The Sanskrit word bhuta, meaning “passed away” or “spirit”, refers to the ancestral cult which is still actively practiced in the Tulu Nadu region (South coastal Karnataka, India). In contrast to religions in which unanimated idols are worshipped, bhuta ceremonies or bhuta kola are characterized by the interaction between the audience and the oracle who receives the invoked spirit. Through the voice of this oracle, the bhuta answers practical questions, solves quarrels and thus acts as a judge whose word cannot be discussed.

from Introduction by Frederic Rond