Abstract
Diana Riboli
Panteion University
Between the hammer and sickle and the cross. The crisis of the political and religious identity in the oral histories of the Chepang of Nepal
In 2007 Nepal was declared a Federal Republic under the leadership of the Maoist Communist Party. Despite the secularization of the state, religious freedom is recognized and during the last few years Christian proselytism is increasing. The paper aims to provide an analysis of oral histories of some Chepang shamans (pande), related to Christian missionaries’ predication on the one hand, and their perceptions on communism on the other. The pande who became Christians -either temporarily or permanently- with their stories express deep doubts and the collective suffering of their group, which nowadays faces unprecedented social challenges which give rise to concerns.
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