The education of Hindu priests in the diaspora: Assessing the value of community of practice theory

The utility and limitations of Lave and Wenger's social theory of learning can be evaluated through specific case studies which enhance our understanding of how education proceeds in diverse contexts. Here I provide an ethnographic case study of the training of Caribbean-born Hindu pandits (priests) living and working in Queens, New York. Sanatanist pandits have many responsibilities such as performing rituals, interpreting astrological charts and scripture, managing the day to day affairs of temples and counseling people. In order to explicate the process by which people are moved into the social roles of “pandit-in-training” and “pandit,” I shift between interviewees’ words, vignettes of their actions and my interpretation of communities of practice and its relevance for mapping the education of Hindu pandits.