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The Invisible Path of Karma in a Himalayan Purificatory Rite
doi: 10.3390/rel9030078
The Invisible Path of Karma in a Himalayan Purificatory Rite
Indic rites of purification aim to negate the law of karma by removing the residues of malignant past actions from their patrons. This principle is exemplified in the Kahika Mela, a rarely studied religious festival of the West Himalayan highlands (Himachal Pradesh, India), wherein a ritual specialist assumes karmic residues from large publics and then sacrificed to their presiding deity. British officials who had ‘discovered’ this purificatory rite at the turn of the twentieth century interpreted it as a variant of the universal ‘scapegoat’ rituals that were then being popularized by James Frazer and found it loosely connected to ancient Tantric practises. The However, observing a recent performance of the ritual significantly complicated this view. This paper proposes a novel reading of the Kahika Mela through the prism of karmic transference. Tracing the path of karmas from participants to ritual specialist and beyond, it delineates the logic behind the rite, revealing that the culminating act of human sacrifice is, in fact, secondary to the mysterious force that impels its acceptance.
- University of Haifa Israel
Microsoft Academic Graph classification: Rite History media_common.quotation_subject Tantra Ancient history Scapegoat Reading (process) Karma media_common Human sacrifice
Library of Congress Subject Headings: lcsh:BL1-2790 lcsh:Religions. Mythology. Rationalism
human sacrifice, Kullu, BL1-2790, Khas, Himachal Pradesh; human sacrifice; karma; Khas; Kullu; Nar; ritual; scapegoat; shaktism; Tantra, shaktism, scapegoat, Religions. Mythology. Rationalism, Himachal Pradesh, Religious studies, ritual, Nar, Tantra, karma
human sacrifice, Kullu, BL1-2790, Khas, Himachal Pradesh; human sacrifice; karma; Khas; Kullu; Nar; ritual; scapegoat; shaktism; Tantra, shaktism, scapegoat, Religions. Mythology. Rationalism, Himachal Pradesh, Religious studies, ritual, Nar, Tantra, karma
Microsoft Academic Graph classification: Rite History media_common.quotation_subject Tantra Ancient history Scapegoat Reading (process) Karma media_common Human sacrifice
Library of Congress Subject Headings: lcsh:BL1-2790 lcsh:Religions. Mythology. Rationalism
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