李亦園院士紀念專頁

講者 Speaker
Mayfair Yang 楊美惠
Departments of Religious Studies and East Asian Languages & Cultural Studies
University of California, Santa Barbara, USA

講題 Title
Chasing the Sarus Cranes:  Hindu and Buddhist Multispecies Perspectives in Lumbini, Nepal



摘要 Abstract
Sarus Cranes are magnificent birds with bright red heads, standing three meters high.  Once common across Nepal and northern India, today they are an endangered species.  It is estimated that there are only 700-800 cranes remaining in Nepal, and about 90% of them choose to reside in Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha Gautama, and a site for tourist development today.  Why is Lumbini so attractive to the cranes?  Through multispecies inquiries into the entangled relations between cranes and humans, as well as other animals and divinities, this lecture will show the important role that local religious culture (Hindu and Buddhist) plays in making Lumbini an attractive place for the cranes to inhabit.  Which aspects of local religious and non-religious culture might be the most significant in keeping the Sarus Crane in Lumbini?  The Jataka tale about young Buddha’s conflict with his cousin Devdatta over the latter’s shooting of the Sarus Crane?  The sustainable wet rice agriculture of the local people, which provides a watery habitat and protection from predators for the crane’s nests?  The local religious vegetarianism?  The fact that the cranes, who mate for life, are symbols of conjugal love and loyalty, and considered divine?  Too often, secular environmentalism does not study or borrow from ancient religious cultures that may be more effective than scientific arguments, because these cultures tap into deep-seated emotions and religious inspirations and yearnings.  Similarly, too often Anthropology has remained steadfastly anthropocentric, in contrast to the rich multispecies narratives and teachings of the religious cultures they study, where humans interact and communicate with animals, plants, and divinities.
 
時間 Time
2025年9月15日（週一）10:00~12:00
10:00~12:00 Monday, September 15, 2025

地點 Venue
中央研究院民族學研究所第一會議室（本所舊館3樓323室）
1st Conference Room, 3F, The Old Wing, Inst. of Ethnology, Academia Sinica

主辦單位 Organizer
中央研究院民族學研究所
Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica

連繫人 Contact Persons
林芬安小姐 02-2652-3303 falin@gate.sinica.edu.tw
林音秀小姐 02-2652-3484 world66@gate.sinica.edu.tw

影音連結 Lecture Recording

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