| The Wrestler's Body Contributor(s): Alter, Joseph S. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0520076974 ISBN-13: 9780520076976 Publisher: University of California Press OUR PRICE: $68.26 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: August 1992 Annotation: "The Wrestler's Body" tells the story of a way of life organized in terms of physical self-development. While Indian wrestlers are competitive athletes, they are also moral reformers whose conception of self and society is fundamentally somatic. Using the insights of anthropology, Joseph Alter writes an ethnography of the wrestler's physique that elucidates the somatic structure of the wrestler's identity and ideology. Young men in North India may choose to join an "akhara," or gymnasium, where they subject themselves to a complex program of physical and moral fitness. Alter's first-hand description of each detail of the wrestler's regimen offers a unique perspective on South Asian culture and society. Wrestlers feel that moral reform of Indian national character is essential and advocate their way of life as an ideology of national health. Everyone is called on to become a wrestler and build collective strength through self-discipline. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Sports & Recreation | Wrestling - Social Science | Anthropology - Cultural & Social - History | Asia - India & South Asia |
| Dewey: 796.812 |
| LCCN: 91031560 |
| Physical Information: 1.08" H x 6.3" W x 9.32" (1.55 lbs) 332 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Indian - Cultural Region - Asian |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The Wrestler's Body tells the story of a way of life organized in terms of physical self-development. While Indian wrestlers are competitive athletes, they are also moral reformers whose conception of self and society is fundamentally somatic. Using the insights of anthropology, Joseph Alter writes an ethnography of the wrestler's physique that elucidates the somatic structure of the wrestler's identity and ideology. Young men in North India may choose to join an akhara, or gymnasium, where they subject themselves to a complex program of physical and moral fitness. Alter's first-hand description of each detail of the wrestler's regimen offers a unique perspective on South Asian culture and society. Wrestlers feel that moral reform of Indian national character is essential and advocate their way of life as an ideology of national health. Everyone is called on to become a wrestler and build collective strength through self-discipline. |