Events

Event Description

"The Buddha's Tooth Relic and Queen Elizabeth's Shoes: The saga of a cultural interaction between Sri Lanka and the West"

How should Westerners in positions of state authority or prestige act vis-à-vis foreign religious customs and objects of worship in non-Western lands? In this talk, Strong examines the saga of the year-long debate over whether or not Queen Elizabeth, on a state visit to Sri Lanka in 1954 as head of the British Commonwealth should view the Tooth Relic of the Buddha enshrined in the ancient capital of Kandy. More specifically, Strong examines a dispute that preoccupied religious and political leaders in both England and Sri Lanka. Namely: whether Her Majesty would have to make an offering to the Relic, and whether she would be required to remove her shoes before entering its sanctuary, a traditional act of respect.