Women’s Authority and Leadership in a Hindu Goddess Tradition

This book investigates women’s ritual authority and the common boundaries between religion and notions of gender, ethnicity, and identity. Nanette R. Spina situates her study within the transnational Melmaruvathur Adhiparasakthi movement established by the Tamil Indian guru, Bangaru Adigalar. One of the most prominent, defining elements of this tradition is that women are privileged with positions of leadership and ritual authority. This represents an extraordinary shift from orthodox tradition in which religious authority has been the exclusive domain of male Brahmin priests. Presenting historical and contemporary perspectives on the transnational Adhiparasakthi  organization, Spina analyzes women’s roles and means of expression within the tradition. The book takes a close look at the Adhiparasakthi society in Toronto, Canada (a Hindu community in both its transnational and diasporic dimensions), and how this Canadian temple has both shaped and demonstrated their own diasporic Hindu identity. The Toronto Adhiparasakthi society illustrates how Goddess theology, women's ritual authority, and “inclusivity” ethics have dynamically shaped the identity of this prominent movement overseas. Based on years of ethnographic fieldwork, the volume draws the reader into the rich textures of culture, community, and ritual life with the Goddess. 

“The book is accessibly written and will be of interest to a wide audience, including people researching religion and migration, new Hindu temples in North America, Goddess traditions, women’s ritual authority, and the dynamics of transnational religion today.” (Nanette R. Spina, Reading Religion, readingreligion.org, February, 2019)“This book is a welcome addition to the fields of gender, migration and diaspora, Hinduism, goddess traditions and religious studies amongst others, and will be of great benefit to students and scholars alike.” (Monika Hirmer, Religion & Gender, Vol. 8 (1), 2018)​

Nanette R. Spina is Assistant Professor of Religion at the University of Georgia, USA. Her research interests include Hindu traditions in India, Sri Lanka, and North America. She utilizes historical and ethnographic research methods, and has conducted field studies among religious communities in South Asia and North America including an extensive field study in Toronto, Canada. Her research focuses on Hindu traditions, religion and migration, and religion and gender.