Book

Rivalry and tribute: society and ritual in a Telegu village in South India

Hindustan Pub.Corp.Delhi • Published In 1987 • Pages: xvi, 309

By: Tapper, Bruce Elliot.

Abstract
This study describes Telugu village society, ritual life, and the interplay between them. More specifically, the author examines how ritual mediates Telugu caste relationships. While scholars have long discussed caste in terms of hierarchy and patron-client relationships, the author instead focuses on the important role of ritual in constituting the moral underpinnings of mutual responsibility and interdependence that serve to conflate morality and hierarchy. The author examines gender and kin-based social relations that also require the ongoing mediation of ritual. The core ritual practiced at funerals, calendrical celebrations, and agricultural festivals is an act of obeisance to a god acknowledged to have power over an individual, but from which the supplicant expects reciprocity.
Subjects
Exhibitions
Gender status
Castes
Community heads
Inter-community relations
Religious offenses
Cult of the dead
Spirits and gods
Ritual
Organized ceremonial
culture
Telugu
HRAF PubDate
2016
Region
Asia
Sub Region
South Asia
Document Type
Book
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Ian Skoggard; 2015
Field Date
1970-1972
Coverage Date
1970-1972
Coverage Place
Yatapalem (Pedda Yātapālem), Visakhapatnam (Vishākhapatnam) district, Andhra Pradesh, India
Notes
Bruce Elliot Tapper
Includes bibliographical references (p. 268-271), glossary, and index
LCCN
87904104
LCSH
Hinduism--India--Vishākhapatnam (District)--Customs and practices
Vishākhapatnam (India : District)--Social conditions