Materiality, affection, personhood: on sacrifice in the worship of the goddess Kali in Guyana

Abstract This paper describes the ritual procedures associated with animal sacrifice in the worship of the Hindu goddess Kali in Guyana, formerly British Guiana. Animal sacrifice is explored through questions relating to materiality, personhood and the mutual permeability of persons and objects. The aim is to advance an interpretation based on native conceptions regarding the potential effects of the exchange and circulation of substances between devotees of the goddess Kali, Hindu deities, and ritual artefacts.