Ritual costs, efficacy and exegesis among Hindu Mauritians

k 2022

Ritual costs, efficacy and exegesis among Hindu Mauritians

MAŇO, Peter and Dimitris XYGALATAS

Basic information

Original name

Ritual costs, efficacy and exegesis among Hindu Mauritians

Authors

MAŇO, Peter and Dimitris XYGALATAS

Edition

8th biennial meeting of the International Association for the Cognitive Science of Religion 2022 Aarhus University, 19-21 September 2022, Aarhus, Denmark, 2022

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Prezentace na konferencích

Field of Study

60304 Religious studies

Country of publisher

Denmark

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

URL

Organization unit

Faculty of Arts

Keywords in English

Mauritius; religion; ritual; efficacy; costs; exegesis

Abstract

V originále

People’s motivations to partake in religious rituals often relate to external socio-cultural forces such as tradition, ancestry, and peer-pressure, or deep personal convictions centered around devotion, gratitude, or spiritual experience, among others. Simultaneously, however, devotees may also have pragmatic motivations for practicing rituals, such as the need for protection, wellbeing, or socializing, or may see those rituals as a means of fulfilling their wishes. Importantly, the deity addressed in the ritual largely defines the scope and area of divine intervention and help. But all else being equal, why do people perform the specific rituals they do, especially given that some are much costlier than others? Our fieldwork suggests that perceived ritual efficacy could be a key cognitive factor at play: people perform rituals that they consider appropriate (in terms of their structure and focus) and proportionate (in terms of their costs) to their needs and expectations. This almost contractual logic of ritual performance is best demonstrated by the concept of promise that is quintessential to the biggest religious festivals of three Hindu communities in Mauritius discussed in this ethnographic study.

Links

MUNI/A/1435/2021, interní kód MU

Name: Velké otázky ve studiu náboženství: Snaha o propojování humanitní a přírodovědné expertízy (Acronym: VESNA)

Investor: Masaryk University

Citovat

MAŇO, Peter and Dimitris XYGALATAS. Ritual costs, efficacy and exegesis among Hindu Mauritians. In 8th biennial meeting of the International Association for the Cognitive Science of Religion 2022 Aarhus University, 19-21 September 2022, Aarhus, Denmark. 2022.

@proceedings{2222188,
   author = {Maňo, Peter and Xygalatas, Dimitris},
   booktitle = {8th biennial meeting of the International Association for the Cognitive Science of Religion 2022 Aarhus University, 19-21 September 2022, Aarhus, Denmark},
   keywords = {Mauritius; religion; ritual; efficacy; costs; exegesis},
   language = {eng},
   title = {Ritual costs, efficacy and exegesis among Hindu Mauritians},
   url = {https://iacesr.com/conferences/},
   year = {2022}
}

TY  - CONF
ID  - 2222188
AU  - Maňo, Peter - Xygalatas, Dimitris
PY  - 2022
TI  - Ritual costs, efficacy and exegesis among Hindu Mauritians
KW  - Mauritius
KW  - religion
KW  - ritual
KW  - efficacy
KW  - costs
KW  - exegesis
UR  - https://iacesr.com/conferences/
N2  - People’s motivations to partake in religious rituals often relate to external socio-cultural forces such as tradition, ancestry, and peer-pressure, or deep personal convictions centered around devotion, gratitude, or spiritual experience, among others. Simultaneously, however, devotees may also have pragmatic motivations for practicing rituals, such as the need for protection, wellbeing, or socializing, or may see those rituals as a means of fulfilling their wishes. Importantly, the deity addressed in the ritual largely defines the scope and area of divine intervention and help. But all else being equal, why do people perform the specific rituals they do, especially given that some are much costlier than others? Our fieldwork suggests that perceived ritual efficacy could be a key cognitive factor at play: people perform rituals that they consider appropriate (in terms of their structure and focus) and proportionate (in terms of their costs) to their needs and expectations. This almost contractual logic of ritual performance is best demonstrated by the concept of promise that is quintessential to the biggest religious festivals of three Hindu communities in Mauritius discussed in this ethnographic study.
ER  -

MAŇO, Peter and Dimitris XYGALATAS. Ritual costs, efficacy and exegesis among Hindu Mauritians. In \textit{8th biennial meeting of the International Association for the Cognitive Science of Religion 2022 Aarhus University, 19-21 September 2022, Aarhus, Denmark}. 2022.

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