Death by Poisoning: Cautionary Narratives and Inter-Ethnic Accusations in Contemporary Sikkim-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

Death by Poisoning: Cautionary Narratives and Inter-Ethnic Accusations in Contemporary Sikkim

Published:2021-06-01 Issue:1 Volume:15 Page:65-84
ISSN:2228-0987
Container-title:Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics
language:en
Short-container-title:

Author:

Bhutia Kikee D.¹

Affiliation:

1. Junior Research Fellow in Folkloristics, Department of Estonian and Comparative Folklore , University of Tartu , Ülikooli 16, 51003 , Tartu , Estonia

Abstract

Abstract The Sikkimese are a multi-ethnic community in a Himalayan sub-region in India. Even though the majority of the population is Hindu and Nepalese, the minority Buddhist and Bhutia/Lepcha communities are very strong. Death by poisoning is a common occurrence among the Sikkimese, and it is often ambiguous and subject to suspicion. Narrated initially as traditional cautionary tales, these belief narratives have been used against the multi-ethnic communities that reside in Sikkim, leading to real-world accusations. The article explores how belief in, and narratives related to, poison, poisoning, poison keepers and the poison deity are used to justify the demonisation and othering of a community.

Publisher

Walter de Gruyter GmbH

Subject

Anthropology,Cultural Studies

Link

https://www.sciendo.com/pdf/10.2478/jef-2021-0005

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