Revelry, Rivalry, and Longing for the Goddesses of Bengal

The Role of Goddesses and Festivals in Hinduism Revelry, Rivalry, and Longing for the Goddesses of Bengal The Fortunes of Hindu Festivals  Rachel Fell McDermott Order Your Copy Now and Save 30%! We'd like to offer you 30% off orders of Revelry, Rivalry, and Longing for the Goddesses of Bengal. To save 30%, add the book to your shopping cart, and enter code REVMC in the "Redeem Coupon" field at check out. Click on the "redeem coupon" button and your savings will be calculated.    Read an excerpt "What is so artful about this particular work is the way it handles multiple, sometimes abstract theoretical issues (iconography, ritual theory, colonial history, mythology, postcolonial theory, sacrifice, censorship, poster art, prostitution, environmentalism, and diaspora and immigration studies) through very concrete historical details and, most important, a single, overarching historical narrative spanning some three to four centuries. This is a truly comprehensive book, and it will become the definitive study of the subject." - Jeffrey J. Kripal, Rice University, author of Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred   The first book to recount the history of festivals dedicated to Bengal goddesses and their revelry, rivalry, and nostalgic power, this volume marks an unprecedented achievement in the mapping of a major public event. Rachel Fell McDermott describes the festivals' origins and growth under British rule. She identifies their iconographic conventions and carnivalesque qualities and their relationship to the fierce, Tantric sides of ritual practice. McDermott confronts controversies over the tradition of blood sacrifice and the status-seekers who compete for symbolic capital. Expanding her narrative, she takes readers beyond Bengal's borders to trace the transformation of the goddesses and their festivals across the world. McDermott's work underscores the role of holidays in cultural memory, specifically the Bengali evocation of an ideal, culturally rich past. Under the thrall of the goddess, the social, political, economic, and religious identity of Bengalis takes shape.    ORDER THE BOOK      $29.50 $20.65 (with discount code REVMC) / £20.50 paper  392 pages  37 illus.   For more titles in: Religion     Asian Studies South Asian Studies     FOLLOW Columbia University Press:

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