Coloured Rice: Symbolic Structure in Hindu Family Festivals (Second Edition)

by Suzanne Hanchett

Overview

This is an ethnographic study of rituals and myths as celebrated by multiple castes in two Karnataka villages. Four types of rituals are described and analysed: some by and for married women, some for restless and dangerous goddesses endangering whole families, ancestor rites, and ant-hill festivals for cobra deities. Numerous photos have been added to the original text, which got good reviews.
Meanings of the myths and rituals are interpreted -- using structuraliism and other methods -- in the context of a kinship system where women's position can be insecure. A detailed study of family structure and the place of women in lineages provide insights into the possible meanings of annual ceremonies to those who perform them. Historical and comparative insights contribute to the understanding of numerology, colour symbolism, and deities.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940165796623
Publisher:	Development Resources Press
Publication date:	02/09/2022
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

Suzanne Hanchett is a social anthropologist with a doctorate from Columbia University. She is a Partner in the consulting firm, Planning Alternatives for Change LLC and a Researcher at the Center for Political Ecology. She has done basic and applied research on social structure, gender, and poverty-related issues in Bangladesh, India, and several other countries. She is the author of a book on symbolism of home-centered Hindu myths and rituals in Karnataka State, India (1988). Since 1997, she has been working with water and sanitation programs and arsenic mitigation projects. She has served as Team Leader for several applied studies conducted together with the other authors.