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..