#x98;The#x9C; play of the gods locality, ideology, structure, and time in the festivals of a Bengali town

This book, first published in 1980, is a seminal study of Indian sacred festivals, appears here in a new, expanded and illustrated edition. The two related festivals considered here - Durgapuja, in honor of the Goddess Durga, and Gajan, in honor of the Lord Siva - are the most popular and most complex of Bengali rituals, involving elaborate preparation and wide and ever-increasing participation. The detailed description and interpretation of the rituals presents an inside view of society and remains the only complete ethnographic account of a major ritual cycle in India. A Revision Of The Author's Thesis, University Of Chicago, 1971. Ákos Östör. A Revision Of The Author's Thesis, University Of Chicago, 1971. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. [231]-236.