Pastoral Deities in Western India

This translation of a groundbreaking book by the internationally renowned German ethonographer Günther-Dietz Sontheimer describes the religious system of a pastoralist area which includes parts of three linguistic regions: Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. Making use of oral narratives collected from this area, the book critically examines its gods and their worshippers: not only pastoralists, but also ferrymen, merchants, robbers, and wandering holy men. Sontheimer places the oral material in its social, cultural, and ecological context, showing how myths and ritual cycles give shape to the people's collective identity and attitudes toward other communities. The result of hundreds of interviews, the book not only presents an unprecedented look at a virtually unstudied and fast disappearing way of life but makes a significant contribution to the understanding of Hindu tradition.