Selva Raj (Photo by Dave Trumpie)

ALBION, Mich. – Selva J. Raj, chair and Stanley S. Kresge Professor of Religious Studies at Albion College, has edited one of the first books ever to examine the common practice of taking ritual vows in six different South Asia religions.

Dealing with Deities focuses on ritual vows in popular lay devotional religions of South Asia—“the religion of the people vs. the religion of the elites,” according to Raj. The religions studied are Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism.

The book is co-edited with William P. Harman, professor and head of the department of philosophy and religion at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and features essays by some of the most respected scholars in the field of South Asian religions, including Raj and Harman.

"We document a unique feature of lay religion—the pattern of crossing religious boundaries characteristic of the vow-taking culture whereby a member of one tradition seeks blessings from the sacred figure of another tradition, often in defiance of institutional directives” Raj explained. “For example, a Christian might go to a Hindu temple to seek blessings and boon from a Hindu deity by promising a vow to the Hindu deity. If they do reap what they hope for, such as a healing or passing an exam, then they return to the shrine to fulfill the terms of the vow—called the ‘vow ritual.’

“This practice of taking ritual vows is the central feature of South Asian lay religious practice,” Raj said. “It’s an interesting phenomenon that cuts across religious, ethnic and geographical boundaries. Sometimes there can be very spectacular vow rituals.”

Raj said this ritual could involve animal sacrifice, sharing common food, offering monetary gifts or gold, piercings or “hookswinging.” In a hookswinging, a person might attach hooks to the skin on his back and be suspended in the air.

“The volume offers an excellent variety of traditions, topics, and methods in the consideration of religious vows,” said Peter Gottschalk, author of Beyond Hindu and Muslim: Multiple Identity in Narratives from Village India. “It is particularly notable that some essays include considerations of vows undertaken by devotees of one religion to a person or deity associated with another. This feature reflects the complexities of the ritual lives of many South Asians too often overlooked in other treatments.”

The book, which was released April 17 by SUNY Press, will be available soon in the Albion College Bookstore and online. More information about the book can be found at the SUNY Press Web site: http://www.sunypress.edu/details.asp?id=61243

Previously, Raj coedited, with Corinne G. Dempsey, Popular Christianity in India: Riting between the Lines.

For more information, contact Raj at sraj@albion.edu or Morris Arvoy at 517-629-0445 or marvoy@albion.edu. 

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