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By focusing on contemporary popular religious traditions, the book represents a substantial contribution to the study of modern religious practices in Banaras, holy city of India. This book offers in-depth, ethnographic views of many contemporary popular religious practices that have, for the most part, received little attention by scholars. Topics covered include the Ramlila celebrations, devotion to Hanuman, and goddess worship, and the way that Banarsi Boli, the local dialect of Banaras, supports its users in their identification with the sacred city.
"The book builds upon previous work about the importance of Banaras; it adds to our empirical understanding of society and culture in India; and it provides one of the best examples I have seen of fieldwork based research where different individual scholars, commenting from various perspectives, achieve a holistic, comprehensive result." — Charles R. Brooks, John Jay College, City University of New York
Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Bradley R. Hertel and Cynthia Ann Humes
1. Crossing the Water: Pilgrimage, Movement, and Environmental Scenography of the Ramlila of Ramnagar
Richard Schechner
2. Staring at Frames Till They Turn into Loops: An Excursion through Some Worlds of Tulsidas
Linda Hess
3. What's Taking Place: Neighborhood Ramlilas in Banaras
Thomas Parkhill
4. Hanuman and the Moral Physique of the Banarsi Wrestler
Joseph S. Alter
5. Religious Division and the Mythology of the Past
Mary Searle-Chatterjee
6. The Monastic Structure of Banarsi Dandi Sadhus
Dana W. Sawyer
7. The Goddess of the Vindhyas in Banaras
Cynthia Ann Humes
8. Lolark Kund: Sun and Shiva Worship in the City of Light
Ratnesh K. Pathak and Cynthia Ann Humes
9. Language Choice, Religion, and Identity in the Banarsi Community
Beth Simon
Appendices
Cynthia Ann Humes
A. The Thirty-One-Day Program of the Ramnagar Ramlila
B. An Encapsulation of the Ramcharitmanas by Tulsidas
C. Major Characters of the Ramayana
D. General Glossary
Bibliography
Contributors
Index