The Kataragama Question-Set…Okay, so you’ve seen the video and looked over the two
articles by anthropologist Gananath Obeyesekere. In the fire-walkers article, Obeyesekere writes
about the rise of bhakti forms of worship – that is forms of worship that emphasis a feeling of
devotion and personal, emotional connection to the deity. How does a devotional practice act as
an anti-hierarchical effort? Do you see similarities between the devotional worship of
Kataragama and that of the Holiness Church in “Holy Ghost People”? How about to what you
read about Nazis and the way that many Germans of the time expressed their adulation for
Hitler? Obeyesekere, in the social change article addresses how the years of colonialism and
after have caused changes in Sri Lankan society and that the worship of Kataragama is a reaction
to those changes. Why devote yourself to an amoral war god in the context of a capitalist world
economy? (What does that say about the nature of capitalism? What does that say about the kind
of personhood that a capitalist economy requires? Does capitalism undermine communities and
healthy relationships based on reciprocity?) Is the worship of Kataragama a revitalization
movement?
Extra-Credit Question (up to 10 points): Would you consider Kataragama worship a transcendental religion or a
pragmatic religion? Why do you say that? In the video, the man, his name was Douglas, was quoted as saying that
the gods have nothing to do with religion, but that they are good fixers. What does that imply about how he and
perhaps other Sri Lankans see religion? How does that compare to what you saw in the earlier videos? [Write your
response to this in the same document as the above but separate from the essay itself.]
Sample Solution