[Tibeto-burman-linguistics] Call for contributions to panel: Animal Agency and Ritual in the Himalayas and on the Tibetan Plateau

[Uta Reinöhl]

Dear All,

I'm pleased to share this call for an interdisciplinary workshop 
organised by Joanna Balek, Mareike Wulff and myself. Linguistic 
contributions are very welcome.

Best
Uta

*
*

*Call for contributions to panel: /Animal Agency and Ritual in the 
Himalayas and on the Tibetan Plateau/*

*//*35. Deutscher Orientalistentag

*September 8–12, 2025 *

Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen, Germany

We invite contributions to the panel on animals and rituals in the 
broader regions of the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau.

This interdisciplinary panel focuses on the relationship between animals 
and ritual in the religious landscape of the Himalayas and the Tibetan 
Plateau. Peoples of these regions maintain close connections to their 
natural environment, in which animals— sharing the space with 
humans—serve a key function. Independently of their religious 
background, a wide variety of ritual practices and religious beliefs are 
shaped around the concept of agency that is ascribed to domestic animals 
and wildlife.

In a new approach, we wish to investigate animals as an effectual link 
between humans and intangible beings (deities, spirits, demons, etc.) We 
welcome contributions that look at the relationship between animals and 
ritual in Buddhism, Bon, or divergent forms of animistic or indigenous 
cults in the area of focus. The panel is intended to enhance our 
understanding of local cultures and broaden the perspectives for future 
research through the exchange between specialists from fields such as 
(but not limited to) social and cultural anthropology, history of 
religions, linguistics, textual studies, archaeology, and art history.

Submissions may include but are not limited to the following topics:

  * Sacred animals
  * Animals as messengers
  * Sacred ritual ingredients (animal body parts)
  * Animal sacrifice/offerings
  * Animal ethology in local beliefs
  * Zoomorphic deities
  * Life release
  * Terminological systems (e.g., parallel terms or binomials)
  * Animal terms and the historical-comparative method
  * Register switch in communication with animals

Interested participants should submit an anonymous abstract of no more 
than 250 words (excluding references) in English to anim.ritual at gmail.com.

The deadline for all abstract submissions is _January 26, 2025._

*Conference location*

Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen, Germany

*Important dates*

Deadline for submission of abstracts: January 26, 2025

Conference: September 8–12, 2025

*Organizers*

Joanna Bialek, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

Uta Reinöhl, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Germany

Mareike Wulff, The University of Sydney, Australia

-- 
Professorin für Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft
Sprachwissenschaftliches Seminar
Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
https://www.linguistik.uni-freiburg.de/
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