Till Kingdom Come
Medieval Hinduism in the Modern Himalaya
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3658201 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ehud Halperin (0000-0003-0308-7052, Tel Aviv University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 82 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 277-279 |
| Publication date | 2023-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Asian Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-9118 • E-ISSN: 1752-0401 |
| Publisher | Duke University Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1215/00219118-10290963 |
| OpenAlex | W4362620232 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
Lokesh Ohri's book is a historically informed ethnographic study of the realm of Mahasu Devta, a local Himalayan god who is considered the divine ruler of the region of Jaunsar-Bawar, which forms part of the contemporary Himalayan Indian states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Drawing on materials from as early as Nepalese Gurkha rule (1791–1815), through colonial times and up to (and mostly) the present, Ohri uncovers the deep-seated structures of faith, ritual, and power underlying life in this region. Ohri presents us with the machinery of Mahasu's divine polity, which centers on the four brother deities constituting it: Bautha Mahasu, who is enshrined in the cult's main temple in Hanol and is the main axis of the cult; Pabasik and Basik, who are localized forms of Mahasu and who respectively rule the north and south banks on the Tons River; and Chalda Mahasu, the younger itinerant brother who roams the god's territory in regular yet flexible cycles. Ohri points to Chalda's frequent palanquin processions and their accompanying oracular sessions performed by possessed mediums as the main ritual mechanisms by which Mahasu communicates with his subjects and establishes his sovereignty over them. His main argument in the book is that despite centuries-long competition with external sovereign powers and continuous demands for adjustments, divine kingship in the Himalaya is alive and well, resilient and effective as ever: “The Mahasu kingdom, despite its interactions with external forces, largely remains a sovereign polity for Mahasu subjects” (84).Ohri's study revolves around five major scholarly topics, the first of which is South Asian kingship. Engaging with relevant works of scholars such as A. M. Hocart, Louis Dumont, Gloria Raheja, and Nicholas Dirks among others, Ohri argues that while traditional as well as modern forms of territorial sovereignty are based on the marking and protection of borders, as well as on “cartography, revenue regimes, and administration” (109), Mahasu's sovereignty is rooted in a strong ritual center that is constantly on processual move. Following a logic that is not unsimilar to that of the digvijaya (the conquest of quarters), the deity constantly seeks hospitality in ever growing geographical circles. Once granted, this hospitality marks the voluntary acceptance of subjecthood by the area's residents, thereby entailing the expansion of the divine king's territorial sovereignty.That the king in this case is not human but divine is at the heart of the book's second major concern, namely, the inseparability of religion and politics in Indian modern society in general and in this Himalayan region in particular. Ohri shows us how power and politics in Mahasu's kingdom have always been, and still are, determined by the proximity of the group or individual to the religious ritual center of the realm. Thus, the high-caste Rajputs' social dominance in these regions goes hand in hand with their ritual privileges, just as the Koltas' deprived status is related to the many ritual restrictions put on their interactions with the god. Ohri surveys in detail the elaborate duty system that surrounds Mahasu and, taking a cue from William Sax, shows how it fits the limb model of kingship put forward by Kautilya in his Arthashastra. Throughout the book, Mahasu's involvement in and influence over all kinds of local sociopolitical power struggles is repeatedly demonstrated—from disputes over tax collection during colonial times to contemporary electoral politics and questions of caste.The resilience of Mahasu's divine polity—read tradition—in modern times is the third major topic that is highlighted in this study. Advocating the idea of multiple modernities, Ohri surveys a range of incidents in which colonial agents, such as Fredrick Young (served 1815–42), H. W. Emerson (served 1911–19), as well as contemporary state officials and politicians, were forced to deal with and respond to Mahasu's actions, despite their reluctance to accept the legitimacy of this nonhuman actor. Theoretically drawing on the work of Marshall Sahlins, Ohri demonstrates how all the actors involved in these interactions, whether divine or human, are eventually forced to adapt and find ways to coexist. It is within this context that conflicts over tax collection, caste-related affirmative action, and animal sacrifice come to the fore again.The next topic, which naturally emerges from all the previous ones, is that of divine agency. Drawing on works by Ronald Inden, William Sax, and others (63–64), Ohri convincingly shows how Mahasu often serves as a collective agent for his communities, facilitating, articulating, and eventually sanctioning the group's collective will through his rituals and oracular communications. Importantly, the reader does not have to accept Mahasu as a real intentional being to recognize the agentive power his figure exercises within this Himalayan sociopolitical ritual system. The book's fifth topic, which constitutes its broadest framework, is that of everyday religion and society in the Indian Himalaya. Ohri's study, no doubt, makes a most valuable contribution to this field's growing body of scholarship.Ohri, as he tells us in the introduction, grew up in Dehra Dun, the capital of Uttarakhand. His intimate familiarity with local culture is well attested in the detailed and valuable ethnographic materials this study offers. The book is at its very best when providing exceptionally thick descriptions of key incidents and processes that developed over the course of years. The author's intimate familiarity with the minute details of local culture allows him to effectively unpack what otherwise would have been opaque and inaccessible events. Among these are the events surrounding Chalda Mahasu's delayed river crossing or the heartbreaking moment when a local activist succumbs to the practice of animal sacrifice after dedicating his life to opposing it. At the same time, there were moments when this reader found it challenging to follow the narrative as it diverges from the main argument presented in each chapter, causing the discussion to veer in directions that may become confusing. Yet this drawback could be ascribed to Ohri's wealth of knowledge and to his desire to share as much of it with scholars and the general public.As such, Till Kingdom Come would be of great interest to all those interested in the topics discussed above. It would be of value to undergraduate readers, who will surely find great interest in the unique intricacies of life in this remote Himalayan region, as well to graduate students and scholars interested in Himalayan religion and politics, divine agency and ritual, and in the changes they undergo under the pressures of modernity, in recent decades in particular
Ancient history · Archaeology · Geography · Hinduism · Kingdom · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Geology · History · Paleontology · Philosophy · Religious studies · South Asian Studies and Conflicts
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |