The Art of Rice: Spirit and Sustenance in Asia

by Aurora Ammayao, Roy W. Hamilton (Editor)

The term Asia is a problematic and highly artificial construct, because hardly anything--not language, religion, politics, or even geography--unites this huge area. Within the context of this study, however--which focuses on parts of South, Southeast, and East Asia (home to the vast majority of the population)--there exists a unifying factor of paramount rice. Not only is rice the staple food in these regions, it is the focal point of a pervasive set of interrelated beliefs and practices. For those who consume it, this foodstuff is considered divinely given and is felt to sustain them in a special way, one that may be understood as constitutional and even spiritual. This volume explores beliefs and practices relating to rice as they are made manifest in the unique arts and material cultures of the various peoples considered. Incorporating essays by twenty-seven authorities representing a wide variety of cultures and writing from diverse perspectives, the book is astounding in its polyphony. The thirty-five lavishly illustrated essays describe rice-related rituals and beliefs in parts of Thailand, Nepal, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan, China, and Korea. Throughout, the juxtaposition of magnificent photographs of works of art--paintings, prints, ceramics, textiles, lacquerware, and sculpture--with objects of a more humble nature--agriculturalimplements,rice-straw ornaments, cooking utensils, baskets, puppets, votive plaques, and more--serves to indicate the striking pervasiveness of rice in all aspects and all walks of life. Wedding ceremonies, parades, festivals, celebrations of birth, rites held to honor the rice goddess, and those performed to ensure success at every step in the rice-growing cycle are vividly described and illustrated with striking field photographs. The whole gives the reader the rare opportunity to compare similarities and differences in how a rich array of Asian cultures views the food that nourishes them.

Genres: Nonfiction

552 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Theresia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as extensive as Francesca Bray's, but still a great coverage across co-texts, faiths, and geographical landscapes.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating and diverse collection of essays on the festivals, beliefs, and customs of rice-growing in Asia. A go-to book for anyone interested in rice, festivals, agriculture in Asia, animism, and rural Asian cultures. Authors from 10 different countries contributed to this volume, which accompanied 'one of the UCLA Fowler Museum's largest and most complex undertakings'. In their words, this volume 'encompasses the vast geographical construct called "Asia" and the innumerable ways that the growing and eating of rice have become intimately bound to aspects of personal identity; notions of family, community, and state; and systems of religious belief and ritual activity. More than three billion people, most of them in Asia, consider rice the staple of their diet.'

Content includes articles on practices in Bali, Thailand, Nepal, India, Java, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan and Korea. The articles are as diverse as "Sake in Japanese Art and Culture" to "The Goddess of Rice".

I've owned this book for years and dip in and out of it as needs be when researching specific cultures and festivals. I've never been disappointed.

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a gorgeously-bound LARGE paperback tome with beautiful photos and reproductions of asian art, but extremely dry. Put together by the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, it contains essays by dozens of highly academic contributors. Perfect reading if you are having trouble with insomnia or are doing a doctoral dissertation on the subject. It does look great on our coffee table!