Mediums, Objects, and the Problem of Presence in the Western Himalayas

ABSTRACTIn some religious contexts, mainly Protestant Christianity, anthropologists often contend with the problem of presence that preoccupies believers – the simultaneous presence and absence of God. However, in the Hinduism of the Western Himalayas the problem of presence is quite different. The royal deities in this region are profoundly present, embodied in mediums and palanquins. Thus, followers of these deities are not puzzled by the concept of an absent god. Instead, they need to navigate in a world where gods are very tangible, in ways that can cause discomfort and anxiety. In this article I demonstrate the different roles of mediums and palanquins in the religious experience, and how palanquins are considered more reliable manifestations of the deities. I suggest that this is due to the need of the locals to maintain some degree of distance from the spirit mediumship in order to avoid excess presence of the deities.KEYWORDS: Religious mediationdoubtpresence of deitiesHinduismWestern Himalayas Disclosure StatementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 Mahasu is a joint name for four brothers: Botha, Bashik, Pabasi, and Chalda. In discussion, followers of the four brothers usually refer to Mahasu in the singular, sometimes indicating all four Mahasu brothers but at other times, as in this case, they are referring only to one brother, usually Botha.2 Engelke (Citation2007: 9) defined the problem of presence as follows: ‘how a religious subject defines and claims to construct a relationship with the divine through the investment of authority and meaning in certain words, actions, and objects’.3 The article is based on fieldwork in the Western Himalayas, a study in which I have been intermittently engaged from 2013 to the present day, especially in upper Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, and in the northwest part of Uttarakhand. Dozens of royal deities dwell in the field site. The most prominent in my field site are the Mahasu brothers.4 While one could find sovereign deities in the Hindu context (Singh Citation2015; Maunaguru Citation2020), the royal deities in the Western Himalayas are present in the lives of their followers in profound ways, primarily through their ability to move from place to place.5 In some parts of the western and central Himalayas goddesses can be considered royal, with their own territory and palanquins (e.g. Halperin Citation2019; Sax Citation1991).6 Sutherland (Citation2003) describes three types of festive processional practices, in which deities meet with each other.7 See Sax (Citation2003) for two instances of rivalry between deities, manifested in the deities’ objection to palanquins of rival deities entering their territory.8 Sax (Citation2003: 183) describes an uncommon case of two deities with the same name, Jakh, who are not only considered to be separate deities, but there is even a conflict between them.Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by Israel Science Foundation: [Grant Number 1212/21].