Priests and Programmers: Technologies of Power in the Engineered Landscape of Bali

Description

Describes the network of water temples that managed the flow of irrigation water in the name of the Goddess of the Crater Lake. Using the techniques of ecological simulation modeling, this book argues that the system of temple rituals is not only a reflection of utilitarian constraints but also a basic ingredient in organization of production.

J. Stephen Lansing is a Professor at the Santa Fe Institute and in the departments of Anthropology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona. He is the author of "Perfect Order: Recognizing Complexity in Bali" (Princeton).

"[A]n enjoyable and stimulating book."--Geoffrey Samuel, Journal of Asian Studies "Priests and Programmers is written with admirable clarity and should be of interest ... to anybody working on applied social research."--Michael Hitchcock, Contemporary South Asia "[B]rilliant and delightful... [N]ot only has [Lansing] written a superb book, but he has contributed materially and humanely to the quality of life of the people he has studied. Too few scholars can make this claim."--Bryan Pfaffenberger, Technology and Culture "This is fascinating cultural anthropology, even history of religions."--Edward H. Schroeder, Missiology