Encountering the goddess in the indian himalaya: On the contribution of ethnographic film to the study of religion

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Abstract

This paper examines the benefits of ethnographic film for the study of religion. It argues that the exploration of gaps between colloquial descriptions of divinities and their practical manifestation in ritual is instructive of the way religious categories are conceptualized. The argument is developed through an analysis of selected scenes from the documentary AVATARA, a meditation on goddess worship (Śaktism) among the Khas ethnic majority of the Hindu Himalaya (Himachal Pradesh, India). Centering on embodiments of the goddess in spirit possession séances, it points to a fundamental difference between the popular depiction of the deity as a virgin-child (kanyā) who visits followers in their dreams and her actual manifestation as a menacing mother (mātā) during ritual activities. These ostensibly incongruent images are ultimately bridged by the anthropologically informed edition of the material caught on camera, illustrating the added advantage of documentary filmmaking for approximating religious experiences.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1021
JournalReligions
Volume12
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Funding: Research was funded by the European Science Commission’s FP-7 Curie-Skoldowa Actions (grant number 334489). The writing up of fingind was facilitated by Israel Science Foundation, grant number 203/21.

Funding Information:
Research was funded by the European Science Commission?s FP-7 Curie-Skoldowa Actions (grant number 334489). The writing up of fingind was facilitated by Israel Science Foundation, grant number 203/21.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Keywords

  • Ethnographic film
  • Exorcism
  • Goddess
  • Himalaya
  • Hinduism
  • Khas
  • Religious experience
  • Ritual
  • Shakti (śakti)
  • Spirit possession
  • Tantra

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Religious studies

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