Growing up in the Indian Himalayas. Healing Rituals for a New Adolescence
By Serena Bindi
English
In the North Indian region of Garhwal, many young girls between the age of puberty and marriage are nowadays “subjects to heal”. Considered to be victims of harmful possession, these girls must undergo healing rituals which can be assimilated to exorcisms. While taking account of recent changes affecting adolescence in India, this article draws on and discusses anthropological theories of female possession and healing rituals to highlight how exorcisms of girls in Garhwal constitute, first and foremost, ways of producing gendered subjects and bodies.
Keywords
- ritual
- possession
- adolescence
- female body
- India