article
Formalised possession among the Tantris and Teyyams of Malabar
South Asia research • 18 (1) • Published In 1998 • Pages: 73-98
By: Freeman, J. R..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This essay focuses on commonalities between the more formal Brahmanical temple worship and the less formal (and often overlooked) popular rites of spirit possession in northern Kerala. The discussion begins by emphasizing readily apparent differences: in temple-worship Brahman priests guide prayers to fixed images, while spirit possession entails a category of spirits believed to dwell in the body of possessed individuals. By emphasizing the role of Brahman priests not just as interpreters of scripture but also as mediums of specific deities, the author argues that possession and priesthood are better viewed as complementary and not opposed systems of worship.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Revelation and divination
- Congregations
- Organized ceremonial
- Prayers and sacrifices
- Animism
- Priesthood
- Religious experience
- Cult of the dead
- Castes
- Comparative evidence
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Kerala
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2017
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Asia
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- South Asia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Anthropologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Teferi Abate Adem ; 2016
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1997
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1950-1998
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- northern Kerala, India
- NotesAdditional notes
- J. R. Freeman
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-98)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 84646160
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Kerala (India)