article
Mortuary ritual of the Badagas of southern India
Fieldiana. Anthropology, n.s. • 32 • Published In 2001 • Pages: x, 72
By: Hockings, Paul.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is a reconstruction of a traditional Badaga funeral based on first-hand reports dating back to the early nineteenth century and the author's own field notes. Hockings presents the data in five stages: preparation, display, procession, disposal and subsequent rites. Funerals are communal affairs lead by village headmen and involve elements of the larger community: agnates and affines, men and women, class and neighboring tribal groups. Death is a polluting act that threatens the stability of the whole commnunity and all members are involved in restoring purity through various symbolic acts such as dancing, music and gift exchanges. According to Hockings, the various stages of the funeral represent the gradual separation of the deceased and his soul from the community. The Badaga do not believe in reincarnation. An impressive multi-storied construction with flags and umbrellas is used in the procession. A photo essay is included.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Music
- Verbal arts
- Community structure
- Community heads
- Kin relationships
- Burial practices and funerals
- Purification and atonement
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Badaga
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2005
- 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.
- Ethnologist
- 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
- Ian Skoggard ; 2004
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1962-1993
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1820-1963
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu State, India
- NotesAdditional notes
- Paul Hockings
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-72)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 06020329
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Badaga (Indic people)