Devdasis in South India: A Journey from sacred to a Profane Spaces - Hardcover

Jeevanandam, S

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 9351282104 ISBN 13: 9789351282105

Publisher: Gyan Books, 2017

Synopsis

ABOUT THE BOOK:- This book traces the gradual transition of the devadasi system from the early medieval to the modern society from sacred to profane spaces. In early medieval period these were women with a lot of wealth and standing dedicated to temples. The intervention of the colonial power introduced new economic patterns that influenced new kinds of social structure. The nation building process of the 19 century C.E. was largely constructed on female sexuality that brought concepts such as 'social purity', 'good women', and 'motherhood' to the forefront. This further weakened the social acceptance of the devadasi women. In the early 20 century C.E., devadasi lost both their social and economic base and became common prostitutes and eventually the devadasi institution faded away. This study uses qualitative methods, especially the methodologies of History and Gender Studies. Besides archival research, this research also carried out unstructured interviews with the last surviving devadasis. This book would be a very valuable resource for students and researchers of History, Women's history, Women's studies and Religion. ABOUT THE AUTHOR:- S. Jeevanandam is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History, in Sikkim University. He has earlier worked in the Department of History at Assam University, Silchar. He was awarded Shri Justice P Rajagopalan Endowment Medal, The Governor Chancellor's Centenary Prize and Thiru T.V. Anantha Rama Sharma Endowment Prize in his M.A for his academic excellence. He has published research papers on devadasi, temple institution and cultural history of South India in different academic journals and proceedings.Rekha Pande is the Head of the Department of History and a Joint Faculty in the Centre for Women's Studies at the University of Hyderabad. India. She has been the Founding Director of two Centres for Women's Studies, one at Maulana Azad National Urdu University and the other at the University of Hyderabad. She has to her cred

About this edition

• Publisher: Gyan Books
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 9351282104
• ISBN 13: 9789351282105
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 324