Priests and Programmers: Technologies of Power in the Engineered Landscape of Bali

by J. Stephen Lansing, William C. Clark (Foreword by)

Overview

For the Balinese, the whole of nature is a perpetual resource: through centuries of carefully directed labor, the engineered landscape of the island's rice terraces has taken shape. According to Stephen Lansing, the need for effective cooperation in water management links thousands of farmers together in hierarchies of productive relationships that span entire watersheds.


Lansing describes the network of water temples that once managed the flow of irrigation water in the name of the Goddess of the Crater Lake. Using the techniques of ecological simulation modeling as well as cultural and historical analysis, Lansing argues that the symbolic system of temple rituals is not merely a reflection of utilitarian constraints but also a basic ingredient in the organization of production.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781400827633
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	01/10/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	216
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

J. Stephen Lansing is a Professor at the Santa Fe Institute and in the departments of Anthropology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona. He is the author of Perfect Order: Recognizing Complexity in Bali (Princeton).

Table of Contents

List of Figures xi
List of Tables xiii
Foreword xv
Preface to the 2007 Edition xix
Acknowledgments xxxi
Introduction: The Gods of the Countryside 1
Chapter One: "Income to Which No Tears Are Attached" 17
Chapter Two: The Powers of Water 37
Chapter Three: The Waters of Power 50
Chapter Four: The Temple of the Crater Lake 73
Chapter Six: Massive Guidance 111
Conclusion: Sociogensis 127
Afterword by Valerio Valeri 134
Appendix A: Plan of the Temple of the Crater lake 145
Appendic B: Technical Report on the Ecological Simulation Model by James N. Kremer 153
Notes 159
Index 181

Editorial Reviews

"[A]n enjoyable and stimulating book."—-Geoffrey Samuel, Journal of Asian Studies

"Priests and Programmers is written with admirable clarity and should be of interest . . . to anybody working on applied social research."—-Michael Hitchcock, Contemporary South Asia

"[B]rilliant and delightful. . . . [N]ot only has [Lansing] written a superb book, but he has contributed materially and humanely to the quality of life of the people he has studied. Too few scholars can make this claim."—-Bryan Pfaffenberger, Technology and Culture

"This is fascinating cultural anthropology, even history of religions."—-Edward H. Schroeder, Missiology

From the Publisher

This is fascinating cultural anthropology, even history of religions.

Missiology - Edward H. Schroeder

[B]rilliant and delightful. . . . [N]ot only has [Lansing] written a superb book, but he has contributed materially and humanely to the quality of life of the people he has studied. Too few scholars can make this claim.

Technology and Culture - Bryan Pfaffenberger

Priests and Programmers is written with admirable clarity and should be of interest . . . to anybody working on applied social research.

Contemporary South Asia - Michael Hitchcock

[A]n enjoyable and stimulating book.

Journal of Asian Studies - Geoffrey Samuel

This is fascinating cultural anthropology, even history of religions.
— Edward H. Schroeder

Missiology

[B]rilliant and delightful. . . . [N]ot only has [Lansing] written a superb book, but he has contributed materially and humanely to the quality of life of the people he has studied. Too few scholars can make this claim.
— Bryan Pfaffenberger

Technology and Culture

Priests and Programmers is written with admirable clarity and should be of interest . . . to anybody working on applied social research.
— Michael Hitchcock

Contemporary South Asia

[A]n enjoyable and stimulating book.
— Geoffrey Samuel

Journal of Asian Studies