Invoking the Goddesses

Mutating Goddesses begins by examining the paradox of goddess worship in patriarchal societies. Hindu goddesses have been dominantly understood from a śāstrik perspective—deriving from Sanskrit scriptures authorized by the male Brahman—that exiles women. But there are religious practices under Hinduism that are governed by neither the Brahman nor Sanskrit. These laukika practices are held in a hierarchical relation to the śāstrik. Chapter 1 focuses from within that vibrant realm, the kathās/narratives appended to the propitiation of the goddesses known as bratas which allow direct participation of the women and the Dalit castes unlike the Brahmanical rituals. Briefly the Brahmannization of Bengal is traced and the Bengal caste system is sketched, since caste and gender are held together in the dominant construction and reception of goddesses. This Chapter concludes by showing how caste and gender define genres to categorize the construction and reception of goddesses and votives.