ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that Thangmi individuals from diverse backgrounds in both Nepal and India possess a high level of self-consciousness regarding the differences between fields of ritualised action — such as practice and performance — in which they engage, and that they intentionally choose to deploy different types of action within different social ‘frames’ in order to achieve a range of effects. The chapter defines ‘practice’ and ‘performance’ in a specific manner that may diverge from other received definitions. In the contemporary national and transnational politico-cultural economies that shape Thangmi lives, maintaining the pragmatic socio-economic conditions in which practice can be reproduced necessarily entails mounting performances.
