i Possessed by the Virgin ii iii Possessed by the Virgin Hinduism, Roman Catholicism, and Marian Possession in South India x x w Kristin C. Bloomer 1 iv 1 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America. © Oxford University Press 2018 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Bloomer, Kristin C., author. Title: Possessed by the Virgin : Hinduism, Roman Catholicism, and Marian possession in South India / Kristin C. Bloomer. Description: New York : Oxford University Press, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017006768 (print) | LCCN 2017039303 (ebook) | ISBN 9780190615109 (updf) | ISBN 9780190615116 (epub) | ISBN 9780190615123 (oso) | ISBN 9780190615093 (cloth) Subjects: LCSH: Mary, Blessed Virgin, Saint—Cult—India—Tamil Nadu. | Christianity—India—Tamil Nadu. | Mariyamman (Hindu deity)— Cult—India—Tamil Nadu. | Tamil Nadu (India)—Religious life and customs. Classification: LCC BT652.I4 (ebook) | LCC BT652.I4 B56 2017 (print) | DDC 200.954/82—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017006768 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America v For my parents and sisters vi vii CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix Dramatis Personae xiii Note on Transliteration xv Maps of India xvii Introduction 1 1. Rosalind 32 2. The Place, the People, the Practices: Our Lady Jecintho and the Quest for Embodied Wholeness 56 3. Authenticity and Double Trouble: The Case of Nancy- as- Jecintho 84 4. Possession, Processions, and Authority 109 Interlude 130 5. Return to Mātāpuram 133 6. Women’s Work: Gendered Space and the Dangerous Labor of (Virgin) Birth 156 7. Memory, Mimesis, and Healing 187 8. Conclusion: Departures and Homecomings 209 Epilogue 234 Notes 247 Glossary 289 Bibliography 295 Index 309 ( vii ) viii ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To have worked on a project for more than a dozen years means that I have lots of people to thank— more than can possibly be listed here. But I will try. First, to the Tamil women about whom this book is written, I owe a debt I can never repay. They opened their lives to me with immeasurable grace, hospitality, and patience— for reasons I may never be able to understand. To “Dhanam,” her extended family, and to all the people of “Mātāpuram;” to S. Nancy Browna and family; and last, but certainly not least, to C. Rosalind and family— to M. Charles, Lawrence, Robert, Benjamin, M. Paul, Celina, Ruby Mary, their spouses and children, Julie, Alex, and the entire extended family of Our Lady Jecintho Prayer House—m ikka anbudan. I will never be able to communicate the depth of my gratitude. For the kindness of strangers. To the guard at Chennai International Airport who hailed my first auto-rickshaw on my first night in India; to the driver of that auto, who dropped me in the middle of that night in the mid- dle of a dark highway amidst a group of day-and-night-laborers; to those same kind strangers, who pushed me backpack and all onto the bus that would take me to Pondicherry: thank you. To the myriad people who helped pave my way— the coffee- karars, sari- tiers, restaurant servers, hotel own- ers, night watchmen, slum dwellers, house holders, fish sellers, kadai- karars, farmers, relief workers, painters, dancers, doctors, business people, child- ren, and civil servants, especially the immigration official who tried to kick me out of the country (resulting in my stumbling upon the subject of this book): thank you. To my teachers. To Annie Dillard, whose friendship and early mentor- ship changed my life. To my two dissertation advisers: Wendy Doniger, One Amazing Woman, and Kathryn Tanner, whose brilliance and bravery inspired me from the start. To the two outside members of my doctoral committee: Kalpana Ram, whose first book catalyzed my interest in this topic, and Corinne Dempsey, whose warm friendship, sense of humor, com- mitment to intellectual community, and thirst for adventure lift my heart. To Dan Baum and Margaret Knox, working writers and great lovers of life, who have mentored me from my first years as a journalist through today ( ix )