Gaben für den Heiligen

Zusammenlegen und Verteilen im Kontext von Kirchenfesten in Kerala (Südindien)

Abstract

Every year, the Latin Catholics of Chellanam (Kerala, South India) celebrate a feast in honour of St. Sebastian, the patron saint of their parish. Central to the feast are offerings to the saint in the form of prayers, as well as material items such as rice, money and flowers, which are pooled and then redistributed: the devotees, who honour and celebrate the saint, receive gifts, honours and blessings in return, in accordance with their offerings and contributions to the feast. The devotees – parish members and Latin Catholics from other parishes, as well as Hindus – are thus involved in a collective gift exchange with the saint. This gift exchange is characterized by the pooling and redistribution of things and takes place under the authority of the saint. It can therefore best be described as a redistributive process, as defined by Karl Polanyi and Marshall Sahlins. However, in this case redistribution is certainly not separable from reciprocity, as Sahlins suggests in his definition. The devotees offer gifts to the saint and receive gifts in return, their relationship with the saint, as well as with their fellow devotees, thereby being strengthened and confirmed. The importance of reciprocity in the exchange between saint and devotees comes especially to the fore when this type of exchange is compared with practices of sharing, which are dominant in other societies.