ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 introduces the theoretical perspective and basic structure of the book, which focuses on spirit (or būta) worship in South Kanara, a coastal area in Karnataka, India. Būtas are generally considered to be deities, such as apotheosised local heroes/heroines or the spirits of wild animals dwelling in forests. In this book, I link important anthropological theories on personhood, perspectives, transactions, and gift-exchanges together with the Gestaltkreis theory of Viktor von Weizsäcker, a unique development of Jakob von Uexküll’s notion of the umwelt. Thus, this book investigates the entangled relations between people’s daily practices and the umwelt, focusing on three points: (1) the relationships between būta worship and land tenure, matriliny, and hierarchy in the society; (2) the reflexive relationship between modern law and people’s practices based on conventional law; and (3) new developments in būta worship with the rise of environmental movements and mega-industries constructed in the area. Through these investigations, this book explores the struggles and endeavours of the people who create and recreate their relations with the realm of sacred wildness through transactions with būtas, as well as the formations and transformations of the umwelt in perpetual social-political transition.
