Hoque, Farhana;
(2022)
From Hybridity to Singularity: The Distillation of a Unique Buddhist Identity on the Borderlands of South and Southeast Asia.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
The thesis is an exploration of identity on the borderlands between South and Southeast Asia. Specifically, it establishes the nature of the cultural distinctness of one of the largest ethnic groups in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in Bangladesh. The thesis presents the historical processes behind the hybridity of this ethnic group and how it eventually came to be under one self-identifying label - the Marma. The study employs various approaches to understanding the creation and reproduction of identity. From the maintenance of the boundaries of culture to the processes at work within culture through concepts such as creolization, syncretism, and entanglement. These latter theories point towards a fluid process of reconfiguring and recasting of structure or creating order from chaos, in response to changes in the environment. The research also explores other essentially different approaches that have similar conceptual outcomes, such as the theories that stress that traditional practice and ethnic identity are invented afresh according to present historical contexts and in response to both internal and/or external pressures. These different approaches help to piece together the various components of Marma cultural identity. The ethnographic data is presented in three parts with each section drawing upon the relevant theories to examine the field data on the Marma group. The thesis contributes a detailed monograph on the study of borderland cultures and demonstrates the value of applying several lenses to the study of identity in complex areas of the world.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | From Hybridity to Singularity: The Distillation of a Unique Buddhist Identity on the Borderlands of South and Southeast Asia |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2022. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| Keywords: | Marma; Chittagong Hill Tracts; Bangladesh; Buddhism; Burma/Myanmar; Ethnic Identity; Invention of Culture; Hybridity; Syncretism; Entanglement; Borderlands; Migration; Zomia |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Dept of Anthropology UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10154084 |
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