Divine games and rituals: how Tamil Saiva/Hindu siblings learn faith practices through play

Abstract

This paper contributes to our understanding of how siblings in diasporic settings teach and learn from each other through their faith play. It draws upon data from a longitudinal ethnographic study (2009–2013) exploring how children become literate through faith activities across four communities in London. The longitudinal study examines children's emerging faith literacies, focusing on ways in which they are socialised into their faith at the site of worship, in the religious education class and in their homes. This paper focuses on the role of play in one of the four participant families of the Tamil Hindu community in London and traces how siblings begin to practise their faith through play at home. Using the example of two children constructing their Temple from plastic building blocks to act out appropriate religious rituals, we show how, through their play, the children acquire and practise cultural knowledge important for both faith membership and their everyday lives.