Tales of Justice and Rituals of Divine Embodiment

Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork conducted in the Central Himalayan region of Kumaon, Tales of Justice and Rituals of Divine Embodiment from the Central Himalayas explores ideas of justice by drawing on oral and written narratives, stories, testimonies, and rituals told and performed in relation to the 'God of Justice', Goludev, and other regional deities. The book seeks to answer several questions: How is the concept of justice defined in South Asia? Why do devotees seek out Goludev for the resolution of matters of justice instead of using the secular courts? What are the sociological and political consequences of situating divine justice-which is achieved not only through written petitions handed to the deity but also through practices of ritual embodiment or spirit possession-within a secular, democratic, modern context? The stories and narratives in this book revolve around Goludev's own story and deeds, as well as hundreds of petitions (manauti) written on paper that devotees hang on his temple walls. The rituals (jagar) involve spirit possession and the embodiment of the deity through designated mediums.
These intensely powerful and mesmerizing rituals demonstrate how being human is associated with the seemingly limitless potential to shift, alter, and transform our selves through language and ritual practice. The petitions, though silent and devoid of the penetrating singing, drumming, and choreography that accompany jagars, connect the concept of justice to the aspirations, breakdowns, struggles and breakthroughs that circumscribe human existence.