Masonic Ritual and the Display of Empire in 19th-Century India and Beyond
This article aims at exploring the role played by Freemasonry in displaying, promoting and celebrating the British Empire. It argues that Masonic lodges held centre stage in the Indian colonial public sphere. They organized processions, cornerstone laying ceremonies, and banquets on an unequalled sc...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/cve/8990 |
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| author | Simon Deschamps |
| author_facet | Simon Deschamps |
| author_sort | Simon Deschamps |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article aims at exploring the role played by Freemasonry in displaying, promoting and celebrating the British Empire. It argues that Masonic lodges held centre stage in the Indian colonial public sphere. They organized processions, cornerstone laying ceremonies, and banquets on an unequalled scale, which all became an integral part of imperial display. Masonic ritual, therefore, held centre stage in the dramaturgy of colonial power in India, and also played a leading role in fostering the cult of Empire, which emerged in the last decades of the 19th century. In that respect, Freemasonry offers a stimulating venue for articulating the local and the global, the material and the cultural, formal and informal Empire. It also offers an interesting insight into imperial circulations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-530d40c0cc0d474889620e13bfed6914 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0220-5610 2271-6149 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens |
| spelling | doaj-art-530d40c0cc0d474889620e13bfed69142025-01-30T10:20:49ZengPresses Universitaires de la MéditerranéeCahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens0220-56102271-61492021-06-019310.4000/cve.8990Masonic Ritual and the Display of Empire in 19th-Century India and BeyondSimon DeschampsThis article aims at exploring the role played by Freemasonry in displaying, promoting and celebrating the British Empire. It argues that Masonic lodges held centre stage in the Indian colonial public sphere. They organized processions, cornerstone laying ceremonies, and banquets on an unequalled scale, which all became an integral part of imperial display. Masonic ritual, therefore, held centre stage in the dramaturgy of colonial power in India, and also played a leading role in fostering the cult of Empire, which emerged in the last decades of the 19th century. In that respect, Freemasonry offers a stimulating venue for articulating the local and the global, the material and the cultural, formal and informal Empire. It also offers an interesting insight into imperial circulations.https://journals.openedition.org/cve/8990sociabilityEmpirefreemasonrydisplaycultural imperialismBritish India |
| spellingShingle | Simon Deschamps Masonic Ritual and the Display of Empire in 19th-Century India and Beyond Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens sociability Empire freemasonry display cultural imperialism British India |
| title | Masonic Ritual and the Display of Empire in 19th-Century India and Beyond |
| title_full | Masonic Ritual and the Display of Empire in 19th-Century India and Beyond |
| title_fullStr | Masonic Ritual and the Display of Empire in 19th-Century India and Beyond |
| title_full_unstemmed | Masonic Ritual and the Display of Empire in 19th-Century India and Beyond |
| title_short | Masonic Ritual and the Display of Empire in 19th-Century India and Beyond |
| title_sort | masonic ritual and the display of empire in 19th century india and beyond |
| topic | sociability Empire freemasonry display cultural imperialism British India |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/cve/8990 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT simondeschamps masonicritualandthedisplayofempirein19thcenturyindiaandbeyond |