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Once every twelve years, when it is thought that some calamity has taken place because of the curse of the goddess Nanda Devi, a four-horned ram is born in the fields of the former king of Garhwal, an erstwhile Central Himalayan kingdom in north India (see map of Garhwal). This four-horned ram leads a procession of priests and pilgrims on the most dangerous and spectacular pilgrimage in all of India: a three-week, barefoot journey of one-hundred and sixty-four miles, during some of the worst weather of the year, at the end of the rainy season. The procession reaches Rupkund, a small pond located at an altitude of more than 5,000 metres, which is surrounded by human­ skeletons, and from there it goes yet further, to Homkund, the 'Lake of the Fire Sacrifice'. According to the faithful, the four-horned ram leaves the procession at that point and finds its way, unaided, to the summit of Mount Trishul. As its name suggests, the Royal Procession is closely associated with the ruler of this erstwhile Himalayan kingdom: he attends its inaugural rituals, the bones that litter the shores of Rupkund are believed to be those of one of his ancestors, and the chief sponsor of the event is a local 'Prince' who is thought to be descended from the first kings of Garhwal. This Prince traverses the domain of his ancestors and thereby lays claim to it in the name of the goddess Nanda, who is not only his lineage goddess but was also the royal goddess of the neighbouring kingdom of Kumaon, in pre-colonial times. Although the Royal Procession ideally fosters social integration, it was disrupted in 1987 by a quarrel between two factions of priests. The goddess's itinerary, the culminating date of the pilgrimage, the type of sacrifice to be performed, the order of procession, the participation of previously excluded persons, and the competency of certain ritual specialists—all were subjects of heated dispute between the rival groups. What was the reason for this quarrel? The whole idea of the Progress was to create unity, yet in the event they were torn apart by an acrimonious dispute. So why were they quarrelling if it was 'only' a ritual, a matter of mere symbols? Although we often distinguish between the realms of 'politics' and 'ritual', and although many social scientists would balk at the idea that they are one and the same, in many cases – as the author argues in this article – they pervade each other: ritual is politics and politics is ritual.

Abstract
Bhairav is the central deity in a cult of ritual healing in the Central Himalayas that is closely associated with the lowest castes. This article discusses his embodied form, arguing that it is intimately related to the bodies of low-caste people, whose oppression and suffering it both reflects and ameliorates. This history of Bhairav´s body is captured by in local memory and oral history; and its iconography is revealed in songs and rituals. Ultimately, Bhairav´s appearance in the body of a "possessed" devotee is his most important mode of embodiment, and one that tells us a great deal about what it means to be a Harijan.

Representations of violence in Pandav Lila, a traditional ritual dramatization of India's epic Mahabharata, are examined to show that the indigenous category of varna (class) is just as important as "gender" in understanding these representations. The discussion is guided by the theoretical assumption that public ritual events are significant sites of collective self-definition. Performances of Pandav Lila, found only in Uttar Pradesh, involve recitations, music, dance, & drama. All residents participate in these performances, which usually take place only once in a generation in any single village. The epic is a story of a cataclysmic war & violence is prominent. Although the characters who participate in violence are mostly male, certain female characters are among the most violent. Representations of both male & female violence are described & interpreted to illustrate the strong influence of the Hindu concept of class. It is noted that both male & female Rajputs participate in violent acts (sacrifice) & dramatizations of them, while individuals from other classes do not. 14 References. J. Lindroth

Anthropologists specialize in human difference and thus cannot escape the dialectics of sameness and difference. Yet studying Others has been the object of attack in recent years, most notably by Edward Said, who sees the mere postulation of difference as dangerous, as a dehumanizing activity that valorizes Self and vilifies Other. In fact the situation is not so simple: the Other may be a model to be emulated or a mirror of the shadow side of the Self. Selfhood and Otherness, virtue and vice, are subject to ceaseless negotiation and reinterpretation. In this hall of mirrors, the Self and the Other cannot be neatly distinguished.

Rituals combining healing with spirit possession and court-like proceedings are found around the world and throughout history. Modern, secular states have systematically attempted to eliminate them. The Law of Possession is the first volume to compare and analyze the internal logic of such practices, as well as their relation to the modern, secular state.

Frontmatter -- Table of Contents -- List of Tables -- 1 Global Mental Health -- Critical Histories -- 2 Mental Ills for All -- 3 Schizoid Balinese? -- 4 Misdiagnosis -- The Limits of Global Mental Health -- 5 Jinns and the Proletarian Mumin Subject -- 6 Psychedelic Therapy -- Alternatives -- 7 The House of Love and the Mental Hospital -- 8 Ayurvedic Psychiatry and the Moral Physiology of Depression in Kerala -- 9 Global Mental Therapy -- Afterwords -- 10 Global Mental Health -- 11 "Treatment" and Why We Need Alternatives -- Index

"Indigeneity" has become a prominent yet contested concept in national and international politics, as well as within the social sciences. This edited volume draws from authors representing different disciplines and perspectives, exploring the dependence of indigeneity on varying sociopolitical contexts, actors, and discourses with the ultimate goal of investigating the concept's scientific and political potential