Dr Leilah Vevaina

Leilah Vevaina is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the Chinese University in Hong Kong. Leilah Vevaina received her PhD in Social Anthropology from the New School for Social Research in 2015.

She has an MA in Anthropology from The New School (2007) as well as an MA in Social Thought from New York University (2005). Her research lies in the intersection of urban property and religious life within the legal regimes of contemporary India.

She has conducted fieldwork in Mumbai, India and Hong Kong, with specific focus on the Indian Zoroastrian, or Parsi, community, with generous support from the Wenner-Gren Foundation as well as the American Institute of Indian Studies. Her book entitled, Trust Matters: Parsi Endowments in Mumbai and the Horoscope of a City (Duke University Press) focuses on religious endowments and the trust as a mechanism of property management in the city.

In addition to her focus on Zoroastrian global philanthropic networks, Leilah is researching Zoroastrian death rituals and their legal and funerary infrastructures for a new book on necrofinance, death and diaspora. Her forthcoming project seeks to research the connection between gambling and charity in historical and contemporary of Hong Kong with particular attention to the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Leilah Vevaina is also the founding Director of the South Asia from Asia Initiative at Chinese University which aims to bring together research and teaching on South Asia in Hong Kong in collaboration with other departments in the Faculty of Arts and university partners.

Dr Leilah Vevaina's The Chinese University of Hong Kong profile