In this paper I explore different arenas and aspects of spirit possession, as observed during fieldwork in Kumaon/Himalaya. The ritual is called jāgar. One aim of this paper is to demonstrate that spirit possession is a very complex institution, which is simultaneously concerned with a whole range of issues. I put forward the argument, that jāgars, although they appear due to actual problems,...
This paper challenges the preeminence of the Self-Other binary in contemporary social theory. The opposition not only pervades the field of cultural studies, it also dominates disciplines such as historiography and anthropology and the burgeoning work on ethnicity. Spirit possession, however, suggests an alternative paradigm for redefining the self and the other, inter-ethnic relations, and...
I present a place-centred and low-caste view of spirit affliction/possession with reference to person-kuṭumpam (descent group)-soil continuity and interaction in late-modern Kerala, where previous boundary processes have been subjugated to a new set of boundary processes that mixed-up what was formerly unmixable. The person-kuṭumpam-soil consubstantiality, which is expressed in mortuary...
In this contribution, a form of possession mediumship among the Vāḍabalija, a South Indian fishing caste is analysed. Anthropological studies of this form of possession have generally emphasized its therapeutic effect. A possession séance is in the first place a verbal event. It is through language that reality is created. Therefore, the focus here will be on the text spoken during possession....