Sacred Continuities and Transformations: Indigenous Rituals, Beliefs, and Social Change in South Asia

Abstract (English)

This panel examines the anthropology of religion and spirituality among indigenous communities in South Asia, focusing on the role of rituals and belief systems in shaping social transformation. Grounded in theoretical frameworks such as Victor Turner’s concept of 'Ritual process' (1969), Clifford Geertz’s 'Interpretive anthropology' (1973), and Talal Asad’s critique of 'Religion as a historical discourse' (1993), this discussion explores how indigenous spiritual practices act as mechanisms of both continuity and change.
Indigenous religious traditions in South Asia, such as the Irula’s spirit-mediumship, the Santals’ Sohrai festival, and the Naga healing ceremonies, are deeply embedded in oral traditions and ecological cosmologies. Rituals serve as a means of social cohesion, reinforcing kinship structures and collective identity. However, as these communities confront modernization, migration, and state interventions, their religious practices evolve in complex ways. Turner’s concept of 'liminality' helps analyze how rituals navigate transitional phases, whether through rites of passage or through resistance to external religious influences. For example, the increasing incorporation of Hindu and Christian elements into tribal religious practices suggests a form of 'syncretism' that is both adaptive and contested.
Drawing from Geertz’s 'thick description', this panel highlights the symbolic meanings attached to rituals, such as the invocation of ancestral spirits or the ritualized protection against environmental uncertainties. The narratives surrounding these practices reveal how indigenous groups negotiate their identities in relation to dominant religious and political structures. Meanwhile, Asad’s critique encourages us to interrogate how state policies and legal frameworks define and regulate “indigenous religion” within broader discourses of secularism and governance.
This panel explores how indigenous rituals serve as sites of both resistance and adaptation in response to socio-political change, examining how religious performances mediate the relationship between indigenous identity and state recognition. By engaging with theoretical perspectives on ritual and belief, we seek to understand the ways in which these spiritual practices evolve, negotiate power structures, and sustain cultural continuity amidst external influences. By bringing together scholars working on South Asian indigenous religious traditions, this panel seeks to contribute to broader anthropological debates on ritual, power, and identity. Through ethnographic case studies and theoretical insights, we aim to illuminate the evolving intersections of belief, performance, and social change in indigenous spiritual traditions.