Derision, Exorcism, and the Ritual Production of Power

In this article, I address theoretical constructions of ritually produced symbolic power in Tamang communities of Nepal. I relate dance‐skits deriding dominant classes and violent exorcisms to the social production of this power. This symbolic power is an elementary form of power produced in the activity of ritual itself. The ritual analyzed could be characterized as defiant, and thus I address larger questions of ritual and resistance. [ritual, power, resistance, Tamang, Nepal, South Asia]