Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah (16 January 1929 – 19 January 2014) was a

social anthropologist Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...

and Esther and Sidney Rabb Professor ''(Emeritus)'' of Anthropology at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

. He specialised in studies of

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, and

Tamils The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...

, as well as the

anthropology of religion Anthropology of religion is the study of religion in relation to other social institutions, and the comparison of religious beliefs and practices across cultures. History Al-Biruni (973–1048), wrote detailed comparative studies on the anthro ...

and politics.

Biography

Tambiah was born in

to a Christian Tamil family. He attended S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia for his primary and secondary education. After finishing his

undergraduate education Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

at the

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Unive ...

in 1951, he attended

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

, graduating in 1954 with a PhD. He began teaching sociology at the University of Ceylon in 1955, where he remained until 1960. After a few years as the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

Teaching Assistant for Thailand, he taught at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

from 1963 to 1972 and at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

from 1973 to 1976. He joined the faculty of Harvard University in 1976. His earliest major published work was an ethno-historical study of modern and medieval Thailand. He then became interested in the comparative study of the ways Western categories of magic, science and religion have been used by anthropologists to make sense of other cultures which do not use this three-part system. After the outbreak of civil war in Sri Lanka, he began to study the role of competing religious and ethnic identities in that country. At Harvard, he trained several generations of anthropologists in a number of fields. He also served on the National Research Council's Committee for International Conflict Resolution. He did field research on the Organisation of Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka (Monks, Priests and Peasants, a Study of Buddhism and Social Structure in Central Ceylon and several papers in the American Anthropologists and the Journal of Asian Studies).

Awards

In November 1997, Tambiah received the prestigious

Balzan Prize The International Balzan Prize Foundation awards four annual monetary prizes to people or organizations who have made outstanding achievements in the fields of humanities, natural sciences, culture, as well as for endeavours for peace and the br ...

for "penetrating social-anthropological analysis of the fundamental problems of ethnic violence in South East Asia and original studies on the dynamics of Buddhist societies

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

have opened the way to an innovative and rigorous social-anthropological approach to the internal dynamics of different civilizations". A month later, the

Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is a long-established anthropological organisation, and Learned Society, with a global membership. Its remit includes all the component fields of anthropology, such as biolo ...

awarded him its highest recognition, the Huxley Memorial Medal and Lecture. In September 1998, he was awarded the

Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize The is an award established by the city of Fukuoka and the Fukuoka City International Foundation (formerly The Yokatopia Foundation) to honor the outstanding work of individuals or organizations in preserving or creating Asian culture. There are ...

by the city of

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since anc ...

, capital of

Fukuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders Saga Prefecture to the southwest, K ...

, Japan. In 2000, he became a Corresponding Fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars s ...

, a title given to those who have "attained high international standing" in a

discipline Discipline refers to rule following behavior, to regulate, order, control and authority. It may also refer to punishment. Discipline is used to create habits, routines, and automatic mechanisms such as blind obedience. It may be inflicted on ot ...

in the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at t ...

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

Selected publications

*''Buddhism and the Spirit Cults in North-East Thailand''. Cambridge University Press, 1970. . *''World Conqueror and World Renouncer : A Study of Buddhism and Polity in Thailand against a Historical Background'' (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology). Cambridge University Press, 1976. . *''The Buddhist Saints of the Forest and the Cult of Amulets''. Cambridge University Press, 1984.
''Form and Meaning of Magical Acts''
in "Culture, Thought, and Social Action: An Anthropological Perspective", Harvard University Press, 1985

973 Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...

pp. 60–86.
''Sri Lanka: Ethnic Fratricide and the Dismantling of Democracy''
Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1986.
''Magic, Science and Religion and the Scope of Rationality''
(Lewis Henry Morgan Lectures). Cambridge University Press, 1990. .
''Buddhism Betrayed? : Religion, Politics, and Violence in Sri Lanka''
(A Monograph of the World I''nstitute for Development Economics Research). University of Chicago Press, 1992. .
''Leveling Crowds : Ethnonationalist Conflicts and Collective Violence in South Asia''
(Comparative Studies in Religion and Society). University of California Press, 1996. .
''Edmund Leach: An Anthropological Life''
Cambridge University Press, 2002. .

References

External Links

Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney, "Stanley J. Tambiah", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2015)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraja 1929 births 2014 deaths American anthropologists Social anthropologists Cornell University alumni Anthropologists of religion Harvard University faculty Sri Lankan emigrants to the United States American people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent Sri Lankan Christians Sri Lankan Tamil academics Sri Lankan Indologists Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy

Biography

Awards

Selected publications

See also

References

External Links