The Changing World of Caste and Hierarchy in Bengal
The Changing World of Caste and Hierarchy in Bengal

Author: Sudarshana Bhaumik

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-08-26

Total Pages: 317

ISBN-13: 1000641430

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This book challenges the prevalent assumptions of caste, hierarchy and social mobility in pre-colonial and colonial Bengal. It studies the writings of colonial ethnographers, Orientalist scholars, Christian missionaries and pre-colonial literary texts like the Mangalkavyas to show how the concept of caste emerged and argues that the jati order in Bengal was far from being a rigidly reified structure, but one which had room for spatial and social mobility. The volume highlights the processes through which popular myths and beliefs of the lower caste orders of Bengal were Sanskritized. It delineates the linkages between sedantized peasant culture and the emergence of new agricultural castes in colonial Bengal. Moreover, the author discusses a wide spectrum of issues like marginality and hierarchy, the spread of Brahmanical hegemony, the creation of deities and the process of Sanskritization, popular Saivism, the cult of Manasa in Bengal and the revolt of 1857 and the caste question. Rich in archival sources, this book will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of colonial history, Indian history, political sociology, caste studies, exclusion studies, cultural studies, social history, cultural history and South Asian studies, especially those interested in undivided Bengal.

Folk Deities and Matrika Cult of South West Bengal
Folk Deities and Matrika Cult of South West Bengal

Author: Bina Kumari Sarma

Publisher:

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13:

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Books Closely At Folk Deities Of South Bengal, Particularly Manifestation Of Mother Goddess In The 2 Districts-Bankura And Purulia. Based On Field Work And A Review Of Exiting Literature. Has 7 Chapters, The Best Being On Conclusions.

The Study of Hinduism
The Study of Hinduism

Author: Arvind Sharma

Publisher: Univ of South Carolina Press

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 9781570034497

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In this text, leading scholars from around the world take stock of two centuries of international intellectual investment in Hinduism. Since the early 19th century, when the scholarly investigation of Hinduism began to take shape as a modern academic discipline, Hindu studies has evolved from its concentration on description and analysis to an emphasis on understanding Hindu traditions in the context of the religion's own values, concepts and history. Offering an assessment of the current state of Hindu studies, the contributors to this volume identify past achievements and chart the course for what remains to be accomplished in the field.

Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls
Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls

Author: June McDaniel

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2004-08-05

Total Pages: 367

ISBN-13: 0195167902

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In 'Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls', June McDaniel provides an overview of Bengali goddess worship or Shakti. She identifies three major forms of goddess worship, and examines each through its myths, folklore, songs, rituals, sacred texts, and practitioners, tracing these strands through Bengali culture.

Fantasy Fictions from the Bengal Renaissance
Fantasy Fictions from the Bengal Renaissance

Author: Abanindranath Tagore

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2018-06-09

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 0199092176

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Fantasy Fictions from the Bengal Renaissance presents two masterpieces of Bengali literature by Rabindranath Tagore’s nephews, Abanindranath Tagore and Gaganendranath Tagore. The Make-Believe Prince is the delightful story of a king, his two wives, a trickster monkey, a witch, and a helper from another world who is not a ‘fairy godmother’. Abanindranath deploys traditional children’s rhymes and paints exquisite word-pictures in his original rendering of a tale which has its roots in Bengali folktale materials in various genres. Toddy-Cat the Bold sees a group of brave comrades seek help from a young boy to rescue the son of their leader from the Two-Faced Rakshasa of the forest. Here, a more numinous supernatural helper appears. Inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice books, it presents a comic, exciting, and mysterious journey quite unlike Carroll’s, with many traditional local touches and an unexpected ending.

Gendered Agency in Transcultural Hinduism and Buddhism
Gendered Agency in Transcultural Hinduism and Buddhism

Author: Ute Hüsken

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-04-01

Total Pages: 301

ISBN-13: 1040009158

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Focusing on complex entanglements of religion and gender from a diversity of perspectives, this book explores how women enact agencies in transcultural Hindu and Buddhist settings. The chapters draw on original, in-depth empirical research in various contexts in South Asian religious traditions. Today, in an increasing number of such contexts, women are able to undergo monastic and priestly education, receive ordination/initiation as nuns and priestesses, and are accepted as ascetic religious leaders. They are starting to establish new religious communities within conservative traditions, occupying religious leadership positions on par with men. This volume considers the historical background, contemporary trajectories, and potential impact of the emergence of these new and powerful female agencies in conservative South Asian religious traditions. It will be of particular interest to scholars of religion, women’s and gender studies, and South Asian studies.

Because It Gives Me Peace of Mind
Because It Gives Me Peace of Mind

Author: Anne Mackenzie Pearson

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1996-01-01

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 9780791430378

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Explores the history and nature of vrats (ritual fasts) in text and practice, and the roles these rites play in the lives of Hindu women in North India.