 2016 - 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 0687-4479-01 | Humans and Gods At the End of the World: Hinduism in the Indian Himalaya | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| FACULTY OF HUMANITIES | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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University credit hours: 4.0
Course description
From time immemorial the Himalayas have been considered sacred - the abode of gods, sages and mighty powers. Surprisingly, and maybe not, Himalayan Hinduism received much less scholarly attention than that of the plains. In this seminar will open a window into the fascinating world of Himalayan Hinduism. We will explore it, attempt to characterize it, and study its ties with the centers of culture and religion in the plains. Doing so, we will look into issues such as caste, pilgrimage, divine rulers, possession rituals, blood sacrifices, and more. We will give attention to how transportation and communication systems, trade and tourism have shaped religion in this abode of gods. Many of the studies we will read are of ethnographic nature, and explore living contemporary religious life in this fascinating mountainous land.