Subaltern Vegetarianism: Witchcraft, Embodiment and Sociality in Central India

Desai, Amit

doi:10.1080/00856400701874734

Cited by 17 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…In addition to the strict emphasis on monotheism, Mahanubhav religion also requires followers to give up alcohol and meat. Particularly given the low-caste composition of the followers, and the sect's historical opposition to ritualistic Brahmanism, this practice of "subaltern vegetarianism" (Desai, 2008) is interesting.…”

Section: The Mahanubhav Sect In Hindu Societymentioning

confidence: 99%

A space to “eat, trance, and sleep”: the healing power of Mahanubhav temples in Maharashtra (India)

Ranganathan

2015

Mental Health, Religion & Culture

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This paper explores the effectiveness of religious healing by focusing on one important factor that has been much neglected -the stay within the shrine. Drawing on qualitative research in Mahanubhav temples in India, this paper emphasises that the central part of religious healing is the process of being in the temple and becoming familiar with shrine culture. At the same time, I argue that the social space of the shrine is important not only for the benefits of a soothing environment or support system. It is argued that temporary residence within the shrine enables individuals to develop long-term associations with the religious community and sect. Through discussion of indicative cases, this paper elaborates on the process of "becoming a Mahanubhav pilgrim" that is at the heart of temple healing practices in India.

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Section: The Mahanubhav Sect In Hindu Societymentioning

confidence: 99%

A space to “eat, trance, and sleep”: the healing power of Mahanubhav temples in Maharashtra (India)

Ranganathan

2015

Mental Health, Religion & Culture

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“…Commensality is practiced between vegetarians and nonvegetarians in the home, where some non-Brahmin vegetarian women cook non-veg foods for their husbands and relatives. Desai (2008) investigates how becoming a member of a Hindu religious sect, the Mahanubhav Panth, requires the practice of a veg diet and concludes that the practice of vegetarianism by low-caste/status groups does not necessarily reflect an elite world view. Adopting a veg diet as a consequence of membership of a Hindu religious sect, and living by its rules, protects members from witchcraft and magic.…”

Section: Indian Food Systems: Vegetarian and Non-vegetarianmentioning

confidence: 99%

Veg or Non-veg? From Bazaars to Hypermarkets in India

Fischer¹

2019

IJAPS

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This paper reviews the literature on vegetarianism (veg) and meat-eating (nonveg) in India. My central aim is to explore how vegetarianism and meat-eating are addressed in existing research in order to identify gaps and pave the way for a new research agenda on the complex and changing relationship between vegetarianism and meat-eating at different levels-consumers, markets and regulators-in contemporary India. Why and how Hindus eat meat is not well understood and much of the existing literature often assumes that not only does the concept of ahimsa (noninjury to all living creatures), cow veneration and banning of cow slaughter prevent Hindus from eating meat, but also that the relationship between vegetarianism and meat-eating is relatively simple and stable among Hindu groups. What is more, India is a major exporter of meat and water buffalo beef in particular. In Hindu nationalist discourses, as well as scholarly studies, Hindu meat-eating is often seen as exceptional and/or due to spiritual, ritual or religious circumstances, rather than as an everyday practice. However, the complex and contested relationship between vegetarianism and meat-eating is as topical as ever: in 2011, the Indian state made it mandatory that all processed food products should bear marks to indicate whether products are vegetarian (green) or non-vegetarian (brown) and with the rise of consumer culture in super/hypermarkets, these logos are ubiquitous on packagings throughout India. I argue that the above aspects have been central in the making of a powerful vegetarian ideology that has seduced much of the scholarship on vegetarianism into suggesting that vegetarianism in India is dominant among Hindus. The central research question concerns why and how a vegetarian ideology

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“…Some academics have reported that lower castes converted to vegetarianism (Michelutti 2008;Staples 2014) as a means to upgrade their status in society via the Sanskritization process 5 and the adoption of the Brahmanical practice of purity (Srinivas 1952). Conversely, nonvegetarianism as well has a positive symbolic and social value by contributing to the construction of the identity of other social or religious groups, such as scheduled castes, Muslims or Christians (Ilaiah 1996;Desai 2008;Staples 2008Staples , 2014Sebastia 2017), for whom meat is a premium dish offered to visitors. An ethnographic study on the Malayali Hindu group in Kerala (Osella and Osella 2008) showcased the process of social distinction through diets: although Brahmins are vegetarian and non-Brahmin Nayars are usually non-vegetarian, during religious festivals they are vegetarian, and the caste of Viswakarma craftsmen positioned just below promotes vegetarianism, contrary to Dalits for whom this practice has no value.…”

Section: Social Construction Of Animal Based Foods In Indiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding transition in animal based food consumption: a case study in the city of Vadodara in Gujarat (India)

Fourat

Kapadia

Shah

et al. 2018

Rev Agric Food Environ Stud

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India is experiencing a modernisation process characterised by rapid urbanisation and the emergence of a new middle class. This process is expected to lead to a change in lifestyles and dietary patterns, and notably higher consumption of animal based foods. The present article focuses on this changing dietary trend in the city of Vadodara in Gujarat (India). A stratified sample of 432 women and men was selected, representing Brahmin, non-Brahmin and Jain communities from high, medium and low socioeconomic strata. The results revealed that, in the transition process, the supposed protein shift from plant-to animal based foods takes specific forms in this cultural context because of more complex drivers that shape food consumption than the socioeconomic position in the society. It highlights that beyond the supra-determination of castes and socioeconomic classes, major drivers of this consumption are the norms and values attached to foods and their interrelations with eating practices according to spatiotemporal and social dimensions. This Indian case reveals that dietary change is not unidirectional towards the Western model but each culture has a unique form of transition.

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Subaltern Vegetarianism: Witchcraft, Embodiment and Sociality in Central India

Cited by 17 publications

References 0 publications

A space to “eat, trance, and sleep”: the healing power of Mahanubhav temples in Maharashtra (India)

A space to “eat, trance, and sleep”: the healing power of Mahanubhav temples in Maharashtra (India)

Veg or Non-veg? From Bazaars to Hypermarkets in India

Understanding transition in animal based food consumption: a case study in the city of Vadodara in Gujarat (India)

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