Jangama

(“moving”) Priestly subgroup in the
Virashaiva or Lingayat community,
whose members are mainly concentrated
in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.
The Virashaivas are a devotional community who stress the worship of Shiva
as the only real deity; aside from being
essentially monotheistic, they have also
rejected all forms of image worship
except for Shiva’s symbol, the linga. The
Virashaivas were founded by the poetsaint Basavanna, partly in rebellion
against the prevailing caste system, and
he created the jangamas as a parallel
priesthood to care for his community’s
members. The major function of the
jangamas is to officiate at lifecycle ceremonies for the members of the community, such as birth, coming-of-age,
marriage, and death. Jangamas may be
married and raise families, but this
Virashaiva subcommunity also serves as
the major source of recruits for the celibate Virashaiva monks (viraktas), who
have the highest status as religious leaders in the community.