Hindu-Catholic encounters in Goa : religion, colonialism, and modernity / Alexander Henn.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Henn, Alexander, 1952- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Syncretism (Religion)--India--Goa (State).

Syncretism (Religion).

Hinduism--Relations--Christianity.

Hinduism.

Relations.

Christianity.

Christianity and other religions--Hinduism.

Christianity and other religions.

Catholic Church--Relations--Hinduism.

Catholic Church.

Postcolonialism--India--Goa (State).

Postcolonialism.

Goa (India : State)--Religion.

Goa (India : State).

Goa (India : State)--Religious life and customs.

India--Goa (State).

Physical Description:

xi, 214 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Bloomington : Indiana University Press, [2014]

Summary:

"The state of Goa on India's southwest coast was once the capital of the Portuguese-Catholic empire in Asia. When Vasco Da Gama arrived in India in 1498, he mistook Hindus for Christians, but Jesuit missionaries soon declared war on the alleged idolatry of the Hindus. Today, Hindus and Catholics assert their own religious identities, but Hindu village gods and Catholic patron saints attract worship from members of both religious communities. Through fresh readings of early Portuguese sources and long-term ethnographic fieldwork, this study traces the history of Hindu-Catholic syncretism in Goa and considers its implications for our understanding of power, religion, and postcoloniality"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1 Vasco da Gama's Error: Conquest and Plurality 19

2 Image Wars: Iconoclasm, Idolatry, and Survival 40

3 Christian Purdnas: Hermeneutic, Similarity, and Violence 65

4 Ganv: Place, Genealogy, and Bodies 83

5 Demotic Ritual: Religion and Memory 126

6 Crossroads of Religions: Shrines and Urban Mobility 159.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780253012876

0253012872

9780253012944

0253012945

OCLC:

857277379