Publisher Description

Every few decades, thousands of Hindu villagers in the Central Himalayas of North India carry their regional goddess Nandadevi in a bridal palanquin to her husband Shiva's home, walking barefoot over icebound mountain passes to a lake surrounded by human bones. This Royal Pilgrimage of Nandadevi is a ritual dramatization of the post-marital journeys of married women from their natal homes to their husbands' homes. Mountain Goddessis an anthropological study of thispilgrimage and the cult of Nandadevi, especially as they relate to local women's lives. The author shows how Nandadevi's appeal stems from the fact that her mythology parallels the life-courses ofthe local peasant women, and that her ritual procession imitates their annual journey to the village of their birth. Drawing on formal Indian theories, verbal commentaries, songs, interviews, articles, propaganda, legends, pan-Indian Sanskrit liturgies, historical documents, and the author's remarkable personal account of the pilgrimage, this gripping narrative is a unique resource for courses in the anthropology of religion, Hinduism, and folklore, ritual, and gender studies.

Author Biography

Heidelberg University

Table of Contents

1: INTRODUCTIONA Note on the Songs2: CREATIONSongs for Women3: THE SMALL PILGRIMAGEJats as PilgrimagesBirth and MarriagePlace and Person in GarhwalThe Male ModelSeparation and ReunionThe Secret of RupkundThe Whole VillageBride-priceA Female Perspective on Residence4: THE GODDESS AND THE DEMONDevi and the Buffalo DemonThe SacrificeThe Social Effects of Ritual5: RAJ JATHistoryThe Goddess and the MediaThe Background of RivalryThe Royal Pilgrimage of the Goddess Shri Nanda (1987)Ritual, Regionalism, and PoliticsConclusionAppendix: Transliterated TextsBibliographyIndex

Review

"...Mountain Goddess is a powerful and compelling study of politics, gender and ritual in the central Himalayas, one that will surely inspire other attempts to explicate the politics of South Asian ritual and cultural interpretation."--History of Religions"Perfect for my course in anthropology because of its treatment of kinship groups, ritual and politics."--Elaine Mayer, Salve Regina University"The writing is fluid and full of information. What impressed me most is the greedy attitude of so-called priests who have made the Hindu religion beyond reach for much of the population. Sax's book brings this point across wonderfully."--L.G. Tewan, Sonoma State University"I strongly recommend Mountain Goddess. It is the product of long and careful fieldwork and textual research, valuable for its beautiful translations, its ethnographic and analytic contributions, and above all for the integration of these."--Ann Grodzins Gold, Cornell University"A sensitive and insightful study."--F.W. Blackwell, Washington State University"The Royal Pilgrimage chapter deserves a place beside McKim Marriott's 'The Feast of Love' (1966) as one of the finest pieces on the ironies of participant observation in South Asia."--Committee on Women in Asian Studies Newsletter"This is a valuable multidisciplinary contribution to South Asian studies and anthropological theory....[Sax's] rich and often humorous ethnographic description renders the book highly enjoyable reading for the layperson and expert alike. Together with its topicality, sound methodology, and affordability, Mountain Goddess would be an excellent choice for those who wish to provide students with a colorful insider's view of Indian culture, in general,and an important pilgrimage tradition, in particular."--The Journal of Asian Studies

Long Description

Every few decades, thousands of Hindu villagers in the Central Himalayas of North India carry their regional goddess Nandadevi in a bridal palanquin to her husband Shiva's home, walking barefoot over icebound mountain passes to a lake surrounded by human bones. This Royal Pilgrimage of Nandadevi is a ritual dramatization of the post-marital journeys of married women from their natal homes to their husbands' homes. Mountain Goddess is an anthropological study of
this pilgrimage and the cult of Nandadevi, especially as they relate to local women's lives. The author shows how Nandadevi's appeal stems from the fact that her mythology parallels the life-courses of the local peasant women, and that her ritual procession imitates their annual journey to the
village of their birth. Drawing on formal Indian theories, verbal commentaries, songs, interviews, articles, propaganda, legends, pan-Indian Sanskrit liturgies, historical documents, and the author's remarkable personal account of the pilgrimage, this gripping narrative is a unique resource for courses in the anthropology of religion, Hinduism, and folklore, ritual, and gender studies.

Review Text

"...Mountain Goddess is a powerful and compelling study of politics, gender and ritual in the central Himalayas, one that will surely inspire other attempts to explicate the politics of South Asian ritual and cultural interpretation."--History of Religions
"Perfect for my course in anthropology because of its treatment of kinship groups, ritual and politics."--Elaine Mayer, Salve Regina University
"The writing is fluid and full of information. What impressed me most is the greedy attitude of so-called priests who have made the Hindu religion beyond reach for much of the population. Sax's book brings this point across wonderfully."--L.G. Tewan, Sonoma State University
"I strongly recommend Mountain Goddess. It is the product of long and careful fieldwork and textual research, valuable for its beautiful translations, its ethnographic and analytic contributions, and above all for the integration of these."--Ann Grodzins Gold, Cornell University
"A sensitive and insightful study."--F.W. Blackwell, Washington State University
"The Royal Pilgrimage chapter deserves a place beside McKim Marriott's 'The Feast of Love' (1966) as one of the finest pieces on the ironies of participant observation in South Asia."--Committee on Women in Asian Studies Newsletter
"This is a valuable multidisciplinary contribution to South Asian studies and anthropological theory....[Sax's] rich and often humorous ethnographic description renders the book highly enjoyable reading for the layperson and expert alike. Together with its topicality, sound methodology, and affordability, Mountain Goddess would be an excellent choice for those who wish to provide students with a colorful insider's view of Indian culture, in general,
and an important pilgrimage tradition, in particular."--The Journal of Asian Studies

Review Quote

"This is a valuable multidisciplinary contribution to South Asian studiesand anthropological theory....[Sax's] rich and often humorous ethnographicdescription renders the book highly enjoyable reading for the layperson andexpert alike. Together with its topicality, sound methodology, andaffordability, Mountain Goddess would be an excellent choice for those who wishto provide students with a colorful insider's view of Indian culture, ingeneral, and an important pilgrimage tradition, in particular."--The Journal ofAsian Studies

Feature

A rare exploration of a goddess cult from a thoroughly empirical, ethnographic perspective
Interdisciplinary--bridges the gap between anthropology and history of religion, with insights from folklore studies and history as well
Spellbinding, with all the elements of an adventure-mystery story

Details