate report is no threat to any tradition based on truth.

28 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended, June 5, 2005

By	Rufus C. Camphausen "Rufus" (Amsterdam, NL) - See all my reviews

The book discussed in these pages is brilliant, well done and highly recommended. I have just finished reading it, more or less non-stop, in 2 full days. As with his earlier work (The Alchemical Body), the author's research is detailed and professional - and anyone calling it "pathetic" (anonymous review May 26 2004) or "saddening" (anonymous review May 29 2004) only admits in so doing that he or she has personal problems with the sexual aspects of Tantra as they are discussed in "The Kiss" open and honestly by David Gordon White.
Someone else called his conclusions "controversial" (anonymous review June 16 2004), yet the only "controversial" thing I can find in this book is the author's honesty - and one can only congratulate him for this - and of course he's intelligent enough to have foreseen that his theme and stance won't be liked by many - both in India and within the "New Age Tantra" community across the hemispheres.
To everyone who has read actual Tantric texts - even in translation - White's conclusions are fully in concordance with previously published material AND with actual practice - the real merit of this book lies in presenting us with more and new material (translated by the author), and by connecting and combining previously difficult to relate evidence.
So what is the book actually about that shocks so many sensitive minds? It is the fact that White establishes more firmly than has been done (in scholarly circles) before, that Tantric ritual makes use of the fluids that arise from the genitals - both female and male. And we're not only talking about orgasmic emissions, we're also talking about the magical blood we call menstruation. And we're talking about oral sex. So the author must have known that he'll get plenty of `flames' for various reasons - and I wish him that he is immune to it.
Congratulations, DGW, for this great book - and for the Vira balls to write it. May the Yogini grant you many more sweet en enlightening Kisses.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kiss of Bliss, May 12, 2009

By	Charles Peckham Jr. (Waterford MI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Kiss of the Yogini: "Tantric Sex" in its South Asian Contexts (Paperback)

I have not finished this book yet because I have been savoring it like a good french meal. This book has given me a piece of the puzzle I have been waiting for a long time in terms of my own personal practice. It is very scholarly and thorough. My regards to the author.