The Siri epic as an ethnographic model for critically reimagining performance in Judges 5 and Exodus 15

Thesis

At present, the methodological approaches used to explore performance in framed songs–specifically, Judges 5 and Exodus 15–are dominated by an inherited paradigm that largely precludes non-evolutionist models of text. This thesis argues that non-biblical ethnographic performances such as the Siri epic performance that incorporate the empirically derived insights of real or even imagined traditional performers, along with the conceptual vocabulary and epistemological categories that their reception elicits, can help us to re-imagine performance, and in so doing, unearth previously unexplored dimensions of the biblical text that evolutionist textual frameworks would otherwise foreclose.

This research engages with the work of Finnish folklorist and comparative religion scholar Lauri Honko on tradition ecology, and particularly his reception of the Siri epic from Karnataka, south India. The ritual performance of the Siri epic involves embodiment, where the singers are perceived as being inhabited by deity and exhibit ecstatic behaviours. In this thesis, the Siri epic and its performance is employed, not as a direct comparison with Judges 5 and Exodus 15, nor as a hermeneutical lens through which the biblical text ought to be interpreted. Rather, it is suggested that reading ethnographic works such as the Siri epic alongside framed songs can provide us with a framework to critically reimagine performance in the story world of the text.

The heuristic process of critically reimagining performance in framed songs using ethnographic works can enrich scholarship by providing a critical and empirical framework where non-evolutionist textual models can be explored, leading to new insights and fresh questions. Questions like, to what extent do the audiences in the story world of Judges 5 and Exodus 15 do literary work in the text? While this process of critically reimagining performance as a research method is a hypothetical exercise, it is also an exercise that ultimately leads scholars back to the biblical text but with a newfound ethnographically informed perspective. In so doing, this thesis emphasises the importance of embracing diversity of method, person, and perspective.

Authors: Thompson, JPW

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-brqqmnggx
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: Siri epic; Lauri Honko; Jātre; tradition ecology; Siri; folklore; orality; Gopala Naika; Judges 5; ethnography; framed song; cennϵ; performance; `Exodus 15
• Subjects: Hebrew poetry, Biblical; Epic literature; Theology; Performance; Hermeneutics; Bible. Old Testament