Dancing the Self: Personhood and Performance in the Pandav Lila of GarhwalFor ten years, William Sax studied the inhabitants of the former kingdom of Garhwal in northern India. Sax attended and participated in performances of the pandav lila (a ritual reenactment of scenes from the Mahabharata in a dance) and observed its context in village life. Combining ethnographic fieldwork with sophisticated reflection on the larger meanings of these rituals and practices, this volume presents the information in a style accessible to the uninitiated reader. Sax opens a window on a fascinating (and threatened) aspect of rural Indian life and on Hinduism as a living religion, while providing an accessible introduction to the Mahabharata itself. |
Contents
3 | |
The Mah257bh257rata Story | 16 |
1 The Sutol P257ndav L299l257 | 20 |
P257ndav L299l257 as a Regional Tradition | 39 |
P257ndav L299l257 as a Mans Sport | 64 |
P257ndav L299l257 as a Rajput Tradition | 93 |
Draupadi and Kunti in the P257ndav L299l257 | 134 |
6 A Divine King in the Western Himalayas | 157 |
Orientalism Anthropology and the Other | 186 |
201 | |
221 | |
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Abhimanyu Anthropology Arjuna arrow Asian asked Babhruvahana Babrik Bacan bard began Bhima boon Brahman brothers called Cambridge University Press caste Chalda Mahasu Chamoli District Chandpur chapter Circular Array cult cultural dancers dancing square deities Delhi demon devatā devatom dharma divine dominance drama Draupadi drummer drums Dumont Duryodhana epic episode father five Pandavas Garhwal goddess gods Hanuman Hastinapura Heesterman hegemony Himalayas Hindu human Indra Kali Karna Kauravas killed King Karna kingship Krishna Kshatriya Kumaon kuntī mātā lilā Mahabharata Mahabharata story Mother Kunti Nagarjuna Nagiloka Nakula north India oracle Padam Singh pāṇḍav līlā Pandavas Pandu performance political priest public ritual Pune edition rājā Raja Karan Rajputs Rāmāyaṇa recitation region religion religious renouncer rhinoceros River royal sacrifice Sahadeva sami tree Sanskrit sevā Shiva Shri Singtur social South Asia Sutol temple theory told Tons River tradition Vasudanta versions village warrior weapons Western wife women worship Yudhisthira