Because It Gives Me Peace of Mind

Ritual Fasts in the Religious Lives of Hindu Women

Häftad, Engelska, 1996

AvAnne Mackenzie Pearson,Anne MacKenzie Pearson

549 kr

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Explores the history and nature of vrats (ritual fasts) in text and practice, and the roles these rites play in the lives of Hindu women in North India.This is the first book-length study that explores the history and nature of vrats-votive fasting rites-the role these rites play in the religious lives of Hindu women in North India, and the meanings these women attribute to them. By placing vrats within the context of various Hindu religious categories such as concepts of time; types of religious activities; goals; notions of purity and pollution; auspiciousness and inauspiciousness, the book demonstrates how the concept of vrat provides a lens to the Hindu worldview. Accordingly, it offers insight into the nature of Hindu popular religion in general and women's religion in particular.Drawing extensively on the personal narratives of individual women, this study subtly corrects the prevailing view that all women observe vrats solely for the benefit of others. The author shows that Hindu women's sense of duty and obligation to ensure the well-being of their families through the performance of vrats explains only part of the appeal of these rites. The data demonstrate that women also perform vrats for the social, physical, psychological, and spiritual benefits. Not only do vrats provide an avenue for the expression of profound spiritual yearnings, but some women use vrats as a way to gain a measure of control over their own lives, a source of empowerment in an environment in which women frequently lack control and self-determination.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum1996-07-11
Mått152 x 229 x 19 mm
Vikt481 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
SerieSUNY series, McGill Studies in the History of Religions, A Series Devoted to International Scholarship
Antal sidor351
FörlagState University of New York Press
ISBN9780791430385

Tillhör följande kategorier

Hinduism inom Filosofi och religion
Genusvetenskap inom Samhalle och politik

List of Plates List of Abbreviations Preface Introduction 1. Six Women 2. The Concept of Vrata in the Hindu Textual Tradition 3. Vrats, The Seasons and the Festival Calendar in Banaras 4. Precept and Practice: The Contours of a Vrat 5. Precept and Practice: The Constituents of a Vrat 6. Vrats and the Life Stages of Hindu Women 7. "Because It Gives Me Peace of Mind": Meanings and Functions of Vrats in Hindu Women's Religious Lives Appendix A: History of Scholarship on Vrata Appendix B: Fieldsite, Research Population, and Fieldwork Methods Appendix C: Tables of Lunar Months, Lunar Days, and Calendrical Vrats Appendix D: Tij and Jiutiya Stories Notes Glossary Bibliography Index

Drawing extensively on the personal narratives of individual women, this study subtly corrects the prevailing view that all women observe vrats solely for the benefit of others. The author shows that Hindu women's sense of duty and obligation to ensure the well-being of their families through the performance of vrats explains only part of the appeal of these rites. The data demonstrate that women also perform vrats for the social, physical, psychological, and spiritual benefits. Not only do vrats provide an avenue for the expression of profound spiritual yearnings, but some women use vrats as a way to gain a measure of control over their own lives, a source of empowerment in an environment in which women frequently lack control and self-determination.