About This Book
A detailed ethnographic survey of popular superstitions and ritual practices in southern India, drawing on fieldwork and documentary sources. It examines omens and the reading of bodily signs and animal behaviors; animal and snake worship; the evil eye, charms, yantrams, vows, and votive offerings; magic, divination, and fortune-telling; human and animal sacrifice; and agricultural and rain-making rites. Material is organized thematically and illustrated with photographs and plates, with attention to ritual specialists, local procedures for seeking signs, and everyday functions of belief.