Sound and Communication by Wilke, Annette; Moebus, Oliver;

Short description:

The series Religion and Society (RS) contributes to the exploration of religions as social systems  both in Western and non-Western societies; in particular, it examines religions in their differentiation from, and intersection with, other cultural systems, such as art, economy, law and politics. Due attention is given to paradigmatic case or comparative studies that exhibit a clear theoretical orientation with the empirical and historical data of religion and such aspects of religion as ritual, the religious imagination, constructions of tradition, iconography, or media. In addition, the formation of religious communities, their construction of identity, and their relation to society and the wider public are key issues of this series.

Long description:

In Hindu India both orality and sonality have enjoyed great cultural significance since earliest times. They have a distinct influence on how people approach texts. The importance of sound and its perception has led to rites, models of cosmic order, and abstract formulas. Sound serves both to stimulate religious feelings and to give them a sensory form. Starting from the perception and interpretation of sound, the authors chart an unorthodox cultural history of India, turning their attention to an important, but often neglected aspect of daily religious life. They provide a stimulating contribution to the study of cultural systems of perception that also adds new aspects to the debate on orality and literality.
The audio samples, originally included to the book as a music CD, can be downloaded from this website under "Supplementary Materials".

Im hinduistischen Indien ist neben Oralität auch Sonalität seit frühester Zeit von hoher kultureller Wertigkeit. Sie prägt den Umgang mit Texten, inspiriert eigene Riten, Modelle kosmischer Ordnung, abstrakte Formelsprachen und dient der Stimulierung und Versinnlichung religiöser Gefühle. Auf der Basis von Klangwahrnehmung und -deutung entwickeln die Autoren eine unorthodoxe Kulturgeschichte Indiens und thematisieren einen wichtigen, meist vernachlässigten Aspekt gelebter Religiosität. Ein stimulierender Beitrag zu kulturellen Wahrnehmungssystemen, der auch in die Debatte zu Oralität und Literalität neue Aspekte einbringt.
Die Tonbeispiele, die ursprünglich dem Buch als CD beigefügt waren, können hier auf der Website unter "Zusatzmaterial" heruntergeladen werden.

Table of Contents:

Hinduism as a Culture of Sound – The Veda as a Basic Paradigm for Sacred Language and Sacred Sound – Composition and Decomposition: Post-Vedic Sacred Literature and Formation of Analytical Studies – The Diversity of Sonic Representation Systems – Pluralism and the Search for Orientation: Acrobats of Language in Poetics, Hermeneutics and Metaphysics – Performance and Sensuality: The Sound Universes of Tantra and Devotionalism – Continuities, Breaks, Re-codification: The Merging of Traditions in the “Sound-Brahman” (Nada-Brahman) and Their Modern Forms in Bollywood – The Logic of Scripture and the Logic of Sound: Concluding Remarks on Media, Hierarchies of Perception and Religious Aesthetics