Slippery Entanglements: Spiritual and Gendered Experiences of Uncertainty in the Riverine Context of Bengali Char lands

This paper focuses on the spiritual and gendered experiences of dwelling-in-uncertainty in the context of Bengali char lands. Chars are temporary sandbanks in the river that continuously erode and re-emerge as the river changes course, thereby subjecting their i...

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Autor principal:	Annemiek Prins
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	<i>Chars</i> water rivers religion gender climate change Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/a585329d7e5644c88ea6a874df53b449
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:a585329d7e5644c88ea6a874df53b449
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:a585329d7e5644c88ea6a874df53b4492021-11-25T18:52:26ZSlippery Entanglements: Spiritual and Gendered Experiences of Uncertainty in the Riverine Context of Bengali <i>Char</i> lands10.3390/rel121109062077-1444https://doaj.org/article/a585329d7e5644c88ea6a874df53b4492021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/11/906https://doaj.org/toc/2077-1444This paper focuses on the spiritual and gendered experiences of dwelling-in-uncertainty in the context of Bengali <i>char</i> lands. <i>Chars</i> are temporary sandbanks in the river that continuously erode and re-emerge as the river changes course, thereby subjecting their inhabitants to repetitious cycles of losing and regaining land. In this paper I take the ethnographic literature on Bengali <i>chars</i> as a point of departure for exploring what the radical uncertainty of climate change might mean in a context where erosion or land loss does not necessarily involve the irreversible loss of a particular habitat, but often coincides with the anticipation of return. In analyzing the gendered ways in which <i>char</i> dwellers navigate this spiraling cycle of land loss and return, I draw specific attention to the churning, immaterial and spiritual powers that reside below and beyond the water, thereby highlighting the ways in which people are caught up in a land/waterscape that is only knowable to some extent. Whereas debates around climate change often treat religion and spirituality as either obstacles to knowledge or vehicles of meaningful storytelling, this paper deliberately foregrounds the more-than-human forces that linger at the periphery of people’s perception and knowledge of the world. In doing so, the paper seeks to move beyond probabilistic notions of climate change and adaptation towards a diverse understanding of the existential uncertainties of the Anthropocene.Annemiek PrinsMDPI AGarticle<i>Chars</i>waterriversreligiongenderclimate changeReligions. Mythology. RationalismBL1-2790ENReligions, Vol 12, Iss 906, p 906 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	<i>Chars</i> water rivers religion gender climate change Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790
spellingShingle	<i>Chars</i> water rivers religion gender climate change Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790 Annemiek Prins Slippery Entanglements: Spiritual and Gendered Experiences of Uncertainty in the Riverine Context of Bengali <i>Char</i> lands
description	This paper focuses on the spiritual and gendered experiences of dwelling-in-uncertainty in the context of Bengali <i>char</i> lands. <i>Chars</i> are temporary sandbanks in the river that continuously erode and re-emerge as the river changes course, thereby subjecting their inhabitants to repetitious cycles of losing and regaining land. In this paper I take the ethnographic literature on Bengali <i>chars</i> as a point of departure for exploring what the radical uncertainty of climate change might mean in a context where erosion or land loss does not necessarily involve the irreversible loss of a particular habitat, but often coincides with the anticipation of return. In analyzing the gendered ways in which <i>char</i> dwellers navigate this spiraling cycle of land loss and return, I draw specific attention to the churning, immaterial and spiritual powers that reside below and beyond the water, thereby highlighting the ways in which people are caught up in a land/waterscape that is only knowable to some extent. Whereas debates around climate change often treat religion and spirituality as either obstacles to knowledge or vehicles of meaningful storytelling, this paper deliberately foregrounds the more-than-human forces that linger at the periphery of people’s perception and knowledge of the world. In doing so, the paper seeks to move beyond probabilistic notions of climate change and adaptation towards a diverse understanding of the existential uncertainties of the Anthropocene.
format	article
author	Annemiek Prins
author_facet	Annemiek Prins
author_sort	Annemiek Prins
title	Slippery Entanglements: Spiritual and Gendered Experiences of Uncertainty in the Riverine Context of Bengali <i>Char</i> lands
title_short	Slippery Entanglements: Spiritual and Gendered Experiences of Uncertainty in the Riverine Context of Bengali <i>Char</i> lands
title_full	Slippery Entanglements: Spiritual and Gendered Experiences of Uncertainty in the Riverine Context of Bengali <i>Char</i> lands
title_fullStr	Slippery Entanglements: Spiritual and Gendered Experiences of Uncertainty in the Riverine Context of Bengali <i>Char</i> lands
title_full_unstemmed	Slippery Entanglements: Spiritual and Gendered Experiences of Uncertainty in the Riverine Context of Bengali <i>Char</i> lands
title_sort	slippery entanglements: spiritual and gendered experiences of uncertainty in the riverine context of bengali <i>char</i> lands
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/a585329d7e5644c88ea6a874df53b449
work_keys_str_mv	AT annemiekprins slipperyentanglementsspiritualandgenderedexperiencesofuncertaintyintheriverinecontextofbengaliicharilands
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Slippery Entanglements: Spiritual and Gendered Experiences of Uncertainty in the Riverine Context of Bengali <i>Char</i> lands

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