ABSTRACT
In Chapter 5, details of the yearly ritual at the village shrine are clarified through a discussion of the interaction between people and būtas in the rituals. It will become apparent that while the mutual rights and duties of the villagers and deities are updated through the transactions of offerings and blessings, the ranks and rights of the people can be somewhat destabilised by the būtas, who are the supreme actors. In the būta ritual, the guttu heads and other villagers are granted rights and statuses in exchange for their ritual services. However, their rights and statuses are kept unstable, since the būtas’ supreme authority is regarded as the ultimate source of all entitlement. In this sense, būta worship cannot be interpreted merely as a way to justify and stabilise the prestige of the ruling class in village society. The būta ritual certainly provides particular rights and interests to the devotees. At the same time, it always reminds them that these rights and interests are tentatively granted to them, only through their negotiation with the būtas.
