Indigenous, local and regional traditions: Views from ritual and ceremony

Peter Wong Yih Jiun

doi:10.21315/ijaps2020.16.2.1

Abstract

Indigenous, local and regional traditions: Views from ritual and ceremony

Highlights

How do traditional communities of particular localities continue to survive and thrive in the face of what seems to be overwhelming pressures and influences from the outside? Apart from the various material and political challenges faced by these communities, challenging is the question of the survival and continuity of traditional values and worldviews—no doubt the material survival of the community is a basic need, it is the continuation of traditional culture that vivifies the heart and soul of a community
While we recognise the distinction between indigenous cultures and other traditions, we would like to be more inclusive in scope, for the reason that will be made clear presently. (We accept the possibility of having cultures that might be at odds over historical or philosophical matters, so long as they remain open to listening to each other.)
While maintaining that the cultures we identify with as not being a world religious tradition, we are at the same time interested in seeing how the different local and indigenous traditions interact and deal with the strong influences of such world traditions

Summary

Introduction

How do traditional communities of particular localities continue to survive and thrive in the face of what seems to be overwhelming pressures and influences from the outside? Apart from the various material and political challenges faced by these communities, challenging is the question of the survival and continuity of traditional values and worldviews—no doubt the material survival of the community is a basic need, it is the continuation of traditional culture that vivifies the heart and soul of a community. This project begins with an interest in exploring and reflecting on philosophical resources available to local traditions in the Asia Pacific, as a way of articulating one’s tradition’s unique understanding and to learn how to accommodate and respect the diversity among the various cultures.

Results

Conclusion