Hindu festivals in a north Indian village

"Festivals are the most visible feature of village Hinduism. All common ritual practices are on display. The relationship of festivals to family life, the agricultural year, and to the everyday concerns of village people are clearly seen in offerings to deities, gifts exchanged between relatives, songs, drama, and storytelling. Festivals are the best point of entry into the study of Hinduism in ethnographic context."--BOOK JACKET. "In Hindu Festivals in a North Indian Village the authors describe each festival, tracing its relationship to other important village institutions, such as caste, kinship, and seasonal agricultural activities. Their analysis goes beyond the festivals as practiced in Shanti Nagar to include comparisons with practices in other villages and references to Indian and Hindu history, mythology, astronomy, and astrology. They note differential participation in festivals by caste, sect, age, and gender. The study covers a period of two decades. Although the festivals continued almost unchanged during this time, the authors point out the few discernible differences."--BOOK JACKET.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Spiritual. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.