The Food of the Gods in Chhattisgarh: Some Structural Features of Hindu Ritual

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Abstract
Analysis of Chhattisgarhi ritual reveals a common structural core which unifies ostensibly diverse ritual expressions. This structure is grounded in the purity-pollution contrast, especially as it relates to hierarchical distinctions, and ritual is therefore integrated with some of the most pervasive features of Chhattisgarhi social structure. Two elements are combined in ritual sequences: 1) the creation of a zone of purity within which the deity (or deities) may be approached, and 2) a reciprocal transaction in foods. Food is offered to the deity and then retrieved from the altar for consumption by the participants in the ritual. The transaction allows the deity to be paid for divine favors and at the same time establishes a hierarchical opposition between the deity and the worshippers as a group. Differentiation within the congregation is obscured by the wider opposition between divinity and the worshipping group as a whole.

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