Women's lives, women's rituals in the Hindu tradition (Oxford University Press, 2007)
Includes bibliographical references and index
pt. 1. Engaging domesticity. The cat in the courtyard: the performance of Sanskrit and the religious experience of women / Laurie L. Patton -- Wandering from "hills to valleys" with the goddess: protection and freedom in the Matamma tradition of Andhra / Joyce Burkhalter Flueckiger -- Lovesick Gopi or woman's best friend: the mythic Sakhi and ritual friendships among women in Benares / Tracy Pintchman -- Words that breach walls: women's rituals in Rajasthan / Lindsey Harlan -- Threshold designs, forehead dots, and menstruation rituals: exploring time and space in Tamil Kolams / Vijaya Rettakudi Nagarajan. pt. 2. Beyond domesticity. Domesticity and difference/women and men: religious life in medieval Tamilnadu / Leslie C. Orr -- The anatomy of devotion: the life and poetry of Karaikkal Ammaiyar / Elaine Craddock -- The play of the mother: possession and power in Hindu women's goddess rituals / Kathleen M. Erndl -- Does Tantric ritual empower women? Renunciation and domesticity among female Bengali Tantrikas / June McDaniel -- Performing arts, re-forming rituals: women and social change in South India / Vasudha Narayanan
In this text, 11 leading scholars of Hinduism explore the complex relationship between Hindu women's ritual activities and their lives beyond ritual