Adam & Eve in the Land of the Buddha
Donald Stadtner
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Perched atop a sacred mountain in Sri Lanka lies the Sri Pada, a stone footprint believed to have been left by the Buddha. First worshipped by Buddhists, this enigmatic imprint has inspired diverse interpretations across many faiths. Muslims and Christians came to associate it with Adam, with some even claiming that Adam and Eve were buried in Sri Lanka. The colonial Portuguese attributed it to Saint Thomas, the apostle who brought Christianity to Asia. Others believed it was left by a eunuch who served the fabled Ethiopian queen Candace. How this footprint was interpreted over the ages highlights the spread of Buddhism in Asia and the elasticity of myths.
Speaker
Donald M. Stadtner received his PhD in Indian Art from the University of California, Berkeley, and was for many years an associate professor at the University of Texas, Austin. He is the author of Ancient Pagan (2005) and Sacred Sites of Burma (2011), and co-editor of the exhibition catalogue Buddhist Art of Myanmar (2015). His new book, Sacred Sites of Sri Lanka, was published in late 2024. His articles have appeared in Ars Orientalis, Artibus Asiae, Journal of the Siam Society, Orientations, and Arts of Asia. He divides his time between the San Francisco Bay Area and research trips to Southeast Asia and India.
Moderator
Malvika Agarwal is curator for South Asia at the Asian Civilisations Museum. Her research focuses on South Asian art, material culture, and community histories, including those of the South Asian diaspora. She previously worked as a curator at the Indian Heritage Centre, Singapore, where she curated Sikhs in Singapore – A Story Untold (2021) and Chetti Melaka of the Straits – Rediscovering Peranakan Indian Communities (2018).
Image: Ivory cabinet depicting Adam and Eve (detail). wood (plant material), ivory (material), silver (metal). Collection of the Asian Civilisations Museum, 2015-00188
The ACM Conversations Lecture Series is generously supported by Dalio Philanthropies
