essay
Recruitment to monasticism among the Sherpas
personality and the cultural construction of society: papers in honor of melford e. spiro • Tuscaloosa • Published In 1990 • Pages: 254-274, 359-392
By: Paul, Robert A..
Abstract
In this paper, Paul uses a Freudian generative model of psyche and culture, one expounded in his book 'The Tibetan Symbolic World' (1982), to explain the recruitment pattern of Sherpa monks. According to Paul the transition between junior and senior males is fraught with anxiety. Without the early development of a strong ego, this transition is often aborted. According to his survey, many monks came from homes in which either the father or mother had died or left home. He argues that without the presence of mature adult in the home to support the full development of a child's ego, the child is unable to make the transition to a sexually mature adult during adolescence and instead opts out for a life of celibacy and monkhood.
- HRAF PubDate
- 2004
- Region
- Asia
- Sub Region
- Central Asia
- Document Type
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- Ian Skoggard ; 2002
- Field Date
- not specified
- Coverage Date
- not specified
- Coverage Place
- Solu-Khumba region, Nepal
- Notes
- Robert A. Paul
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 359-389)
- LCCN
- 89032993
- LCSH
- Sherpa (Nepalese people)