The Biography of a God

Dr. Asaf Sharabi, Senior Lecturer in the School of Behavioral Sciences at the Peres Academic Center, obtained his doctorate in social anthropology in 2010 from Bar Ilan University. In his doctoral thesis he explored the encounter between religion and contemporary modernity, in the context of the religious revival movement in Israel. In 2013, he undertook an ethnographic study in the Western Himalayas, a study in which he intermittently engaged to this day. The research focuses on the religious experience and changing theological perceptions relating to the image of local gods, especially Mahasu. In 2021, his research Gods and goddesses in the Western Himalayas - a comparative ethnographic research won a research grant from the Israel Science Foundation (ISF). His research interests include anthropology and sociology of religion, ritual healing, anthropology of gods, anthropology of Hinduism, and anthropology of Judaism.

Table of contents
Notes on Transliteration
Acknowledgment
Meet Mahasu
1. Gods on the Road
Getting into the Field
The Devta Institution
2. A Stormy Biography
Mahasu Appears Vs.1
Mahasu Appears Vs.2
The Gods They are a-Changin’
3. The Four Brothers
Personalities and Identities
The Four Kings
Mahasu as Shiva
Gods Between Here and Everywhere
4. Local Traditions in Times of Change
Local Rituals Fade, Gods Persevere
From Carnivore to Vegetarian
When Gods Settle Down
The Agency of Mahasu
5. Communicating with Mahasu
The God's Management
Mediums
Talking with Mahasu
Testing Mediums
Agency, Doubt, Mediation
Index