A Human Geographical Perspective on Naga Saints and Aghoris in Comparison with Common People

Abstract In this essay, the distinctive spatial practices and cultural identities of the Naga Saints and Aghoris are compared with those of the general public from a human geographical point of view. Sacred and transitional spaces like cremation sites, pilgrimage routes, and festival gatherings like the Kumbh Mela are inhabited by Naga Saints and Aghoris, in contrast to the settled geographies of everyday society, which are based on family, livelihood, and urban-rural networks. Their ritual austerities, ash-smearing, nudity, and interaction with death symbols reinterpret the body, space, and spirituality, offering a counter-geography of life. In contrast to ascetics, who create symbolic landscapes focused on transcendence, renunciation, and liberation, common people create landscapes for social continuity and economic survival, the study shows. Two different ways of living space, place, and identity are depicted by this contrast: one based on spiritual pursuits, the other on material sustenance. Moreover, the societal view of saints and Aghoris fluctuates between awe, terror, and interest, illustrating their equivocal place in cultural contexts.This paper challenges conventional ideas of settlement, belonging, and social life by placing ascetic practices within the larger context of human geography and demonstrating how Naga Saints and Aghoris represent alternative spatial orders.