Women{u2019}s Authority and Leadership in a Hindu Goddess Tradition

This book investigates women{u2019}s ritual authority and the common boundaries between religion and notions of gender, ethnicity, and identity. Nanette R. Spina situates her study within the transnational Melmaruvathur Adhiparasakthi movement established by the Tamil Indian guru, Bangaru Adigalar. One of the most prominent, defining elements of this tradition is that women are privileged with positions of leadership and ritual authority. This represents an extraordinary shift from orthodox tradition in which religious authority has been the exclusive domain of male Brahmin priests. Presenting historical and contemporary perspectives on the transnational Adhiparasakthi organization, Spina analyzes women{u2019}s roles and means of expression within the tradition. The book takes a close look at the Adhiparasakthi society in Toronto, Canada (a Hindu community in both its transnational and diasporic dimensions), and how this Canadian temple has both shaped and demonstrated their own diasporic Hindu identity. The Toronto Adhiparasakthi society illustrates how Goddess theology, women's ritual authority, and ?inclusivity? ethics have dynamically shaped the identity of this prominent movement overseas. Based on years of ethnographic fieldwork, the volume draws the reader into the rich textures of culture, community, and ritual life with the Goddess--from publisher's website. The decline in the share of newcomers in these two provinces was due to a shifting of shares to the other provinces. [...] In comparison, in the 2006 Census, 40.4% of recent immigrants at the time settled in Toronto, they accounted for 8.8% of the total population in the census metropolitan area. [...] The 2011 NHS data showed that visible minorities accounted for 78.0% of the immigrants who arrived between 2006 and 2011, 76.7% of those who arrived in the previous five-year period and 74.8% of immigrants who arrived in the 1990s. [...] In Alberta, visible minorities represented 18.4% of the population in the province, and in Quebec, 11.0%. [...] Visible minorities made up 66.4% of Brampton's population, 53.7% of Mississauga's and 49.1% of the population of the city of Toronto Part I Community and temple -- Historical Canadian setting -- Migration: homeland and diaspora -- Temple community -- Toronto temple -- Part II Women's leadership -- Devotional worship -- Innovation -- Woman and the goddess -- Indian and Sri Lankan Hindu gender expectations -- Women's voices, women's traditions. This Is The First Release Of Data From The National Household Survey (nhs). Roughly 4.5 Million Households Across Canada Were Selected For The Nhs, Representing About One-third Of All Households.--document. Nanette R. Spina. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 289-318) And Index.