La transe rituelle dans l’Himalaya central : folie, avatār, méditation

Abstract

This is the third and last in a series of three studies dealing with ritual trances among Hindus and Muslims of the Himalaya. The enquiry was begun in central. Nepal, continued in Western Nepal and extended to Kumaon which is most probably the point of origin of the institutions here described and the place where the ceremonies are performed in the most elaborate fashion.I begin with a detailed description of a particular ceremony observed, photographed and recorded in Almora. The two main roles were played by mediums on the one hand, and, on the other, by a bard who sang the stories of the gods and directed the trances. In analysing this ceremony I compared it with other ritual trances which I have recorded. Four divergent interpretations of the trances, representing irreconciliable points of view, emerge from the material collected.There are two theological interpretations. The ritual trance is understood by the faithful as the descent of incarnations (avatār) of gods into the bodies of the mediums. The bard is assimilated to a meditating tantric guru who compells the gods to come down into the mediums. In both cases, differenciated by the text sung by the bard, the ritual trances are linked to the sacrifice offered on the following day. The vocabulary employed and the ideas expressed show the relationship existing between popular religion and more refined types of Hindu and Buddhist mysticism.In the two other interpretations, trances are conceived from a human point of view. The physical and emotional manifestations are seen as a temporary madness. This leads to questions as to the personnality of the medium, who is considered as an abnormal in his own society. In fact, not only the medium but three other personnages : the renouncer, the passionate lover and... the anthropologist are also perceived as madmen. This is important for the sociological interpretation of Hindu society. Up to now, only one borderline case, the one with the greatest prestige, that of the renouncer has been fully investigated. If we could now focus on two other less exalted cases, those of the medium and his alter ego the anthropologist, we could perhaps place the interpretation of Hindu society in a more human and reasonable perspective.

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