On the Edge of the Auspicious

People of lower caste live throughout the villages of Nepal but have

        been noticeably absent from ethnographic accounts of the Himalayan region.

        Starting from the perspective of lower-caste Hindu women, Mary M. Cameron

        offers a long-overdue study of artisans and farmers in western Nepal.

      On the Edge of the Auspicious skillfully shows the connections

        between caste hierarchy and gender relations leading to domestic, economic,

        and religious power of lower-caste women. Situating her study in the history

        of land ownership and contemporary family and work relations, Cameron

        explains how and why patriarchal ideology associated with high-caste families

        in Nepal does not apply to women of lower caste. Drawing on data from

        work, family, and religious domains, this ethnography goes further than

        other current studies of caste hierarchy in South Asia to show the everyday

        material and ideological dimensions of domination and lower-caste people's

        resistance to them..