Understanding Culture and Society in India

This book is an in-depth account of people's cultural and religious life in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It brings out the significance of Sufi and deity shrines as alternative places of worship that give meaning and purpose to people's lives. It includes sites and practices commonly associated with Islam/Sufism and Hinduism as spaces of shared culture. Most of the existing literature of Jammu and Kashmir is on Kashmir focusing mostly on topics such as politics, state, identity, conflict or violence. This book proposes to go beyond these works by delimiting the focus and area of the study to culture, society and religion. It explores the sites of religious pluralism and tolerance in the violence-ridden territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The chapters are mainly based on ethnographic data collected through qualitative methods like observation - participant and non-participant, case studies, in-depth interviews and oral history. The book is of interest to researchers, both faculty and graduate students, in the areas of sociology of religion, social anthropology, religious studies, cultural studies, Sufism, shrines and deity worship in South Asia.

Abha Chauhan is Professor and Head of the Department of Sociology at the University of Jammu, Jammu (J&K, India). She holds a Ph.D. from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. Her research interests and publications are in the areas of gender, community, kinship, marriage, religion, culture, and conflict studies. She has been Convenor, RC 10 'Gender Studies', Managing Committee Member, and Secretary of the Indian Sociological Society.

This book is an in-depth account of people's cultural and religious life in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It brings out the significance of Sufi and deity shrines as alternative places of worship that give meaning and purpose to people's lives. It includes sites and practices commonly associated with Islam/Sufism and Hinduism as spaces of shared culture. Most of the existing literature of Jammu and Kashmir is on Kashmir focusing mostly on topics such as politics, state, identity, conflict or violence. This book proposes to go beyond these works by delimiting the focus and area of the study to culture, society and religion. It explores the sites of religious pluralism and tolerance in the violence-ridden territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The chapters are mainly based on ethnographic data collected through qualitative methods like observation - participant and non-participant, case studies, in-depth interviews and oral history. The book is of interest to researchers, both faculty and graduate students, in the areas of sociology of religion, social anthropology, religious studies, cultural studies, Sufism, shrines and deity worship in South Asia.

Autorentext
Abha Chauhan is Professor and Head of the Department of Sociology at the University of Jammu, Jammu (J&K, India). She holds a Ph.D. from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. Her research interests and publications are in the areas of gender, community, kinship, marriage, religion, culture, and conflict studies. She has been Convenor, RC 10 'Gender Studies', Managing Committee Member, and Secretary of the Indian Sociological Society.

Inhalt

1. Shared Sacred Spaces: The Sufi Shrines of Jammu Region2. The Sufi Shrines of Kishtwar: Dargah of Shah Farid-ud-Din and Shah Asrar-ud-Din3. Sufism and the Khanqah of Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah in Shahdara Sharief: An Ethnographic Fathom4. The Mystic Sufi Saint in Jammu: Peer Baba Budhan Ali-Shah5. Cultural and Religious Perspectives on the Sufi Shrines: Khori Baba Dargah on the Line of Control in District Rajouri6. The Healing Touch Saint: Baba Chamliyal Shrine at the International Border in Samba District.- Documenting the Folk Deities of Jammu Region7. Understanding the Concept of Shakti: Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Jammu8. Religiosity, Ritual Practices and Folk Deity Worship: Bawa Jitto Shrine in Marh Block of Jammu Region9. Naghui Tewhaar and Deity Worship: A Folk Festival at the Goddess Chandi Temple in Machail Village of Padar Region10. Naag Deity Worship in Bhaderwah: A Case Study of Jaatra Ritual11. Living Tradition and Faith Galore: Baba Ballo Devasthan of Village Mathwar in Jammu12. Datti Ji: Folk Deity Worship among the Jamwal-Pandit Clan of Jammu.