The Biography of a God : : Mahasu in the Himalayas / / Asaf Sharabi.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Amsterdam University Press Complete eBook-Package 2023
• VerfasserIn: Sharabi, Asaf,
• Place / Publishing House: Amsterdam : : Amsterdam University Press, , [2023]; ©2023
• Year of Publication: 2023
• Language: English
• Series: Religion and Society in Asia ; 11
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (208 p.)

Mahasu is the joint name of four gods whose influence is widespread throughout the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Like other deities in the Western Himalayas, they are regarded as royal gods who rule over territories and people. This book traces changes in faith and practices surrounding the Mahasu brothers, and shows how the locals understand these changes by emphasizing the dominant role of humans in the decisions of the gods. The locals are also constantly testing the authenticity of the human mediumship. Thus, the book presents the claim that the gap between local conceptions of divinity and the perceptions of anthropologists regarding gods may be narrower than we think. The Biography of a God: Mahasu in the Himalayas is based on ethnographic research, resulting in an important contribution to the study of Indian village deities, Himalayan Hinduism, lived Hinduism, and the anthropology of religion.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Table of Contents -- List of Figures -- Notes on Transliteration -- Acknowledgments -- Meet Mahasu -- 1 Gods on the Road -- 2 A Stormy Biography -- 3 The Four Brothers -- 4 Local Traditions in Times of Change -- 5 Communicating with Mahasu -- Agency, Doubt, Mediation -- Index