Gender, kinship and relatedness in fifteenth-century Tibet
The biography of Chokyi Dronma (1422–1455) through anthropological eyes
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 18984100 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Hildegard Diemberger (0009-0004-7655-6520, University of Cambridge, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 211-230 |
| Publication date | 2021-03-15 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | History and Anthropology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0275-7206 • E-ISSN: 1477-2612 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02757206.2021.1905244 |
| OpenAlex | W3191809270 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 18 |
A 15th century Tibetan biography offers a rare glimpse into the life of the Tibetan princess Chokyi Dronma (1422–1455), who experienced marriage, childbirth, the death of her daughter and eventually became a Buddhist nun and a famous spiritual master. Recognised as an emanation of the Buddhist deity Dorje Phagmo, she became the founding figure of Tibet's most famous female reincarnation line. Written close to the events by one of her fellow monks and rich in daily life details, this account offers an ideal opportunity to explore gender and kinship practices among Tibetan rural elites of the time. It also gives a rare insight into the hurdles that women faced when they decided to challenge social and cultural conventions to pursue spiritual aims.An anthropologically informed study of this manuscript offers a unique opportunity to explore kinship terminology and practices as well as particular instances of kinship politics at a time in which marriage alliances were essential for the relationships among Tibet's regional polities. It also offers useful insights into kinship networks that underpinned patronage practices, highlighting the often mis-recognised importance of women (including their role in printing projects). Finally, it enables the exploration of Tibetan spiritual kinship and reincarnation contributing to wider debates in the anthropology of kinship and relatedness. Substances and spiritual principles appear to be symbolic fields connecting past and present – they constitute the backdrop for practical negotiation not only in Chokyi Dronma's biography but also in many other historical sources and ethnographic cases
Biography · Buddhism · Ethnography · Genealogy · Kinship · Pejorative · Political science · Politics · Reincarnation · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Anthropology · Chinese history and philosophy · Gender Studies · History · Law · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies
Himalayan Hermitess
Imagining KarmaEthical Transformation in Amerindian, Buddhist, and Greek Rebirth
Medusa's Hair
The Buddhist Saints of the Forest and the Cult of Amulets
Cultures of Relatedness
Women, Religion and Social Change
Outline of a Theory of Practice
Gendered Anthropology
When a Woman Becomes a Religious Dynasty
The Elementary Structures of Kinship
Toward a Geographic Biography
A Note on Żaṅ
Tashi Tsering
Relations as Potential
Kinship as a Relation
Along the Archival Grain
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,6 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2025 (5) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |