Solène Ferreira

Solène Ferreira is a PhD candidate in Anthropology at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris, jointly supervised with the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) in Religious Studies. Following a degree in Tropical Agricultural Engineering, her research focuses on the techno-ritual practices of peasant communities in the Indian Himalayas (Northern India).

The project

Title: Following the Grain of Rice: Techno-Ritual Practices, the Śāktasampradāya Cult, and Pahāṛī Identity in the Indian Himalayas

"This research project examines how the techno-ritual system associated with rainfed rice cultivation and its companion crops in Uttarakhand reveals a distinctive way of inhabiting the mountain environment, one that reflects a pahāṛī identity in a region situated at the margins of state power. By approaching this high-altitude agricultural system as a total social phenomenon, the study seeks to understand how agricultural practices and local identities are co-constructed within this borderland space, historically shaped as a refuge zone. To address this question, the project aims to reconstruct and ethnographically document the entire operational sequence of rainfed rice cultivation by “following the grain of rice” through its various stages. It also investigates the presence and significance of the goddess-centered śāktasampradāya tradition, explores the spatial overlap between its sphere of influence and the margins of Zomia in India, and seeks to characterize the defining features of pahāṛī identity. The research is based on qualitative ethnographic fieldwork combining participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and textual analysis. Fieldwork was conducted over the course of a complete agricultural cycle in two villages located respectively in the Pindar and Katyur valleys."

Hosting Institution: École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS)

Selective Bibliography

• Ferreira, Solène (Automne 2026). « Confrontation critique du modèle girardien face à l’échec du hasard du jeu de dés du Dyūtaparvan dans le Mahābhārata ». Revue interdisciplinaire sur l’Asie du Sud.