2008.
On October 2, 9:45 AM, I will deliver a talk on "The Science of Ritual" during the conference "Ritual Dynamics and the Science of Ritual" that will take place in Heidelberg, Germany, from September 29th - October 2nd. http://www.rituals-2008.com/
After Heidelberg, I propose to spend a few weeks in Amsterdam and Paris.
During November, I have been permitted to attend the Royal Cremation of Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana, sister of His Majesty the King of Thailand. The princess died on January 2, 2008, and during the intervening months, while the court and many citizens are mourning, the body will be in a crouching posture inside a silver urn that will be placed within a golden urn. In November, the urns will be carried to a cremation tower with four porticos and a seven-tiered spire that will have been constructed outside the palace grounds. It contains a sandalwood urn, with sticks of firewood underneath, to which the royal remains will be transferred. The processions include dignitaries, colorful military displays, the Supreme Patriarch of the Sangha and Court Brahmans with their hair loose. The cabinet has approved a 300 million Baht budget, drawn from the central budget set aside for emergency purposes. -- Such two-stage burials, now confined to Thailand and Bali, used to be common elsewhere in Southeast Asia. All display the recursiveness of ritual.
The meeting "The Rational Study of Early South Asian Civilization", previously announced for the final week of December, has been postponed and will take place in India some time in 2009.