Veiled Gurus: A Hindu Mother's Experiential Involvement in Religious Knowledge Transmission

Veiled Gurus: A Hindu Mother's Experiential Involvement in Religious Knowledge Transmission

Paperback (16 Oct 2007)

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Publisher's Synopsis

This work examines the social reality of a Hindu woman's involvement in the transmission of religious knowledge. The two-year ethnographic study traces the steps of Dalit women in an urban village in New Delhi, India, in which Dr. Yim explores the mother's role in life cycle rituals, festivals, vrats (ritual fasts), and daily life. In this study, Yim attempts to bridge the gap between the word of religious texts and the reality of the women's lives. Despite the tradition of religious texts to overlook the role of women as teachers, this study found that women are the primary agents of religious knowledge transmission. The Dalit women in this study convey their erudition through informal education, such as observation; worship; imitation; and family responsibilities. The implications of this study are not only to validate informal education as an effective means of teaching, but to confirm the central role Hindu women have in the transmission of religious knowledge to their children.

Book information

ISBN: 9780761837756
Publisher: University Press of America
Imprint: University Press of America
Pub date:
DEWEY: 294.575
DEWEY edition: 22
Language: English
Number of pages: 173
Weight: 295g
Height: 230mm
Width: 153mm
Spine width: 16mm