2012/07/02 by Knut Aukland · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Anthropological Studies and Insights #Indian and Buddhist Studies #Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies #Possession (linguistics) #Pilgrimage #Ethnography #Cult #Sociology #History #Philosophy #Anthropology #Archaeology #Ancient history
paper · doi:10.1017/s0026749x1200039x
openalex publication_date 2012/07/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Abstract Possession among Jains remains an almost unexplored field of study. Based on fieldwork at a Jain pilgrimage site in India, this paper presents ethnographical material on a hitherto unknown oracular possession cult. The paper looks at the ways in which Jains themselves understand and sometimes critique possessions, as a way of understanding Jainism itself. The ethnographic material is presented on the background of other cases of Jain possession, both in scriptures and other accounts, in an attempt to show how possessions challenge our understanding of Jainism as a religion. Furthermore, possession is not one thing. There are various types of possession—depending for instance on who possesses—and they have different implications in the Jain scheme of things.