essay

The sexual politics of karmic retribution

anthropology of taiwanese society • Stanford, Calif. • Published In 1981 • Pages: 381-396, 468-469

By: Seaman, Gary.

Abstract

Seaman examined beliefs in the polluting power of women and their bodies in relation to an evident paradox of funeral rites, at which sons must symbolically drink of their birth blood as proof of their filial piety toward their mothers. The text of the ritual Blood Bowl Sutra that is performed at women's funerals is presented and analyzed, as is the ceremony and its basis in both notions of female uncleanliness and women's actual social ambiguity.

HRAF PubDate

1995

Region

Asia

Sub Region

East Asia

Document Type

essay

Evaluation

Creator Type

Ethnologist

Document Rating

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

M. A. Marcus; Marlene Martin

Field Date

1970-1976

Coverage Date

not specified

Coverage Place

P'u-li Basin, central Taiwan (p. 382)

Notes

Gary Seaman

Includes bibliography

LCSH

Taiwanese