RT Book
T1 Subaltern sovereigns: rituals of rule and regeneration in Highland Odisha, India
T2 Religion and society
A1 Berger, Peter 1969-
LA English
PP Berlin Boston
PB De Gruyter
YR 2023
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1845483022
AB The vast and ancient topic of kingship in India has mostly been studied from the perspectives of rulers and other elites. But what constitutes sovereignty viewed from "below"? This book — ethnographic and comparative in its essence — deals with indigenous conceptualizations of sovereignty taking as its starting point a local proverb that connects the ritual (Dasara) of the king with festivals performed by his "tribal" subjects. The first part of the book initially introduces some pan-Indian ideas of kingship and proceeds to discuss indigenous notions of sovereignty as represented in rituals and myths in the region concerned (highland Odisha). The second part is devoted to the investigation of the proverbial performances. Mainly based on historical sources first the Dasara festival of the king is discussed, subsequently the indigenous rituals are described and analyzed, which the author ethnographically documented around the turn of the millennium. Ultimately, the proverb and the rituals constitute the idea of a sacrificial polity in which rulers and ruled share sovereignty in the sense that they are co-responsible for the flow of life
NO Gesehen am 16.05.2023
SN 9783110458831
SN 9783110458725
K1 RELIGION / Ethnic & Tribal
K1 Adivasis
K1 Odisha
K1 Ritual
K1 sovereignty
DO 10.1515/9783110458831