Life on the Ganga : boatmen and the ritual economy of Banaras / Assa Doron.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Doron, Assa, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mallahs--India--Vārānasi (Uttar Pradesh)--Social conditions.

Mallahs.

Mallahs--India--Vārānasi (Uttar Pradesh)--Economic conditions.

Boaters (Persons)--India--Vārānasi (Uttar Pradesh)--Social conditions.

Boaters (Persons).

Boaters (Persons)--India--Vārānasi (Uttar Pradesh)--Economic conditions.

Caste--Political aspects--India--Vārānasi (Uttar Pradesh).

Caste.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xix, 239 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

New Delhi : Foundation Books, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This intriguing anthropological study investigates how the boatmen of Banaras have repositioned themselves within the traditional social organization and used their privileged position on the river to contest upper-caste and state domination. The author examines the evolution of the boatmen community, drawing on a variety of sources to illuminate the cultural politics of social and economic inequality in contemporary India. Life on the Ganga: Boatmen and the Ritual Economy of Banaras offers insight into recent debates about the cultural and historical forms of social practice and resistance at the juncture between tradition and the global economy, and will therefore appeal not only to anthropologists, but to anyone working in the field of development studies, globalization, religion, politics and cultural studies.

Contents:

Domesticating the Ganga boatmen

Stepsons of the state : marginalization and the struggle for recognition

The moral economy of boating : territorial clashes and internal struggles

River crossings : boatmen, priests, and the ritual economy of Banaras

The romance of Banaras : boatmen, pilgrims and tourists

Conclusion : covert resistance and collective action.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 02 Oct 2015).

ISBN:

93-82264-94-9