Patronage and ‘community’: the role of a Tamil ‘village’ festival in the integration of a town

Abstract

Focusing on the festival of ‘village’ goddesses in two small towns in Tamilnadu, South India, the article investigates how the urban organization of temples and festivals reflects characteristics of the organization of similar festivals in villages, whilst at the same time the ‘acts of patronage’ of wealthy local industrialists increasingly shape the nature of the ‘community’ generated at festival and other times. Building on idioms of village community and pre‐colonial kingship models, industrialists are central to the formation of a sense of community which transcends the borders of caste and class. It is argued that the formation of community boundaries cannot be understood outside the context of the wider social and economic relationships and, in this case, the labour relations which lie at the heart of South Indian textile industries.