Telangana’s Turmeric Traditions: Caste, Authority, and the State in South Indian Contemporary Hinduism Restricted; Files & ToC

Abstract

This dissertation explores how Ogguvandlu—ritual specialists for the regional deities Mallanna and Yellamma in the Telugu-speaking state of Telangana, India—create and sustain vibrant Bahujan religious worlds. Ogguvandlu utilize a rich repertoire of embodied practices, including oral narratives (oggu katha), geometric floor patterns (patnam), ritual guising, divine possession, and distinctive drumming. A prominent material in their rituals is turmeric (bandari)—creating what some ritual specialists call “Telangana’s turmeric tradition.” Turmeric acts as an active agent to manifest and distribute divine presence, through which devotees also access blessings such as fertility and healing. Through participation in these material and performative ritual acts, Bahujan communities assert their caste identities, display social power, and negotiate their relationship with dominant Hindu traditions and the modern Telangana state. The dissertation demonstrates how Ogguvandlu’s claims to ritual authority (hakku) based on their unique ritual repertoires challenge Telangana state’s efforts to standardize Hindu practices through its privileging of agamic, written text-based frameworks.

This research is grounded in multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork conducted across four distinct Mallanna-Yellamma ritual landscapes in Telangana: domestic settings where deities are installed within devotee households; the village of RC Puram; the forest shrine of Rekulakunta; and the major temple town of Komuravelli. At these ritual landscapes, Ogguvandlu perform their ritual repertoires in multi-sited, multi-caste public ritual festivals called jataras, organized under the patronage of caste associations and state institutions.

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About this Dissertation

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Religion
Subfield / Discipline	West and South Asian Religions
Degree	Ph.D.
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Religion, General
Keyword	Turmeric Hinduism Ogguvandlu Telangana Ritual Authority
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Flueckiger, Joyce Burkhalter, Emory University Kamath, Harshita Mruthinti, Emory University
Committee Members	Reddy, Gautham, Emory University Gough, Ellen, Emory University

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