Ritualizing Navaratri: the Power of Choice in the Performance of Identity in Gainesville, Florida
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
RITUALIZING NAVARATRI: THE POWER OF CHOICE IN THE PERFORMANCE OF IDENTITY IN GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA By CARLY C. DWYER A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2009 1 © 2009 Carly C. Dwyer 2 To Anu, for always laughing at my Sanskrit jokes 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My many thanks go out to so many people for their support and inspiration for this thesis. First, I would like to thank Dr. Vasudha Narayanan, a true guru, without whose guidance and teaching I would know nothing. I would also like to thank Dr. Travis Smith for fueling my love for Sanskrit and helping me to memorize countless subhashita. My thanks also go to Dr. A. Whitney Sanford for convincing me to attend the Conference for the Study of Religion in India conference which was so helpful in understanding the theoretical framework I have used in this thesis. I would also like to thank fellow religion graduate colleagues Bridgette O'Brien for her encouragement, Rose Caraway for advising me to send my thesis far and wide to avoid catastrophe, and especially James “Jimi” Wilson for reading so many incarnations of my thesis as well as for taking me under his wing during my time at the University of Florida. I can never thank him enough for his friendship and advice. I would also like to thank Anuradha Pandey for laughing at my Sanskrit jokes, being a wonderful friend, and helping with this thesis in so many ways. I would also like to thank the families that invited me into their homes for my research. Last, but most of all, I would like to thank my husband, Dave, for his love and support. I could not have made this journey alone. Words truly fail to express my thanks. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................................7 ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................8 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: ETHNICITY, GENDER AND RELIGION.............................................9 Beginnings ................................................................................................................................9 Introduction to the Aims of this Study ...................................................................................11 A Brief Word about “Hinduism/Hindu”.................................................................................13 What is Navaratri? ..................................................................................................................15 Devi Mahatmya ...............................................................................................................16 Ethnic Diversity in Practice.............................................................................................19 Why Gainesville, Florida?......................................................................................................20 ISKCON .................................................................................................................................21 University of Florida...............................................................................................................23 India Cultural and Education Center ......................................................................................24 Methodology and Sample.......................................................................................................25 Intra- and Extradomestic .................................................................................................26 Locating Myself...............................................................................................................30 Theory and the Approach to Lived Religion ..........................................................................33 2 RITUALS AND PRACTICES ...............................................................................................38 Introduction.............................................................................................................................38 Swapna's Bhajan Meeting ......................................................................................................39 Tejal's Havan ..........................................................................................................................50 Usha's Living Room Kolu.......................................................................................................58 GSG and ISA Garba...............................................................................................................68 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................................79 3 ANALYSIS.............................................................................................................................81 Introduction.............................................................................................................................81 Bell and Ritualization .............................................................................................................82 Differentiation of Ritualization .......................................................................................84 Gender and a Ritualized Body.........................................................................................88 Space and Time ...............................................................................................................91 Integration of Ritualization..............................................................................................92 Conclusions.............................................................................................................................94 Contributions ..........................................................................................................................95 5 APPENDICES A STATISTICS AND THE PEW CHARITABLE TRUSTS....................................................96 US Census Bureau ..................................................................................................................96 Pew Charitable Trusts.............................................................................................................99 Conclusions...........................................................................................................................101 B UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA ETHNICITY STATISTICS ................................................104 Student Population................................................................................................................104 Problematizing These Numbers............................................................................................105 LIST OF REFERENCES.............................................................................................................107 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................................111 6 LIST OF FIGURES Figure page A-1 US Census Bureau American Factfinder Statistics..........................................................103 7 Abstract of Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts RITUALIZING NAVARATRI: THE POWER OF CHOICE IN THE PERFORMANCE OF IDENTITY IN GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA By Carly C. Dwyer August 2009 Chair: Vasudha Narayanan Major: Religion Hinduism in the United States has often been studied by scholars in terms of the institutionalized temples in urban areas like Atlanta, Georgia and New York City. However, very little research has been produced regarding the way people living in non-urban centers recreate Hinduism in the American context. In Gainesville, Florida, this research is especially important for the higher than average concentration of people of South Asian descent in the area. This thesis argues that the way festivals are celebrated among South Asian groups in Gainesville demonstrates the active choice of hosts and participants in events in regards to identity. During the Navaratri festival, people create a special time and place in which to perform different facets of their identities. Though participants may view their actions to be traditional or part of a historically continuous tradition they share with their families from India, the way events are constructed by hosts and participants actually involve a great deal of agency and choice in choosing what constitutes tradition. In using elements from a shared cultural repertoire, community members are able to host and take part in a multitude of events that satisfy the multiplicity inherent in identity. 8 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: ETHNICITY, GENDER AND RELIGION Beginnings On a cool September evening, I arrive at an apartment complex lit dimly by the gray halogen light of lampposts along a driveway. Tonight I am attending a “prarthana” group composed of South Asian women who get together once a week to sing devotional music. I am dressed in a salwar kameez, with dupatta draped around my neck, its wispy tails trailing down my back. Although I have arrived on time, I appear to be early since no one else has exited their