CoronAsur: Asian Religions in the Covidian Age
Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press (2023), xiii, 345 pp.
Contains illustrations, bibliogr. pp. 285-326, index
ISBN 978-0-8248-9578-5 (pbk); 978-0-8248-9579-2 (online)
"By the summer of 2020, when the coronavirus had fully entered our everyday vocabulary and our lives, religious communities and places of worship around the world were already undergoing profound changes. In Asian and Asian diaspora communities, diverse cultural tropes, beliefs, and artifacts were mobilized to make sense of Covid, including a repertoire of gods and demons like Coronasur, the virus depicted with the horns and fangs of a traditional Hindu demon. Various kinds of knowledge were invoked: theologies, indigenous medicines, and biomedical narratives, as well as ethical values and nationalist sentiments. CoronAsur: Asian Religions in the Covidian Age follows the documentation and analysis of the abrupt societal shifts triggered by the pandemic to understand current and future pandemic times, while revealing further avenues for research on religion that have opened up in the Covidian age. Developed in tandem with the research blog CoronAsur: Religion and COVID-19, this volume is a “phygital” publication, a work grounded in empirical roots as well as digitally born communication. It comprises thirty-eight essays that examine Asian religious communities—Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Daoist, and Christian as well as popular/folk and new religious movements, or NRMs—in terms of the changes brought on by and the ritual responses to the Covid pandemic." (Publisher description)
Introduction: Asian Religions in the Covidian Age / Emily Zoe Hertzman, Natalie Lang, Erica M. Larson, Carola E. Lorea, 1
SECTION I. CORONA ETIOLOGIES: HOW ZOONOSES FIT INTO THEOLOGIES, COSMOLOGIES, AND MYTHS, 35
1 Reshaping Traditional Culture in Bangladesh: The Folklore of Corona Times / Saymon Zakaria, 42
2 Monster for Covid Struggle: The Life of a Japanese Yokai from Prophecy to Expression / Lei Ting and Zhao Yuanhao, 48
3 "Three Cs" and the Three Mysteries: How Esoteric Buddhism Contributed to the Containment of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan / Yijiang Zhong, 53
4 New Diseases, Old Deities: Revisiting Sitala Maa during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Bengal / Deepsikha Dasgupta, 58
5 Turmeric and Neem: Sacred Plants, Disease Goddesses, and Epidemics in Popular Hinduism / Indira Arumugam, 62
6 Saint Corona, Coronasur, and Corona Devi: Embodied Relationships between Religion and Disease / Natalie Lang, 68
7 Why Was Thousand-Hand Guanyin Late for the Meeting? Implications of Religious Humor during COVID-19 / Dean Wang, 73
8 Cosmologies, Cartoons, Commentaries: COVID-19, Humor, and the Seventh Lunar Month Festival in 2020 Singapore / Esmond Chuah Meng Soh, 78
SECTION II. RITUAL INNOVATION AND NEW MEDIA: PANDEMIC NEGOTIATIONS OF EFFICACY AND VIRTUALITY 83
9 Puppets Wearing Masks: Fighting with Batara Corona in Javanese Wayang Kulit / Marianna Lis, 90
10 Catholic Televisuality in the Time of Pandemic: A Philippine Perspective / Louie Jon A. Sánchez, 95
11 "Burden Us Not with That Which We Have No Ability to Bear": Cultivating Endurance through Digital Connection in Ramadan / Yasmeen Arif, 100
12 Cyber Dharma: Celebrating E-Vesak in Singapore / Jack Meng-Tat Chia, 106
13 Ritual Adaptations on Telok Ayer: Liturgical Negotiations in a Chinese Temple and a Methodist Church / Lynn Wong, 110
14 Parsis and Ritual Innovation: Zoroastrian Funerary Practices in Mumbai during the Pandemic / Mariano Errichiello, 115
SECTION III. VIRAL SENSORIUM: EMBODIMENT AT A TIME OF SOCIAL DISTANCING, 121
15 "We Knew It!": Caribbean Hindu Responses to Restrictions of Touch during COVID-19 / Sinah Theres Kloss, 129
16 A Bread and Wine Issue: "Losing" the Eucharist during the Pandemic / Beverly Anne Devakishen, 134
17 Touchless Technology, Untouchability, and the COVID-19 Pandemic / Ankana Das, 139
18 The Sonic and the Somatic: Matua Healing Practices during COVID-19 / Raka Banerjee, Dishani Roy, Carola E. Lorea, Fatema Aarshe, Md. Khaled Bin Oli Bhuiyan, and Mukul Pandey, 144
19 De-sensorializing and Disembodying Chinese Religions in Singapore amid the COVID-19 Pandemic / Show Ying Ruo, 150
20 Gods Have Eyes: Praying Online in Singapore / Alvin Eng Hui Lim, 155
SECTION IV. SPATIAL SACRED RECONFIGURATIONS: THE "PLACE" OF RELIGION IN THE COVIDIAN AGE, 161
21 The Disruption of Charisma in Southeast Asian Megachurches / Terence Chong and Daniel P.S. Goh, 167
22 #Minimosque: Cov-Eid as Image, Event, and Archive / Faizah Zakaria, 173
23 "All of Singapore Is Now a Zawiya": Shadhili Sufism and Sensorial Challenges to Worshiping from Home / Muhammad Lutfi Bin Othman, 178
24 To Go or Not to Go? Mazu's Annual Procession in Taiwan 2020 / Chang Hsun and Lim Peng Chew, 183
25 COVID-19 and Dao Mau's Ritual Practitioners: Shaping the Notion of Social Responsibility / Tran Thi Thuy Binh, 187
SECTION V. OLD TENSIONS, NEW SOLIDARITIES: COLLISIONS OF FAITH AND POLITICS, 193
26 Sonic Fields of Protection in Sri Lanka's COVID-19 Pandemic / Nalika Gajaweera and Neena Mahadev, 199
27 Seeking Solidarity: Rethinking the Muslim Community in the Pandemic Era / Nurul Fadiah Johari, 203
28 Serving the Other during the Pandemic: Hindu Nationalist Groups and Covid Relief in India / Malini Bhattacharjee, 208
29 Moral Challenges at the Intersection of Religion, Politics, and COVID-19 in Pakistan / Philipp Zehmisch, 213
30 Miracle Cure for COVID-19 in Sri Lanka: Kali and the Politics behind Dhammika Paniya / Catherine West and Kanchana Dodan Godage, 218
31 COVID-19 and the Rohingyas: Islamic Solidarity and Bottom-Up Initiatives in Aceh / Nia Deliana, 223
SECTION VI. RELIGIOPOLITICAL ECONOMIES OF COVID-19: BETWEEN AID AND LOSS, 229
32 Delivering from Suffering in the Final Era: Yiguandao's Response from Aid to Salvation / Shen Yeh-Ying, 236
33 The Performance of Hoa Hao Buddhists' Charity Kitchens in Responding to the Coronavirus Pandemic in Vietnam / Vo Duy Thanh, 241
34 The Cap Go Meh That Never Happened / Emily Zoe Hertzman, 247
35 The Pandemic and Its Effect on the Performance of Hajj Pilgrimage in Malaysia / Siti Zubaidah Ismail, 253
36 Buddhist Temples as Shelters for Vietnamese Migrants in Japan / Yuki Shiozaki, 259
37 Who Owns the Temple Gold? / Swayam Bagaria, 264
38 COVID-19 and Shifting Practices of Islamic Charity / Amelia Fauzia, 270
Epilogue / Emily Zoe Hertzman, Natalie Lang, Erica M. Larson, Carola E. Lorea, 275
SECTION I. CORONA ETIOLOGIES: HOW ZOONOSES FIT INTO THEOLOGIES, COSMOLOGIES, AND MYTHS, 35
1 Reshaping Traditional Culture in Bangladesh: The Folklore of Corona Times / Saymon Zakaria, 42
2 Monster for Covid Struggle: The Life of a Japanese Yokai from Prophecy to Expression / Lei Ting and Zhao Yuanhao, 48
3 "Three Cs" and the Three Mysteries: How Esoteric Buddhism Contributed to the Containment of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan / Yijiang Zhong, 53
4 New Diseases, Old Deities: Revisiting Sitala Maa during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Bengal / Deepsikha Dasgupta, 58
5 Turmeric and Neem: Sacred Plants, Disease Goddesses, and Epidemics in Popular Hinduism / Indira Arumugam, 62
6 Saint Corona, Coronasur, and Corona Devi: Embodied Relationships between Religion and Disease / Natalie Lang, 68
7 Why Was Thousand-Hand Guanyin Late for the Meeting? Implications of Religious Humor during COVID-19 / Dean Wang, 73
8 Cosmologies, Cartoons, Commentaries: COVID-19, Humor, and the Seventh Lunar Month Festival in 2020 Singapore / Esmond Chuah Meng Soh, 78
SECTION II. RITUAL INNOVATION AND NEW MEDIA: PANDEMIC NEGOTIATIONS OF EFFICACY AND VIRTUALITY 83
9 Puppets Wearing Masks: Fighting with Batara Corona in Javanese Wayang Kulit / Marianna Lis, 90
10 Catholic Televisuality in the Time of Pandemic: A Philippine Perspective / Louie Jon A. Sánchez, 95
11 "Burden Us Not with That Which We Have No Ability to Bear": Cultivating Endurance through Digital Connection in Ramadan / Yasmeen Arif, 100
12 Cyber Dharma: Celebrating E-Vesak in Singapore / Jack Meng-Tat Chia, 106
13 Ritual Adaptations on Telok Ayer: Liturgical Negotiations in a Chinese Temple and a Methodist Church / Lynn Wong, 110
14 Parsis and Ritual Innovation: Zoroastrian Funerary Practices in Mumbai during the Pandemic / Mariano Errichiello, 115
SECTION III. VIRAL SENSORIUM: EMBODIMENT AT A TIME OF SOCIAL DISTANCING, 121
15 "We Knew It!": Caribbean Hindu Responses to Restrictions of Touch during COVID-19 / Sinah Theres Kloss, 129
16 A Bread and Wine Issue: "Losing" the Eucharist during the Pandemic / Beverly Anne Devakishen, 134
17 Touchless Technology, Untouchability, and the COVID-19 Pandemic / Ankana Das, 139
18 The Sonic and the Somatic: Matua Healing Practices during COVID-19 / Raka Banerjee, Dishani Roy, Carola E. Lorea, Fatema Aarshe, Md. Khaled Bin Oli Bhuiyan, and Mukul Pandey, 144
19 De-sensorializing and Disembodying Chinese Religions in Singapore amid the COVID-19 Pandemic / Show Ying Ruo, 150
20 Gods Have Eyes: Praying Online in Singapore / Alvin Eng Hui Lim, 155
SECTION IV. SPATIAL SACRED RECONFIGURATIONS: THE "PLACE" OF RELIGION IN THE COVIDIAN AGE, 161
21 The Disruption of Charisma in Southeast Asian Megachurches / Terence Chong and Daniel P.S. Goh, 167
22 #Minimosque: Cov-Eid as Image, Event, and Archive / Faizah Zakaria, 173
23 "All of Singapore Is Now a Zawiya": Shadhili Sufism and Sensorial Challenges to Worshiping from Home / Muhammad Lutfi Bin Othman, 178
24 To Go or Not to Go? Mazu's Annual Procession in Taiwan 2020 / Chang Hsun and Lim Peng Chew, 183
25 COVID-19 and Dao Mau's Ritual Practitioners: Shaping the Notion of Social Responsibility / Tran Thi Thuy Binh, 187
SECTION V. OLD TENSIONS, NEW SOLIDARITIES: COLLISIONS OF FAITH AND POLITICS, 193
26 Sonic Fields of Protection in Sri Lanka's COVID-19 Pandemic / Nalika Gajaweera and Neena Mahadev, 199
27 Seeking Solidarity: Rethinking the Muslim Community in the Pandemic Era / Nurul Fadiah Johari, 203
28 Serving the Other during the Pandemic: Hindu Nationalist Groups and Covid Relief in India / Malini Bhattacharjee, 208
29 Moral Challenges at the Intersection of Religion, Politics, and COVID-19 in Pakistan / Philipp Zehmisch, 213
30 Miracle Cure for COVID-19 in Sri Lanka: Kali and the Politics behind Dhammika Paniya / Catherine West and Kanchana Dodan Godage, 218
31 COVID-19 and the Rohingyas: Islamic Solidarity and Bottom-Up Initiatives in Aceh / Nia Deliana, 223
SECTION VI. RELIGIOPOLITICAL ECONOMIES OF COVID-19: BETWEEN AID AND LOSS, 229
32 Delivering from Suffering in the Final Era: Yiguandao's Response from Aid to Salvation / Shen Yeh-Ying, 236
33 The Performance of Hoa Hao Buddhists' Charity Kitchens in Responding to the Coronavirus Pandemic in Vietnam / Vo Duy Thanh, 241
34 The Cap Go Meh That Never Happened / Emily Zoe Hertzman, 247
35 The Pandemic and Its Effect on the Performance of Hajj Pilgrimage in Malaysia / Siti Zubaidah Ismail, 253
36 Buddhist Temples as Shelters for Vietnamese Migrants in Japan / Yuki Shiozaki, 259
37 Who Owns the Temple Gold? / Swayam Bagaria, 264
38 COVID-19 and Shifting Practices of Islamic Charity / Amelia Fauzia, 270
Epilogue / Emily Zoe Hertzman, Natalie Lang, Erica M. Larson, Carola E. Lorea, 275
