Tantra, Ritual Performance, and Politics in Nepal and Kerala

Matthew Martin, D.Phil. (2019), University of Oxford, is an independent scholar of religion, ritual, and society in South Asia.

• AcknowledgementsList of FiguresAbbreviationsStyle, Format, and Interview TranscriptionsIntroduction: Methodology and Context1 Folk Śākta Performances: Sovereignty, Goddesses, and Macro-Clans2 Teyyāṭṭam and Navadurgā Compared: The Research Process3 Methodological Orientations4 Fieldwork Locations & Informant Introductions5 Contextual BackgroundPart 1 1 Introducing the Southern Case Study—Teyyāṭṭam, Northern Malabar, Kerala1 Ancestors, Land, and Divinities (Teyyam) in Northern Kerala2 Lineages, Clans, and Ritual Kinship3 Blood Sacrifices, Offerings, and Swords4 Cosmology, Metaphysics, and Textual History5 Caste Identities, Politics, and Performance in North Malabar2 Introducing the Northern Case Study—Navadurgā, Bhaktapur, Nepal1 Hindu-Buddhist Tantra in Newar Society: The Case of Bhaktapur2 Bhaktapur City: Blood Symbols, Goddess-Clan, Space, and Society3 Monsoon, Power, and the Goddess-Clan: Banmala Dancer-Mediums during the Ritual Cycle4 Blood Sacrifice, Mohani, and the Navadurgā Cycle5 Cosmology, Tantric Texts, and Newar Hinduism in Bhaktapur6 Politics and Caste Structures in BhaktapurPart 2 3 Dancer-Medium Communities and Ritual Kinship1 Introduction2 Dancer-Medium Communities: Teyyāṭṭam and Navadurgā3 Teyyāṭṭam4 Navadurgā5 Conclusion4 History and Assimilation in Tantric Cosmology1 Introduction2 Teyyāṭṭam3 Navadurgā4 Conclusion5 Sacrifice, Earth Cycles, and Self-Reflexive Affect1 Introduction2 Teyyāṭṭam3 Navadurgā4 Conclusion6 Politics, Ritual Performance, and Caste1 Introduction2 Marxist-Influenced Politics and Ritual Performance in Postcolonial South Asia3 Teyyāṭṭam4 Navadurgā5 ConclusionConclusion1 Teyyāṭṭam and Navadurgā Compared: Revisited2 Dancer-Medium Communities and Ritual Kinship3 History and Metaphysical Underlays of Folk Śākta Ritual4 Blood Sacrifice and Self-Reflexive Affect5 Politics and Caste StructureGlossary of Key TermsBibliographyIndex