Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

In the last few decades, the studies on community power structures in India have gained renewed scholarly interest. While the modern power institutions (MPIs) have significantly eroded the traditional structures, several tribal communities continue to exhibit a strong and enduring presence of traditional power institutions (TPIs), reflecting their cultural resilience and legitimacy. This article examines the role of TPIs in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh, where they coexist with MPIs and function within their distinct spheres of influence and legitimacy. The authority of TPIs is primarily anchored in deities, their divine status, and related myths and rituals. Almost all the villages have their own deities and Shoo Khomling, a council of the deity, which embodies legislative, executive, and judicial authority, playing a crucial role in dispute resolution and community governance. These power structures enjoy the cultural validation and tacit political and administrative recognition, making them ever relevant.

Keywords

Traditional power institutions (TPIs)myths deities Maheshwar Shoo Khomling Dumsa Kinnaur

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bajpai

S. C.

(1981). Kinnaur in the Himalayas: Mythology to modernity. Concept Publishers.

Berti

(2009). Divine jurisdictions and forms of government in Himachal Pradesh (Northern India). In Berti

Daniela

& Tarabout

Gilles

(Eds.), Territory, soil and society in South Asia (pp. 311–339). Manohar Publications.

Bhagat

, & Dogra

M. P.

(2024). Evolution and role of the Devi and Devta institution in the tribal area of Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh. Kurdish Review, 10(2), 511–521. https://doi.org/10.53555/ks.v10i2.3327

Cohn

(1987). An anthropologist among historians and other essays. Oxford University Press.

Domhoff

G. W.

, & Dye

T. R.

(Eds.). (1987). Power, elites and organizations. Sage Publications.

Fraser

J. B.

(1820). Journal of a tour through part of the snowy range of the Himala Mountains and to the source of the Jumna and Ganges. Rodwell and Martin.

Gluckman

(1963). Custom and conflict in Africa. Basil Blackwell.

Gruter

, & Masters

R. D.

(1986). Ostracism as a social and biological phenomenon: An introduction. Ethology and Sociobiology, 7, 149–158.

Hunter

(1953). Community power structure: A study of decision makers. University of North Carolina Press.

10.

Huntington

S. P.

(1965). Political development and political decay. World Politics, 17(3), 386–430.

11.

Krishna

(2002). Active social capital. Columbia University Press.

12.

Lang

(1887). Myth, ritual and religion. Longmans Green.

13.

Lynd

R. S.

, & Lynd

H. M.

(1937). Middletown in transition. Harcourt.

14.

Mendelsohn

(1993). The Transformation of Authority in Rural India. Modern Asian Studies, 27, 805–842.

15.

Neeraj

(2024). The deities of Kinnaur: Guardians of tradition, culture, and belief. Mysterious Himachal. https://mysterioushimachal.wordpress.com/2024/10/02/the-deities-of-kinnaur-guardians-of-tradition-culture-and-belief/

16.

Negi

D. B.

(1987). Changing pattern of political leadership among the tribals of Kinnaur. In Raha

Manis K.

(Ed.), The Himalayan heritage (pp. 371–386). Gian Publishers.

17.

Negi

(2024). The tribe–caste continuum and Kinnaur: Aspects of acculturation, stratification and factorial heterogeneity. Sociological Bulletin, 73(4), 384–397.

18.

Oommen

T. K.

(1970). Rural community power structure in India. Social Forces, 49(2), 226–239.

19.

Pardo

(2000). Morals of legitimacy: Interplay between responsibility, authority and trust. In Pardo

Italo

(Ed.), Morals of legitimacy (pp. 1–26). Berghan Books.

20.

Pur

K. A.

(2007). Rivalry or synergy? Formal and informal local governance in rural India. Development and Change, 38(3), 401–421.

21.

Sax

W. S.

(1990). Village daughter, village goddess: Residence, gender, and politics in Himalayan pilgrimage. American Ethnologist, 17(13), 491–512.

22.

Segal

R. A.

(1999). Theorising about myth. Massachusetts University Press.

23.

Spence

(1921). Introduction to mythology: Myths and legends. The Guernsey Press Co Ltd.

24.

Thakur

H. K.

(2021). Tribes of Ladakh: The Beda estrangement and survival. Khama Publishers.

25.

Thakur

H. K.

(2023). Restoring the silenced voice of the Beda tribe in Ladakh. Economic & Political Weekly, LVIII(3), 44–50.

26.

Thomas

(1950). Epics, myths and legends of India. Theosophical Press.

27.

Thornton

(1854). A gazetteer of the territories under the government of the East India Company and the native states on the continent of India. W.M.H. Allen & Company.

28.

Weber

(1958). The three types of legitimate rule (H. Gerth, Trans.). Berkeley Publications in Society and Institutions, 4(1), 1–11.

29.

Weber

(1968). Economy and society: An outline of interpretive sociology. Bedminster Press.

Sacred Authority and Social Order: Myths,Deities,and Traditional Power Institutions in Kinnaur

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References