Difficult Negotiations: Daiva Worship within a Matrilineal Feudal Society

I stand before the daiva (the spirits that are associated with the protection of a feudal agrarian society and are worshipped in certain regions of southern coastal Karnataka, India) and in the chavadi (the enclosed sacral space where the ritual of daiva worship is held). The space is too small to accommodate the devotees who have gathered there. The women are huddled at one end, carrying babies or holding on to little children. The men are at the other end crowding into each other. It is the day of the nema (one of the rituals of daiva worship), the annual ritual of the daiva, and the extended family has come together. The male members of the family are standing beside the ujjal (a wooden swing which is hung in the chavadi on which the sacred paraphernalia of daiva worship are placed) on which is placed, before the ritual begins, the silver breast plate, the silver sword, and the silver mask bearing the face of the boar with its long golden tongue hanging out. The men of the family stand in a prominent place beside the ujjal, for they will have to participate in the ritual conversation with the daiva and answer the questions it asks of them. The chavadi is filled with the sound of the vadya (the synchronized music from a collection of musical instruments played during the nema consisting of the kombu, saxophone, and chende) and the smell of jasmines. The heat of the fire burning from the torch which is carried by the ritual torch bearer makes the small crowded space hot and cramped.