DOCSLIB.ORG

FLARR Pages #34: Elements of Hindu Myth in Goethe's "Der Gott Und Die Bajadere"

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
FLARR Pages #34: Elements of Hindu Myth in Goethe's University of Minnesota Morris Digital Well University of Minnesota Morris Digital Well FLARR Pages Journals Fall 2003 FLARR Pages #34: Elements of Hindu Myth in Goethe's "Der Gott und die Bajadere" Edith Borchardt University of Minnesota - Morris Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/flarr Part of the German Literature Commons Recommended Citation Borchardt, Edith, "FLARR Pages #34: Elements of Hindu Myth in Goethe's "Der Gott und die Bajadere"" (2003). FLARR Pages. 12. https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/flarr/12 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at University of Minnesota Morris Digital Well. It has been accepted for inclusion in FLARR Pages by an authorized administrator of University of Minnesota Morris Digital Well. For more information, please contact [email protected]. File Under: -Poetry -Translation FLARR PAGES #34 -Goethe The Journal of the Foreign Language Association -Der Gott und of the Red River. Die B~jadere Elements of Hindu Myth in Goethe's of the god as an animation of the idol: ''The ''Der Gott und die Bajadere", Edith rite consists of welcoming the god as a Borchardt, UMM distinguished guest. Bathing the god, dressing him, adorning him wid applying Central to Goethe's ballad, "Der Gott und scent, feeding him, putting flowers round die Bajadere" ["The God and the him and worshipping him with moving Bailadeira"] are two Indian customs: l) the flames accompanied by music wid song: tradition of the "Devadasi" in local Hindu such are some of the essential features of the temples and 2) the tradition of "Sati" (= rite" (30). Goethe's ballad reconnects ritual wife) immolation, both cultural practices and myth, revitalizing their interdependence now forbidden by law but still practiced in through the narration of the story. To this some parts of India. day, though outlawed, there continue to be Devadasis or "bailadeiras" in a cult in Goethe's "Bajadere" (from the Southern India: Portuguese:"bailadeira") is an Indian temple http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/people/yell dancer, a "Devadasi." The Devadasis amma/yellamma,htm. attached to the temples were sacred dancers or courtesans (Renou 31), often trained in "Sati" was a secular practice prevalent the art of dance from childhood and offered among certain sects of society in ancient to the God of the Temple at puberty. There India. The widow who burned herself on her are seven types of Devadasis (Thurston), husband's funeral pyre was considered incarnations of the mythological Urvashi, righteous or "virtuous" the celestial nymph. According to legend, (http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/hindu/sati. from her, a thousand Devadasis were born: htm) and thought to go directly to heaven, (http://www.hinduwom.org/i ssues/devadasi, redeeming her ancestors by this meritorious htm). Their dance was equally erotic and act. She was worshipped as a goddess and spiritual, representing a symbolic temples were built for her or hero-stones lovemaking with the God of the Teqiple erected in her Iionor. The custom of "Sati" (http://wwwI.cs.columbia.edu/-deba/odissi/ was considered voluntary. One theory about devadasi.html). The Devadasi in Goethe's the origin of "Sati" claims that it began with ballad dances, bows, and presents flowers to a jealous queen, who heard that dead kings the stranger, the God Mahadoh or Shiva were welcomed in heaven by beautiful incarnate, also known as Shiva Mahadeva. women called Apsarasas. When her husband Her actions and gestures represent the died, she demanded to be immolated with devotional ritual in temple practice: the him, so that she would arrive at the same worship of the lingam, Shiva's emblem, time and prevent the Apsarasas from which often rests on a yoni base consorting with him (http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/tantr (http://adaniel.tripod.com/sati.htm ). More a/shiva.htm ). These ancient masculine and likely, the custom of "Sati" (prohibited by feminine religious icons are law in 1829) was brought to India by anthropomorphized in the ballad and their Scythian invaders, who adopted Indian union is rendered as a performance at the funeral practices and instead of burying their core of Goethe's poem. Louis Renou in his dead king with his mistresses or wives wid volume on Hinduism considers the worship servants began to cremate them. The Scythians were warriors, and in Hindu Myths 155). Goethe's ballad ritualizes this society, castes of warrior status or higher idea as a love story which also sheds light observed this custom (Aharon Daniel). on the idea of "Sati" immolation in the poem. Goethe's ballad derives from an Indian legend in which a mortal woman attains Indira Peterson identifies the Devadasi of divinity through her love and devotion for the legend as Manikkanacchiyar, a model • the Gcxl who appears to her in human form. devotee, "who insists on becoming the Sati There are similarities with the Greek myth of a man who died after spending the night ' of "Eros and Psyche," where a Gcxl is made with her." She speaks of a "conflation of human and a mortal divine. The poem is female cultural icons" in both the legend and ' about the union of male and female in the Goethe's treatment of the Devadasi-Sati ' hieros gamos (the sacred marriage) and the traditions: one linked to temple ritual, the •4 humanizing and spiritualizing processes other representing a secular practice. The central to all mystery religions. "Der Gott conflation of female archetypes, I would und die Bajadere" is based on P. Sonnerat's argue, represents the first stage of ' travel narrative "Reise nach Ostindien und transformation for the Devadasi. Through China" (1783) and appeared first in EROS, she is conjoined with the God. Friedrich Schiller's "Musenalmanach" Committing SATI, claiming to be his wife, ( 1798). The Indian source remains she assumes heroic status denied her by the unknown, but Indira V. Peterson (Mt. chanting priests, who represent orthcxlox Holyoke College) at a recent conference of religious thought. By choosing the Devadasi Asianists has suggested the poem's origin to as his bride beyond life and death, Mahadoh be a narrative in a Tamil collection about the elevates her to Goddess status, to be revered gcxl Shiva's deeds in the South Indian temple as SATI, like his original consort, who city of Tiruvarur. The legend flourished immolated herself, according to myth. In mainly in local oral tradition: this transformation, the secular heroine http://www.aasianst.org/absts/2000abst/Sout returns to her spirit mate, who has shed his h/S-153.htm mortal form in the fire to once more become the God. In his human incarnation, Shiva The ballad contains the theme of androgyny, Mahadeva (Mahadoh) has realized himself but it reverses the process of individuation in the love union with the Devadasi, and maturation associated with this embracing his soul, his feminine self in her. archetype in Western tradition: the joining She is the female principle returning to the of male and female in the poem signifies a source of being and at-one with it. return to origins through love, the Eros principle. Operative in this particular Indian legend is the idea of overcoming polarity WORKS CITED and separation in the joining of male and female energies and returning to the original Renou, Louis. Ed. Hinduism. New York: one-ness of the cosmos in the embrace of the George Braziller, 1962. divinity, attaining to a state beyond opposites to a pre-conscious totality, Thurston, Edgar. Castes and Tribes of reversing processes of ego-consciousness. Southern India. Madras: the Government • Marie-Louise von Franz describes the state Press, 1909. 7 volumes. Reprinted 1987, 4 of enlightenment called "Bodhi" in 1993. Cited in: "Devadasis." 15 September Buddhistic philosophy and "Satori" in 2003. Hindu Women Universe. Global Japanese Zen Buddhism as "attempts of Hindu Electronic Networks. consciousness to jump back in a kind of intuitive flash into the oneness which existed Von Franz, Marie-Louise. Creation Myths. before the splitting into two" ( Creation Dallas: Spring Publications, Inc., 1986. .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 9789004400139 Webready Con
    Vedic Cosmology and Ethics Gonda Indological Studies Published Under the Auspices of the J. Gonda Foundation Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Edited by Peter C. Bisschop (Leiden) Editorial Board Hans T. Bakker (Groningen) Dominic D.S. Goodall (Paris/Pondicherry) Hans Harder (Heidelberg) Stephanie Jamison (Los Angeles) Ellen M. Raven (Leiden) Jonathan A. Silk (Leiden) volume 19 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/gis Vedic Cosmology and Ethics Selected Studies By Henk Bodewitz Edited by Dory Heilijgers Jan Houben Karel van Kooij LEIDEN | BOSTON This is an open access title distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC 4.0 License, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Bodewitz, H. W., author. | Heilijgers-Seelen, Dorothea Maria, 1949- editor. Title: Vedic cosmology and ethics : selected studies / by Henk Bodewitz ; edited by Dory Heilijgers, Jan Houben, Karel van Kooij. Description: Boston : Brill, 2019. | Series: Gonda indological studies, ISSN 1382-3442 ; 19 | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019013194 (print) | LCCN 2019021868 (ebook) | ISBN 9789004400139 (ebook) | ISBN 9789004398641 (hardback : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Hindu cosmology. | Hinduism–Doctrines. | Hindu ethics. Classification: LCC B132.C67 (ebook) | LCC B132.C67 B63 2019 (print) | DDC 294.5/2–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019013194 Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill‑typeface. ISSN 1382-3442 ISBN 978-90-04-39864-1 (hardback) ISBN 978-90-04-40013-9 (e-book) Copyright 2019 by Henk Bodewitz.
    [Show full text]
  • Fl Lit 1 6L Il TABLE of CONTENTS
    A SURVEY OF SIGNIFICANT AND RADICAL CHANGE IN THE FAMILY A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF ATLANTA UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS BY IVAN PHILIP HAKEEM DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY ATLANTA, GEORGIA AUGUST 196^ fl lit 1 6l Il TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS il Chapter I. INTRODUCTION AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 1 II. THE TRADITIONAL JOINT FAMILY IN INDIA 9 III. THE FAMILY IN TRANSITION 22 IV. THE CHANGING STATUS OF WOMEN 30 V. NEW GOALS Ul VI. CONCLUSION 55 BIBLIOGRAPHY 59 iii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK During the last hundred and fifty years, the traditional joint family and the familistic rural framework have been undergoing a qualitative transformation. The basis of the rural family relation¬ ships is shifting from that of status to that of contract. The rule of custom is being replaced by the rule of law. The family is being transformed from a unit of production to a unit of consumption. The cementing bond of the family is being changed from consanguinity to conjugality. From a massive joint family, composed of members be- longinging to a number of generations, the family is increasingly shaping as tiny unit, composed of husband, wife and unmarried children.^- The object of this thesis is to show that the joint family system in India has been constantly in transition from its traditional form in which the behavior patterns were rigidly controlled by unwritten rules and public opinion, to the nuclear form where mutual affection among its members predominated. The family in its traditional form and the family in its nuclear form present two polar types.
    [Show full text]
  • Interpreting Sati: the Omplexc Relationship Between Gender and Power in India Cheyanne Cierpial Denison University
    Denison Journal of Religion Volume 14 Article 2 2015 Interpreting Sati: The omplexC Relationship Between Gender and Power In India Cheyanne Cierpial Denison University Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.denison.edu/religion Part of the Ethics in Religion Commons, and the Sociology of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Cierpial, Cheyanne (2015) "Interpreting Sati: The ompC lex Relationship Between Gender and Power In India," Denison Journal of Religion: Vol. 14 , Article 2. Available at: http://digitalcommons.denison.edu/religion/vol14/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Denison Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Denison Journal of Religion by an authorized editor of Denison Digital Commons. Cierpial: Interpreting Sati: The Complex Relationship Between Gender and P INTERPRETING SATI: THE COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENDER AND POWER IN INDIA Interpreting Sati: The Complex Relationship Between Gender and Power In India Cheyanne Cierpial A recurring theme encountered in Hinduism is the significance of context sensitivity. In order to understand the religion, one must thoroughly examine and interpret the context surrounding a topic in Hinduism.1 Context sensitivity is nec- essary in understanding the role of gender and power in Indian society, as an exploration of patriarchal values, religious freedoms, and the daily ideologies as- sociated with both intertwine to create a complicated and elaborate relationship. The act of sati, or widow burning, is a place of intersection between these values and therefore requires in-depth scholarly consideration to come to a more fully adequate understanding. The controversy surrounding sati among religion schol- ars and feminist theorists reflects the difficulties in understanding the elaborate relationship between power and gender as well as the importance of context sen- sitivity in the study of women and gender in Hinduism.
    [Show full text]
  • A Reflection on the Challenges for Hindu Women in the Twenty-First
    A Reflection on the Challenges for Hindu Women in the Twenty-first Century1 Neelima Shukla-Bhatt Introduction T the turn of the 21st century, it is clear that religion is not an insti- Atution of the past; it continues to be a powerful force in societies across the world. For this reason, some purely secularist and sociologi- cal theories of religion of the early twentieth century, which led to a wide spread view that religion was on the decline in the modern times, have proved to be limited, even though they are helpful in examining the social aspects of religious life.2 As Brian Hatcher suggests in a recent article, a major shortcoming of the secularist approaches to religion has been a purely dichotomous view of faith vs reason and tradition vs modernity. Instead of the demise of religion, Hatcher finds transforma- tion of religion with changing times, as proposed by sociologist Damiele Hervieu-Leger a more helpful way to understand religious phenomena (Hatcher 2006: 54–55). An aspect of religion that is widely debated with regard to need for transformation is treatment of women. In most organized religions of the world, women have not enjoyed equal rights with men. The norms assigned to them by male religious authorities have subjected them to various forms of marginalization. A major challenge for religious communities across the world today is to ensure that their religious practices and values are compatible with the ideal of gender equality as an aspect of the ideology of social justice, which is being widely upheld across the globe.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sati- a Matter of High Caste Hindus Or a General Hindu Culture: a Case Study of Roop Kanwar
    Journal of Political Studies, Vol. 18, Issue 1, 141- 153 The Sati- a matter of high caste Hindus or a general Hindu Culture: A case study of Roop Kanwar. Syed Hussain Shaheed Soherwordi∗ The immolation of a widow on her late husband’s funeral pyre, which became known as sati, is considered to be the strongest expression of marital velour that a woman could demonstrate. It was declared illegal in 1829 by the British. Due to the low status of women in India, it is often the only way a widow will be revered following the passing of her husband and therefore often considered the only option appropriate. A prominent case of sati that has occurred within recent years has been the immolation of Roop Kanwar in the village of Rajasthan during September of 1987. With this case in view, Sati has become a modern phenomenon, and the reactions towards Roop Kanwar suggest that Sati is not wholly embodied within Hindu culture. Supporters of Sati are from the Rajput community and even then there is a definite line between the worship of Sati and the actual practice of it. Key Words: Sati, India, Roop Kanwar, Hindu Culture, Rajputs. Modern day sati is a subject under much scrutiny. It is a particularly startling concept traditionally bound within Hindu culture. Sati is an issue that people of the West find difficult to understand and one that is defined as something one commits, whereas Hindi speakers define sati as something in which one becomes. In Hindi, Sati means “good woman” (Harlan,1992: 115).
    [Show full text]
  • House: Sati in Sydney Owenson's the Missionary Frances Botkin
    Burning Down the [Big] House: Sati in Sydney Owenson’s The Missionary Frances Botkin Sydney Owenson’s prodigious career reflects her preoccupation with issues of identity and performativity, topics that dominated her literary and political agendas. Best known for her 1806 novel The Wild Irish Girl, Owenson famously adopted the public persona of her eponymous heroine and performed the role of the Irish princess for literary and social circles in London and Dublin.1 Owenson learned her love of Ireland and the art of performance from her father, an Irish actor and theater manager who was committed to establishing a National Theater in Ireland.2 Owenson’s many Irish novels attest to her own commitment to Irish independence and Catholic emancipation, but she also wrote controversially about France, Greece, Italy and India. Her writings are populated with zealous protago- nists – particularly women – who are profoundly devoted to the preserva- tion of their religious or national identities. Her 1811 novel The Missionary: An Indian Tale, for example, introduces a heroine whose performance of sati disrupts colonial and missionary power. Examining the Hindu woman’s vexed status as a repository of culture, The Missionary explores the ritual space of sati as the gendered site for the articulation of cultural resistance.3 Set primarily in seventeenth-century Kashmir and Spanish-controlled Portugese Goa, The Missionary covers a twenty year time span, conclud- ing roughly four years after Portugal’s successful revolution against Spain. COLLOQUY text theory critique 15 (2008). © Monash University. www.colloquy.monash.edu.au/issue15/botkin.pdf ░ Burning Down the [Big] House 37 The Portugese priest Hilarion D’Acugna, travels to India to pursue the mis- sionary project where he contrives to convert the much-admired Luxima, Brachmachira of Kashmir.4 The ill-fated religious leaders fall in love, strug- gling with the conflict between their religious obligations and their passion.
    [Show full text]
  • Justifications of Empire in the Fiction of British India
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Honors Program in History (Senior Honors Theses) Department of History 4-20-2007 The White Author's Burden: Justifications of Empire in the Fiction of British India Leslie M. Reich University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/hist_honors Part of the History Commons Reich, Leslie M., "The White Author's Burden: Justifications of Empire in the Fiction of British India" (2007). Honors Program in History (Senior Honors Theses). 4. https://repository.upenn.edu/hist_honors/4 A Senior Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Honors in History. Faculty Advisor: Lisa Mitchell This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/hist_honors/4 For more information, please contact [email protected]. The White Author's Burden: Justifications of Empire in the Fiction of British India Abstract The White Author’s Burden: Justifications of Empire in the Fiction of British India identifies a transformation in Anglo-Indian literature by exploring various fictional works (including novels, short stories, and poems) written by British authors between 1800 and 1924. Before 1857 (the year of the widespread Indian Rebellions that challenged British rule), Anglo-Indian literature focused exclusively on British life in India. Interactions with Indians were minimal, if present at all. After this date, however, British authors began to portray India and Indians almost entirely in ways that justified their own rule. This shift in the literature suggests that the British felt a new need to justify their empire. This thesis focuses on three literary themes offered by British authors that served to legitimize British rule in India in the second half of the nineteenth century: (1) the state of Indian women; (2) the alleged rivalry between Hindus and Muslims; and (3) the perceived incompetence of educated Indians for political rule.
    [Show full text]
  • An Introduction to the Sattra Culture of Assam: Belief, Change in Tradition
    Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics 12 (2): 21–47 DOI: 10.2478/jef-2018-0009 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SATTRA CULT URE OF ASSAM: BELIEF, CHANGE IN TRADITION AND CURRENT ENTANGLEMENT BABURAM SAIKIA PhD Student Department of Estonian and Comparative Folklore University of Tartu Ülikooli 16, 51003 Tartu, Estonia e-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT In 16th-century Assam, Srimanta Sankaradeva (1449–1568) introduced a move- ment known as eka sarana nama dharma – a religion devoted to one God (Vishnu or Krishna). The focus of the movement was to introduce a new form of Vaishnava doctrine, dedicated to the reformation of society and to the abolition of practices such as animal sacrifice, goddess worship, and discrimination based on caste or religion. A new institutional order was conceptualised by Sankaradeva at that time for the betterment of human wellbeing, which was given shape by his chief dis- ciple Madhavadeva. This came to be known as Sattra, a monastery-like religious and socio-cultural institution. Several Sattras were established by the disciples of Sankaradeva following his demise. Even though all Sattras derive from the broad tradition of Sankaradeva’s ideology, there is nevertheless some theological seg- mentation among different sects, and the manner of performing rituals differs from Sattra to Sattra. In this paper, my aim is to discuss the origin and subsequent transformations of Sattra as an institution. The article will also reflect upon the implication of traditions and of the process of traditionalisation in the context of Sattra culture. I will examine the power relations in Sattras: the influence of exter- nal forces and the support of locals to the Sattra authorities.
    [Show full text]
  • Analysis of Hindu Widowhood in Indian Literature Dipti Mayee Sahoo
    IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume 21, Issue 9, Ver. 7 (Sep. 2016) PP 64-71 e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 2279-0845. www.iosrjournals.org Analysis Of Hindu Widowhood In Indian Literature Dipti Mayee Sahoo Asst. Prof. SociologyTrident Academy of Creative technology,Bhubaneswar Abstract:- In ancient India, women occupied a very important position, in fact a superior position to, men. It is a culture whose only words for strength and power are feminine -"Shakti'' means "power'' and "strength.'' All male power comes from the feminine. Literary evidence suggests that kings and towns were destroyed because a single woman was wronged by the state. For example, Valmiki's Ramayana teaches us that Ravana and his entire clan was wiped out because he abducted Sita. Veda Vyasa'sMahabharatha teaches us that all the Kauravas were killed because they humiliated Draupadi in public. ElangoAdigal'sSillapathigaram teaches us Madurai, the capital of the Pandyas was burnt because PandyanNedunchezhiyan mistakenly killed her husband on theft charges. "In Hinduism, the momentous event of a foundation at one point in time, the initial splash in the water, from which concentric circles expand to cover an ever-wider part of the total surface, is absent. The waves that carried Hinduism to a great many shores are not connected to a central historical fact or to a common historic movement. " Key words:- Feminine, sakti, strength, humiliation, power. I. INTRODUCTION In this age of ascending feminism and focus on equality and human rights, it is difficult to assimilate the Hindu practice of sati, the burning to death of a widow on her husband's funeral pyre, into our modern world.
    [Show full text]
  • H. Creese Ultimate Loyalties. the Self-Immolation of Women in Java and Bali
    H. Creese Ultimate loyalties. The self-immolation of women in Java and Bali In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, Old Javanese texts and culture 157 (2001), no: 1, Leiden, 131-166 This PDF-file was downloaded from http://www.kitlv-journals.nl HELEN CREESE Ultimate Loyalties The Self-immolation of Women in Java and Bali Her deep sorrow became intolerable) and as there seemed nothing else to wait for, she. hurriedly prepared herself for death. She drew the dagger she had been holding all the while, which sparkled now taken from its sheath. She then threw herself fearlessly on it,.and her blood gushed forth like red mineral. (Bharatayuddha.45.1-45.2, Supomo 1993:242.1) With this, Satyawati, the wife of the hero Salya, cruelly slain in the battle between the Pandawas and Korawas, ends her life in the ultimate display of love and fidelity, choosing to follow her husband to the next world rather • than remain in this one without him. On hearing the news of Salya's death, Satyawati sets out to join him, firm in the knowledge that 'her life began to end the moment she fell asleep the night before', when &alya slipped from her bed and left her, and although she 'still had a body [...] it was just like a casket, for her spirit had gone when the king went into battle' {Bharatayuddha 42.4). Accompanied by her maid, Sugandhika, she wanders the battlefield, slip- ping in its 'river of blood' and stumbling over 'stinking corpses' as she search- es in vain for Salyas body.
    [Show full text]
  • Changing the Subject of Sati
    Alabama Law Scholarly Commons Working Papers Faculty Scholarship 10-9-2019 Changing the Subject of Sati Deepa Das Acevedo University of Alabama - School of Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.ua.edu/fac_working_papers Recommended Citation Deepa Das Acevedo, Changing the Subject of Sati, (2019). Available at: https://scholarship.law.ua.edu/fac_working_papers/408 This Working Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at Alabama Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Working Papers by an authorized administrator of Alabama Law Scholarly Commons. Changing the Subject of Sati Deepa Das Acevedo POLITICAL AND LEGAL ANTHROPOLOGY REVIEW (Forthcoming May 2020) This paper can be downloaded without charge from the Social Science Research Network Electronic Paper Collection: http://ssrn.com/abstract=3465698 Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3465698 Political and Legal Anthropology Review–FORTHCOMING 2020 Deepa Das Acevedo University of Alabama School of Law Changing the Subject of Sati On November 11, 1999, in a small village in India’s most populous state, a middle-aged woman named Charan Shah died on her husband’s funeral pyre. Charan’s death quickly gained national notoriety as the first sati, or widow immolation, to occur in over 20 years. Equally quickly, commentators developed a preoccupation with procedural minutiae that would influence coverage of subsequent satis. Ultimately, several progressive commentators came to the counterintuitive conclusion that the ritually anomalous nature of Charan’s death confirmed its voluntary, secular, and non- criminal nature. This paper argues that the “un-labeling” of Charan Shah’s death, like those of other women between 1999–2006, reflects a tension between the non-individuated, impervious model of personhood exemplified by sati and the particularized citizen-subject of liberal-democratic politics in India.
    [Show full text]
  • A Case Study of India's CEDAW Compliance
    Emory International Law Review Volume 33 Issue 2 2019 A Gendered Refutation of Epiphenomenal Norms Through the Median Voter: A Case Study of India's CEDAW Compliance Shritha Vasudevan Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/eilr Recommended Citation Shritha Vasudevan, A Gendered Refutation of Epiphenomenal Norms Through the Median Voter: A Case Study of India's CEDAW Compliance, 33 Emory Int'l L. Rev. 223 (2019). Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/eilr/vol33/iss2/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Emory Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Emory International Law Review by an authorized editor of Emory Law Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. VASUDEVANPROOFS 4/1/2019 2:27 PM A GENDERED REFUTATION OF EPIPHENOMENAL NORMS THROUGH THE MEDIAN VOTER: A CASE STUDY OF INDIA’S CEDAW COMPLIANCE ∗ Shritha Vasudevan ABSTRACT This Article hypothesizes on the reasons behind India’s Declaration to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Article 5(a) as a manifestation of the intensive compliance deadlock over its due diligence obligation which castigates traditional, cultural attitudes as responsible for gender-based violence. A qualitative analysis of two historical moments when India was confronted with an empirical conflict of the CEDAW’s due diligence obligation: the sati of Roop Kanwar in 1987 and the Shah Bano judgment in 1985, even prior to its CEDAW accession in 1993 is undertaken, to argue that the rational choice theory of voting and elections perfectly explains non-compliance.
    [Show full text]