Paper short abstract:

This paper examines religious ritual upon the pilgrimage routes of north and east coast Sri Lanka. The sanyasi and zoomorphic metamorphosis of pilgrims is analysed to explore the relationship between the state, conflict and these culturally relative esoteric displays of interaction with the cosmos.

Paper long abstract:

With the dust beginning to settle on the two and half decades long conflict in Sri Lanka the Tamil Saiva (Hindu) communities of the north and east coast of the island are able to express and explore themselves and their society through various religious rituals not possible during the conflict. One such opportunity has come through the opening up of pre-conflict pilgrimage routes. This paper presents ethnographical findings from the Kathirakamam Pada Yatra, a five hundred kilometre foot pilgrimage that traverses the length of the island, to sketch not only the complexity but also the beautiful simplicity of the relationship that the stalwart devotees experience with their world. The metamorphoses that will be discussed consider the transformation of lay devotees into an amalgamation of quasi sanyasi wanderers. This discussion will be anthropologically analysed through devotees' experiences of conflict, relationship(s) to the state and through a larger South Asian narrative that explores the historical and contemporary ideological importance of the renouncer, or sanyasi, within Hindu society.

Zoomorphic metamorphoses of pilgrims and ritual specialists will also be presented in an endeavour to not only highlight the extraordinary esoteric avenue that is entertained to interact, experience and embody divinity but also to open up a discussion on the social forces such as caste, conflict, economy and the state that foster, inform and often manifest such metamorphic displays.