LEADER 02428oam 2200313z- 450 001 9910136028403321 005 20170925190106.0 010 $a0-19-932511-1 035 $a(CKB)3710000000908545 035 $a(BIP)054271367 035 $a(EXLCZ)993710000000908545 100 $a20161219c2016uuuu -u- - 101 0 $aeng 200 10$aTales of Justice and Rituals of Divine Embodiment 210 $cOxford University Press 215 $a1 online resource (304 p.) $cill 311 $a0-19-932510-3 330 8 $aBased on extensive ethnographic fieldwork conducted in the Central Himalayan region of Kumaon, Tales of Justice and Rituals of Divine Embodiment from the Central Himalayas explores ideas of justice by drawing on oral and written narratives, stories, testimonies, and rituals told and performedin relation to the 'God of Justice', Goludev, and other regional deities. The book seeks to answer several questions: How is the concept of justice defined in South Asia? Why do devotees seek out Goludev for the resolution of matters of justice instead of using the secular courts? What are thesociological and political consequences of situating divine justice--which is achieved not only through written petitions handed to the deity but also through practices of ritual embodiment or spirit possession--within a secular, democratic, modern context?The stories and narratives in this book revolve around Goludev's own story and deeds, as well as hundreds of petitions (manauti) written on paper that devotees hang on his temple walls. The rituals (jagar) involve spirit possession and the embodiment of the deity through designated mediums. Theseintensely powerful and mesmerizing rituals demonstrate how being human is associated with the seemingly limitless potential to shift, alter, and transform our selves through language and ritual practice. The petitions, though silent and devoid of the penetrating singing, drumming, and choreographythat accompany jagars, connect the concept of justice to the aspirations, breakdowns, struggles and breakthroughs that circumscribe human existence. 610 $aJustice 610 $aIndia 610 $aLaw 610 $aReligion 610 $aSocial science 676 $a294.5095451 700 $aMalik$b Aditya$01243966 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910136028403321 996 $aTales of Justice and Rituals of Divine Embodiment$93593818 997 $aUNINA