The Food of the Gods in Chhattisgarh

Some Structural Features of Hindu Ritual

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2234261
AutoresLawrence A Babb (autor de correspondencia)
Año1970
Volumen26
Número3
Páginas287-304
Fecha de publicación1970-10-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSouthwestern Journal of Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0038-4801 • E-ISSN: 2328-1839
EditorialUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1086/soutjanth.26.3.3629382
OpenAlexW2334233229
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas20
Referencias citadas1

Analysis of Chhattisgarhi ritual reveals a common structural core which unifies ostensibly diverse ritual expressions. This structure is grounded in the purity-pollution contrast, especially as it relates to hierarchical distinctions, and ritual is therefore integrated with some of the most pervasive features of Chhattisgarhi social structure. Two elements are combined in ritual sequences: 1) the creation of a zone of purity within which the deity (or deities) may be approached, and 2) a reciprocal transaction in foods. Food is offered to the deity and then retrieved from the altar for consumption by the participants in the ritual. The transaction allows the deity to be paid for divine favors and at the same time establishes a hierarchical opposition between the deity and the worshippers as a group. Differentiation within the congregation is obscured by the wider opposition between divinity and the worshipping group as a whole

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