ABSTRACT
The ritual performances of Badagas on the Nilgiri Plateau relate to a spatial and political order, which is explained in mythical migration and ancient kinship relations. According to the mythological narrative, holy items were carried by the forefathers and became objects of worship. The first forefathers were village founders turned gods, and their successors act as priests and village headmen. The first settlements became—irrespective of their size—head villages with a Hireodeya temple dedicated to the founder and an akka bakka as a symbol for political and judicial autonomy. Religious worship and political practice were—and are—interwoven in mythical narratives. Male successors founded new villages as integral part of the religious and political system. Affinal relationships constitute links to villages of brides and to the residence of female successors. Religion, politics and kinship became components of a spatial order, which is re-affirmed in ritual performances. Besides the male god Hireodeya, who created villages and their boundaries, the female goddess Hette—worshipped as the foremother of all Badagas—transgresses boundaries. The contemporary ritual practice of the Badaga people appears as a meaningful totality in the light of mythical narratives and present-day political struggle, often linked to the dominant parties of Tamil Nadu.
