The Divine Play of the Goddess: a study of possession traditions

Record summary

Late-1970s and 1980s ethnographic work in Himachal Pradesh documented village goddess traditions in which possession, oracle speech, ritual specialists, and local political relationships were intertwined. William S. Sax’s publications are a useful documentary trail for identifying named communities and practices rather than relying on generalized “shamanism” labels. The lead matters for comparison with tantric and occult literature because it shows how ritual authority operates in lived institutions. Researchers should confirm the particular village, publication, and translation of local terms before generalizing.