Stanley Jeyaraj Tambiah
TAMBIAH, Stanley Jeyaraj who was born and raised in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, fifth son of Charles Rajakon and Eliza Chellana Tambiah, died after a long illness in hospice in Cambridge, MA on January 19, 2014. Raab Professor of Social Anthropology at Harvard University and Professor Emeritus, he is survived by his son, Jonathan, daughter-in-law Tina, grandson, Logan, of Cambridge, son Matthew of Boston, his younger sister, Beechi Appadurai of Colombo, Sri Lanka, numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews living in Australia, England and the United States, and his former wife, Mary H. Tambiah of Cambridge. He was predeceased by seven of his original eight siblings: Dorothy Rajasooria, Satiavati Satianayagam, Padma Rajaratnam, David, Selvaraj, Thangaraj and Dharmaraj. Professor Tambiah was a distinguished social anthropologist and social theorist of South and Southeast Asia. His early work was on the Buddhist and political hierarchy in Thailand. In later years, after the onset of the ethnic violence in Sri Lanka in 1983 he wrote extensively about collective violence in South Asia, culminating in his landmark book, “Leveling Crowds.” A man of wit, charm, sophistication and wide-ranging intellectual interests, he will be missed by his extended family, many friends and colleagues. Rest in Peace. His funeral service and interment are private. A public memorial service will be held in the Church at Harvard Yard at a later date. Arrangements by the Keefe Funeral Home, CAMBRIDGE. To send an online condolence visit www.keefefuneralhome.com