Thaipusam Kavadī - a festival helping Hindus in Mauritius cope with fear

With Hindus in Mauritius as a case study, this article will show how Thaipusam Kavadī, a festival of piercing and procession of ancient Tamil origin, has become not only a modern expression of religious affiliation in diaspora, but also a way of coping with fear by trying to gain dispensation for po...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International quarterly for Asian studies
Main Author: Qvortrup Fibiger, Marianne (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Heidelberg Berlin Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing 2019
Freiburg 2019
In: International quarterly for Asian studies
Further subjects:B Fear
B piercing rituals
B Hinduism
B Thaipusam Kavadī
B Mauritius
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Volltext (kostenfrei)
Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:With Hindus in Mauritius as a case study, this article will show how Thaipusam Kavadī, a festival of piercing and procession of ancient Tamil origin, has become not only a modern expression of religious affiliation in diaspora, but also a way of coping with fear by trying to gain dispensation for possible religious or ethical misconduct in a time and a place where religion has become compartmentalised. To understand this development, the article gives a short introduction to the overall theme of fear, including theoretical considerations as a prism to understand the factors at play. This is followed by an introduction to Hinduism in Mauritius from a general point of view. Then, using a particular case study and participant observations as a point of departure, the article will explore how Thaipusam Kavadī is conducted and what kind of meaning the participants attribute to their participation.
ISSN:2566-6878
Contains:Enthalten in: International quarterly for Asian studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.11588/iqas.2018.3-4.9344
URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-iqas-93447