Dalits and Christianity - Subaltern Religion and Liberation Theology in India

Author: Sathianathan Clarke
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 1999
Language: English
Pages: 247
ISBN/UPC (if available): 0195651308

Description

This work is a highly original contribution to Dalit Christian theology and breaks new ground by conceptually reimagining the relationship between Christianity and Dalits.

‘Dalits and Christianity’ is a highly original contribution to Dalit Christian theology and breaks new ground by conceptually reimagining the relationship between Christianity and Dalits. It is as relevant to students and teachers of Christian theology and religion, as it is to those interested in Dalit politics and literature, and subaltern studies.

Sathianathan Clarke spent many years amongst the Paraiyar communities of South India and draws on his first hand experience to passionately argue for the inclusion of this persistently marginalized group into the mainstream of Indian religious and social life. The resistive and constructive dimensions of subaltern religion are creatively interpreted by analyzing the symbols of the goddess (Ellaiyamman) and the drum (Christ, manifested in its empowering and emancipatory dynamics). The drum is posited as the central symbol of the ways in which subaltern based oral communities express and experience their relationship with the Divine and with each other. Religious themes that reverberate from the Dalit drum are put to work to enrich Christian liberation theology.

REVIEWS :
…an excellent exposition of Paraiyar religion and identity that is of much use to those who want to theologize on their subalternity. It is an important contribution to liberation theology of the subalterns in India’.
—Biblio

Contents

Introduction

CHAPTER 1
INDIAN-CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY AND THE DALITS
A Working Definition of Theology: Constructive Proposals
A Working Denouncement of Indian-Christian Theology: Deconstructive Propositions
Towards a Dialogical and Inclusive Theological Project: Re-collection and Re-membering of Dalit Voices

CHAPTER 2
THE PARAIYAR OF SOUTH INDIA: AN EXPOSITION OF SUBJUGATED HISTORICAL AND RELIGIOUS THEMES
Dalit Historiography: Methodological Reflections
History of the Paraiyar: An Overview from the Underside
The Religion of the Paraiyar: Deities, Rituals and Religious Functionaries

CHAPTER 3
THE RESISTIVE AND CONSTRUCTIVE IN PARAIYAR RELIGION: ELLAIYAMMAN AND THE DRUM AS SIGNIFIERS OF SUBALTERNITY
Methodological Shrift
Ellaiyamman as an Iconic Symbol of Collective Resistance and Emancipatory Mythography
The Drum as a Dominant Aniconic Symbol of the Text of Resistance and Emancipatory Theography
The Dominant Symbols of the Paraiyar in Context
General Features of Subaltern Religion

DRUMMING UP REPRESENTATIONAL SPACE FOR SUBALTERN RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION IN INDIAN-CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY
The Drum as Thematized in Other Local Religious Traditions
The Drum as an Organizing Symbol of the Culture and Religion of Subaltern-based Orality
Stretching and Striking the Drum for Theology’s Sake

CHRIST AS DRUM: FAITH IMAGINATIVELY AND DARINGLY SEEKING RESONANCE
Indian-Christian Theology and the Conception of Christ
Drum as Christ: The Expansive Pole of Christology
Christ as Drum: The Constrictive Pole of Christology

Bibliography
Index