Homo Ritualis

Axel Michaels is Professor of Classical Indology in the South Asia Institute at the University of Heidelberg.

"Michaels's book is a positive contribution to ritual studies and to the study of Hindu ritual within the larger conversation of ritual theory. The ethno-Indological approach taken by Michaels is, furthermore, an innovative and rewarding method for the study of Hindu ritual, particularly as these two fields-ethnography and Indology-have sometimes been seen as at odds with each other."--Adam Newman, Reading Religion"Michaels's key contributions are twofold: first, he offers a unifying theory of the complex structure and variety of South Asian ritual performances in their own hermeneutical terms, and second he demonstrates that a theoretically sophisticated understanding of such rituals can make significant contributions to the field of ritual studies."--Jarrod Whitaker, Journal of Religion"Axel Michaels' Homo Ritualis indicates something of a mini-renaissance at the intersection of ritual studies and South Asian studies...This is the greatest achievement of Homo Ritualis: to translate the contemporary field of ritual theory into digestibly South Asian terms; to pose adhikara as 'agency'; to place the history of Indology (from Hillebrandt to Houben) opposite textbook figures in the study of religion (from Durkheim toLawson and McCauley). The book is worth reading simply for this exercise of cross-cultural theorizing."--Journal of the American Academy of Religion"It has been evident at least since the time of Marcel Mauss that the study of ritual ought to draw more than it does on the rich indigenous tradition of ritual theory produced within Hinduism. Until now few have possessed the necessary skills to bring these fields together. Axel Michaels is a Sanskritist, a founder of the field of ethno-Indology, and the leader of a major research program within ritual studies. He is therefore ideally placed to be theconfluence where Indology, South Asian ethnography, and ritual studies flow together and produce an important new synthesis. Homo Ritualis will be an essential point of reference for all three fields." --DavidN. Gellner, Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Oxford

• Preface ; Acknowledgements ; Abbreviations ; Plates and Figures ; Pronunciation of Indian Words ; Introduction ; Part I: Framing ; 1. The Beginning of Rituals ; 1.1 The Solemn Intention (samkalpa) ; 1.2 Greeting and Ritualized Greeting (namaskara) ; Conclusion ; Part II: Formality ; 2. Repetitive Rules (vidhi) ; 2.1 The Grammar of Rituals ; 2.2 A Preliminary "Grammar" of Newar Life-cycle Rituals ; 2.3 Rituals in Handbooks (paddhati) ; 3. Agency in Ritual ; 3.1 Ritual Competency (adhikara) ; 3.2 Atonements for Ritual Mishaps (prayascitta) ; 3.3 The Comic Side of Ritual Formality ; 4. Performed and Played Rituals (lila) ; 4.1 Music and Ritual Music ; 4.2 Dance and Ritual Dance ; 4.3 Emotions and Ritual Emotions ; Conclusion ; Part III: Modality ; 5. Individualized and Domestic Rituals (samskara) ; 5.1 The Boy's Initiation ; 5.2 The Girl's Initiation ; 5.3 The Marriage ; 5.4 Death Rituals and Redemption ; 6. Collective and Public Rituals ; 6.1 Temple Festivals (utsava) ; 6.2 Vows (vrata) ; 6.3 Pilgrimages and Processions (yatra) ; 7. Transcendence in Rituals ; 7.1 The Vedic Sacrifice (yajna) ; 7.2 The Fire Sacrifice (homa) ; 7.3 Worship and Prayer (puja) ; 7.4 E-darshan and Cyber-puja ; Conclusion ; Part IV: Meaning ; 8. Meaning and Function ; 8.1 The Cultural Studies Approach ; 8.2 The Cognitive Sciences approach ; 9. The Purvamimamsa Theory of Ritual Efficacy ; Conclusion ; Part V: The Hindu Path of Ritual-Summary ; Appendix: Automatic Detection of Ritual Structures ; Glossary ; References