Rites and beliefs in modern India

India is a multi-religious and multi cultural society, with varied beliefs and rituals where social and religious rites are often inextricably linked. For anthropologists, therefore, the country provides a virtual goldmine to explore. Papers in this volume seek to enhance our knowledge of Hinduism and Indian culture by adding information on its little known traditional aspects as well as new developments
In line with the renewed interest in the ritualization of behaviour, both in anthropology and other disciplines, most papers stress ritual more than the beliefs and all authors base their theoretical reflections on solid ethnographic data. Jeffery et al's paper compares rituals and beliefs of both Hindu and Muslim villagers. Randeria focuses exclusively on beliefs about permanent pollution and thus complements the previous paper. Assayag's paper on modern Devadasis, presents a case in which religious beliefs and values permit certain untouchables to rise above their ascribed status. Kjaerholm contrasts the universal aspirations of the Ayappan cult from which women are excluded with the particularistic worship of the family deity. (kula teyvam) in which women play a major role. Walldén complements Kjaerholm since both deal with non agamic Tamil forms of worship, Ayappan amd Aiyanar. Eichinger Ferro Luzzi's paper is concerned with a little known aspect of Tamil religion-the belief that Hindu gods are willing to tolerate innocent laughter at their expense.
The volume would interest all those involved in the study of sociological, ethnographic and religious dimensions of Indian social fabric.