Hook-Swinging in South India
Hook-Swinging in South India
Negotiating The Subaltern Space Within a Colonial Society
This chapter deals with the Indian ritual of Hook-swinging as an example for the negotiation of ritual space in the colonial society of South India during the 19th century and after. “Ritual” is considered here as a discursive formation that provides a dynamic resource for the negotiation of social, cultural and religious forms of identity for various groups within a society. The debate about Hook-swinging and its prohibition is analyzed in two ways. First, it is asked how colonial policy determines the field of social and religious discourse about rituals. This had a massive impact on the performance and contents of the ritual as well as on the participants and the socio-religious setting of Hook-swinging. But, second, it can be shown that within this transformation the ritual itself serves as a space of subaltern agency and resistance to colonial and social suppression within the colonial society.
Keywords: hook-swinging, colonial society, south India, religious discourse, subaltern agency
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