Abstract
The following article deals with the Mahā Kumbh Melā1 in Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh, northern India) and the practices of Hindu world renouncers2 during this festival. In 2013, the year under study, approximately 120 million renouncers and lay pilgrims attended the festival. After a brief overview of the academic discussion on Hindu renunciation, the article proceeds to outline the mythology, history, and meaning of the Kumbh Melā. Subsequently, it presents the festival from the renouncers’ point of view. This section of the article summarizes the functions of the festival, describes two particular forms of meals (bhaṇḍārās and annakṣetras), and outlines the daily routine of the participants. Finally, the article discusses the inner-worldly asceticism of lay pilgrims, the main participants, as well as the ritual bathing during the festival, a crucial part of the Kumbh Melā for all participants.
Acknowledgments
I am profoundly grateful to my interlocutors, who are named in this article. Particularly, I would like to thank Nāmītā Girī and Nārad-jī. I sincerely hope I have portrayed your thoughts, opinions, and actions in a true and accurate manner. I am thankful to Gaṅgā Dās for introducing me to several conversational partners, including Nārad-jī, and for always pampering me with too many Indian sweets, tea, and a warm, friendly smile. Sondra Hausner made invaluable comments and suggestions on a part of this article presented during the Religion as Resource workshop held at Tübingen University in July 2014. The five peer reviewers, Oliver Freiberger, Christoph Kleine, Bärbel Beinhauer-Köhler, Christel Gärtner, and Ilinca Tanaseanu-Döbler, assisted me in improving this article with their thoughtful feedback. Jack Llewellyn provided his unpublished manuscript on the Kumbh Melā in Haridvar. Last but not least I am forever grateful to Ajay “Piṅku-jī” Pāṇḍey, without whose patience, sympathy, and mild sternness in expanding and improving my command of Hindi only a minute part of my research would have been possible.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Titelseiten
- Titelseiten
- Artikel
- Theory and Empiricism of Religious Evolution (THERE): Foundation of a Research Program. Part 1
- The Mahā Kumbh Melā in Allahabad 2013
- Individualisierung von Religion?
- The Medium is the Messenger?
- „Atmosphäre“: Zum Potenzial eines Konzepts für die Religionswissenschaft
- Rezensionen
- Lucia Traut und Annette Wilke, Hg.: Religion – Imagination – Ästhetik. Vorstellungs- und Sinneswelten in Religion und Kultur (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2015), 555 S. mit 43 Abb. und 11 Farbtafeln, ISBN 978-3-525-54031-2, € 130,00.
- Bettina E. Schmidt: Einführung in die Religionsethnologie. Ideen und Konzepte (Berlin: Reimer, 2., durchgesehene Auflage 2015), 232 S., ISBN 978-496-01539-0, € 24,95.
- Lukasz Niesiołowski-Spanò: Goliath’s Legacy. Philistines and Hebrews in Biblical Times, Philippika 83 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2016), xiii + 321 S., ISBN 978-3-447-10346-6, € 68,00.
- Johannes Graul: Nonkonforme Religionen im Visier der Polizei. Eine Untersuchung am Beispiel der Mazdaznan-Religion im deutschen Kaiserreich, Religion in der Gesellschaft 37 (Würzburg: Ergon, 2013), 377 S., ISBN 978-3-89913-988-4, 48,00 €.
- Erratum
- Erratum zu: Das religionswissenschaftliche Dreieck. Elemente eines integrativen Religionskonzepts
- English Summaries
- English Summaries
Articles in the same Issue
- Titelseiten
- Titelseiten
- Artikel
- Theory and Empiricism of Religious Evolution (THERE): Foundation of a Research Program. Part 1
- The Mahā Kumbh Melā in Allahabad 2013
- Individualisierung von Religion?
- The Medium is the Messenger?
- „Atmosphäre“: Zum Potenzial eines Konzepts für die Religionswissenschaft
- Rezensionen
- Lucia Traut und Annette Wilke, Hg.: Religion – Imagination – Ästhetik. Vorstellungs- und Sinneswelten in Religion und Kultur (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2015), 555 S. mit 43 Abb. und 11 Farbtafeln, ISBN 978-3-525-54031-2, € 130,00.
- Bettina E. Schmidt: Einführung in die Religionsethnologie. Ideen und Konzepte (Berlin: Reimer, 2., durchgesehene Auflage 2015), 232 S., ISBN 978-496-01539-0, € 24,95.
- Lukasz Niesiołowski-Spanò: Goliath’s Legacy. Philistines and Hebrews in Biblical Times, Philippika 83 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2016), xiii + 321 S., ISBN 978-3-447-10346-6, € 68,00.
- Johannes Graul: Nonkonforme Religionen im Visier der Polizei. Eine Untersuchung am Beispiel der Mazdaznan-Religion im deutschen Kaiserreich, Religion in der Gesellschaft 37 (Würzburg: Ergon, 2013), 377 S., ISBN 978-3-89913-988-4, 48,00 €.
- Erratum
- Erratum zu: Das religionswissenschaftliche Dreieck. Elemente eines integrativen Religionskonzepts
- English Summaries
- English Summaries