Charismatic mediumship and traditional priesthood: power relations in a religious field
In the Indian Himalayas, mediums who operate as channels through which deities can communicate with their devotees, function alongside priests who serve these deities. In this article, we examine the relationship between these two religious roles with regard to the deity Mahasu. At the individual-pe...
| Published in: | Religion |
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| Main Author: | |
| Contributors: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge
[2018]
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| In: |
Religion
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Pahari (People)
/ Hinduism
/ Priest
/ Medium
/ Charismatic
|
| RelBib Classification: | AG Religious life; material religion BK Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism KBM Asia |
| Further subjects: | B
Charisma
B Spirit Possession B Mediumship B Hinduism B Western Himalaya |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | In the Indian Himalayas, mediums who operate as channels through which deities can communicate with their devotees, function alongside priests who serve these deities. In this article, we examine the relationship between these two religious roles with regard to the deity Mahasu. At the individual-personal level we examine how their roles are linked to different sources of authority - whereas the priests' source of authority is traditional, the mediums rely on charisma. At the societal level, we maintain that their different caste backgrounds are essential for understanding their public role. While the priests are Brahmins, almost all the mediums of Mahasu are Rajputs. Thus, the medium institution enables the Rajputs, who make up the vast majority of Mahasu's devotees, to retain in their hands all decisions pertaining to the public sphere. Hence, they carry more political-social clout than the priests, because they can change the social-religious order or sustain it. |
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| ISSN: | 1096-1151 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/0048721X.2017.1394397 |