Tournaments of Honor: Jain Auctions, Gender, and Reputation

Svetambar Murtipujak Jain festivals and major rites are usually marked by the spectacle of the Jain auction. As the religious honors are being auctioned by a layman auctioneer, laymen bid against each other in carefully calculated ways while laywomen urge them on with bidding songs. Jain auctions are a regular occurrence within the community and serve both religious ends and social ends. Jain auctions are tournaments of honor that restructure the relative status of individuals, families, and congregations through internal and outsider evaluation of a congregation's men as they perform Jain masculinity. Here, Kelting examines two Jain auctions in order to illustrate the complex prestige culture of the auctions with particular attention to the role of gender and the presence of outsiders.