This site gives material for the scholarly study of Vedic ritual which should
contribute to a better understanding of this extraordinary cultural phenomenon.
At present the site contains only a brief general introduction to Vedic rituals
for which use is made of recent research done by J.E.M. Houben, who is at
present Director of Studies for Indian Philology and History at the École
Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris.
The recordings were made during fieldwork in India over the last decade,
sponsored by the Universiteit Leiden, the Netherlands Organization of Scientific
Research (NWO), and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). I
am greatly indebted to the late Mr. Selukar Maharaj, and Mr. Nana Kale, who
allowed me to be present at the sacrificial area and to film and photograph
their performances of Vedic ritual.
In the near future the site should make available selected studies of scholars
of previous generations as well as a bibliography on scholarly research into the
Vedic schools in South Asia.
For a brief C.V. and list of publications of J.E.M. Houben see
http://home.planet.nl/~j.e.m.houben
Comments, reactions, suggestions regarding this site may be mailed to either of the two email-addresses:
J.E.M.Houben@let.leidenuniv.nl
Prof. Dr. J.E.M. Houben
École Pratique des Hautes Études,
45-47, rue des Écoles
75005 Paris