ENVIRONMENT

10.1177/0013916504266807
Ruback, Kohli / TERRITORIALITY
AND BEHAVIOR A
/ TMarch
THE MAGH
2005 MELA

TERRITORIALITY AT THE MAGH MELA

The Effects of Organizational Factors
and Intruder Characteristics

R. BARRY RUBACK is a professor of crime, law, and justice and sociology at Penn-
sylvania State University. His research in environmental psychology focuses on the
correlates of environmental stressors, particularly crowding. He is also interested in
decision making in the legal system.

NEENA KOHLI received her B.A., M.A., and D.Phil. degrees from the University of
Allahabad, India. Currently a senior lecturer at the University of Allahabad, she has
worked on factors involved in psychological recovery following tragic life events. Her
present research interests include illness cognitions and adjustment to chronic illness,
the role of health beliefs in recovery, and stress and pain management.

ABSTRACT: The Magh Mela, an annual Hindu festival held at the confluence of the
Ganges and Yamuna rivers, attracts about 150,000 pilgrims who stay for a month in
campsites maintained by religious organizations. This study examined territoriality at
the campsites in terms of (a) observed characteristics—including personalizations
(e.g., flags, banners) and barriers (e.g., fences, gates)—and (b) behavioral responses
to an experimental intrusion by 1 or 2 intruder-interviewers who were either male or
female. Across dependent measures, larger organizations and more fundamentalist
organizations were more territorial. Results from the experiment indicated that terri-
torial defense, in the form of a faster response to an intrusion, was evidenced more for
female than male intruders and more for 1 than 2 intruders. These findings suggest
that the concept of territorial defense should be broadened beyond physically threat-
ening intrusions to include symbolically threatening intrusions (e.g., an intrusion by a
single woman).
Keywords: territoriality; religion; gender; India

Territoriality refers to marking a physical location, occupying it, and

potentially defending it against intruders. This territorial behavior is an
important way by which individuals and groups can regulate social interac-
tions (Altman, 1975) through warning potential intruders (Ley & Cybriwsky,

ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR, Vol. 37 No. 2, March 2005 178-200

DOI: 10.1177/0013916504266807
© 2005 Sage Publications

178
 Ruback, Kohli / TERRITORIALITY AT THE MAGH MELA 179

1974) and protecting the area from outsiders (Lyman & Scott, 1967; Sommer
& Becker, 1969). There can be other benefits as well. For instance, when ter-
ritories are clearly defined, aggression is less common (Eibl-Eibesfeldt,
1970), group cohesion is greater (Suttles, 1968, p. 38), and valuable
resources are likely to last longer (Acheson, 1975; Taylor, 1988).
Territorial behavior is especially important for primary territories—areas
that are central to one’s life. The more important the area is, the more defen-
sive measures that are likely to be employed. For example, with primary terri-
tories such as the home, occupants are likely to use several defensive mea-
sures (e.g., fences, locked doors) to keep outsiders outside. Thus, people who
own their homes are more likely than renters to personalize their homes with
markers (Greenbaum & Greenbaum, 1981), although it might be that causal-
ity works both ways. That is, individuals who are more territorial use more
markers of territory, and individuals who personalize their territory with
more markers are more attached to that territory (Brown, 1987). Similarly,
homeowners who use aggressive territorial markers (e.g., “No Trespassing”
signs, “Beware of Dog” signs, fences) are likely to have lived longer in their
homes, plan to live there longer in the future, and respond to a doorbell more
quickly (Edney, 1972).
Most studies of territoriality have examined public territories—areas that
are temporarily occupied and to which anyone has free access (Altman,
1975). Studies of territoriality at such public territories as hallways, beaches,
park benches, and library tables suggest that people establish territories
(Edney & Jordan-Edney, 1974; H. W. Smith, 1981) and that potential intrud-
ers recognize these temporary territories (Cheyne & Efran, 1972). However,
occupants are not likely to defend them (e.g., Patterson, Mullens, & Romano,
1971; Sommer & Becker, 1969) unless those locations are valuable for a par-
ticular purpose (Ruback, 1987; Ruback, Pape, & Doriot, 1989; Taylor &
Brooks, 1980). There is also some evidence that people will defend public
territories even if it is contrary to their goal of leaving (Ruback & Juieng,
1997). In contrast to these studies of public territories, the present research
examined secondary territories, those semipublic locations that are less cen-
tral and exclusive than primary territories but that have more ownership and
are under more control than public territories (Altman, 1975).

AUTHORS’NOTE: This research was supported by Penn State University and by the
Centre for Advanced Study in Psychology and the Centre for Behavioural and Cogni-
tive Sciences at the University of Allahabad. We thank Sabika Abbas, Pankaj Bharti,
Azra Ishrat, and Sunil Verma for their help with the collection and coding of the data.
We also thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.
180 ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR / March 2005

Although occupants of primary and secondary territories are likely to

defend these areas against outsiders, there may be some important locations
or some circumstances when occupants may also welcome outsiders. Such a
situation might occur among religious groups that face a potential conflict
between protecting the organization from nonmembers who may threaten
their physical and spiritual integrity and wanting to bring in new members.
The present research investigated this dilemma by looking at territorial
behavior at the Magh Mela, an annual religious festival in north India. In par-
ticular, the study examined the effects of two aspects of the religious organi-
zations occupying the land (size and religious fundamentalism) and two
aspects of intruders onto the land (gender and number).

ROLE OF RELIGION

Although there are many individual aspects to religion, religion is also a

group phenomenon (Johnstone, 2001, pp. 7-9, 42-44). Members share com-
mon goals and norms, they identify with the group, there are roles to fulfill,
and there is a status system. In Hinduism, the group aspect is somewhat dif-
ferent than it is in the West in that individuals generally affiliate with a partic-
ular pandit and feel attached to that specific person rather than to the larger
religion.1 This occurs because there is no single dogma for Hinduism. Rather,
people are Hindu because they are born to Hindu parents. The particular way
it is practiced depends on the social class and geographical region a person
belongs to (Johnstone, 2001, pp. 204-205).
One of the implications of the fact that there are group aspects to a religion
is that factors about groups, such as size, should affect the way a religious
group functions. Although larger size is often considered an indication that
the group is successful, there are five implications of larger sized religious
groups (Johnstone, 2001, pp. 43-44). First, larger groups are likely to have
less consensus about goals and norms—in large part because there is less
communication and therefore less understanding. Second, this reduction in
consensus is likely to result in greater diversity in behavior. Third, when
groups are larger, there are more formal norms and principles. Fourth, larger
religious groups are likely to have more specialized roles and more full-time
roles. Finally, there is greater social distance between religious coordinators
and the rank-and-file membership.
Virtually all examinations of the size of religious groups have been con-
ducted in the context of Western religions, particularly Protestant churches in
the United States (Johnstone, 2001). This literature suggests that larger
groups tend to be more accepting of the prevailing social values in their envi-
 Ruback, Kohli / TERRITORIALITY AT THE MAGH MELA 181

ronment whereas smaller groups tend to be more rejecting of these prevailing

values (Johnson, 1963, as cited in Stark & Finke, 2000, p. 143). Within these
groups, members tend to be more highly committed to smaller groups (sects)
than to larger organizations (churches) because in addition to the greater con-
sensus and greater communication, sects have more requirements (Weber,
1922/1963). The strictness eliminates members who do not have high com-
mitment and, for those who remain, increases the benefits of membership
(Iannaccone, 1994).
In the context of territorial behavior, the size of a religious group could
have conflicting effects. Small groups are likely to have more committed
members, which should lead to greater defense. However, they are also often
interested in attracting new members, which should mean less defense.
Larger groups generally have less individual commitment, which should lead
to less defense. However, because they are also likely to have more property
and greater wealth, they should be more territorial. Moreover, because they
have more members, they are likely to have more role specialization. In par-
ticular, they are more likely to have individuals whose job it is to guard the
campsite. We expected larger organizations to be more territorial because
with greater wealth there is more need and more resources to protect the site.
Fundamentalism refers broadly to religious movements against manifes-
tations of modernity, especially individual liberation and secularization
(Johnstone, 2001, pp. 154-157). The religious fundamentalism of a group
could also be evidenced in territorial behavior. We expected that because of
their high level of commitment to the group, high fundamentalist groups
would be likely to exclude others who were not in their sect whereas low fun-
damentalist organizations would be more likely to welcome strangers.

THE MAGH MELA

This study examined territorial behavior by religious pilgrims at the Magh

Mela during February 2003. The Magh Mela is a religious festival held annu-
ally at the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges river, the Yamuna river, and
the mythical Saraswati river, which is said to come from the center of the
earth. The Sangam is a holy place for ritual bathing and the Magh Mela has
been held there for centuries. The festival (Mela in Hindi) is held during the
month of Magh, which begins in mid-January with the ritual bathing day of
Makar Sankranti. There are several other ritual bathing days during the Mela,
which lasts about a month.
Aside from the bathers, who can number in the millions on the three major
bathing days, there are about 150,000 kalpavasis, or religious pilgrims, who
182 ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR / March 2005

camp on the open land of the Sangam. During the monsoon season, the Gan-
ges at this point is about a mile wide. During the month of Magh, however,
the Ganges River is less than a quarter mile wide, which means there are
extensive areas of sand and silt. It is on this land that the kalpavasis camp.
According to the government authorities overseeing the festival, the 2003
Mela spread across an area of about 300 bighas, or roughly 600 acres. About
one sixth of this area was nonresidential and was devoted to administrative
offices, police stations, and medical facilities. The remaining land was resi-
dential (i.e., where the camps were set up). Altogether in 2003 there were
approximately 2,150 campsites of which 1,500 were set up by various orga-
nizations and 650 by religious pandits (learned men who organize their own
camps, often for profit). The Mela Authority, which is part of the Uttar
Pradesh state government, allocates land for the campsites.

Allocation of land. The most desirable sites at the Mela are those located
on the major roads and near the Sangam. In general, those organizations that
had been to the Magh Mela before continue to receive the same campsite that
they had used before. However, because the course of the Ganges River
changes every year, the location of streets and the amount of land available
for campsites necessarily changes as well. The allocation of land is also com-
plicated by the fact that the riverbed is not even, and organizations assigned
land containing pits are likely to be dissatisfied. Moreover, allocation can be a
problem when new organizations apply for space. Sometimes they are given
land that had originally been assigned to an organization that did not show up.
If the new organizations are powerful they are given the best sites, irrespec-
tive of the group to which it had been originally allotted. More often, new
organizations are given new sites where there was no camp the previous year.

Facilities. The state government provides religious organizations, free of

cost, basic facilities like electricity and water. In addition, the government
provides tents and many household items (e.g., incandescent lights, beds,
utensils). Organizations often bring more of these items because of the large
number of people who stay there. Moreover, wealthier organizations lease
from private businesses better quality facilities including tents, toilets, fluo-
rescent lights, and cooking facilities. The wealthier organizations also have
more water taps, more toilets, and greater electrical supply.
Most campsites have banners, written in Hindi, identifying the organiza-
tion sponsoring the campsite. In addition, most campsites have identifying
flags flying from tall poles so that people can locate their campsite from a dis-
tance. Because a large percentage of the pilgrims are illiterate, these flags
 Ruback, Kohli / TERRITORIALITY AT THE MAGH MELA 183

generally are brightly colored, may be of various shapes, and often contain
symbols so that pilgrims can easily identify them.
The Mela provides an excellent opportunity to investigate territoriality in
secondary territories, and this study extends research on territoriality in three
ways. First, it examines the cross-cultural generalizability of some of the
underlying assumptions of territoriality. That is, most territorial research
has assumed that the threat from intrusion to the physical space is to occu-
pants or possessions. It might be that the primary threat posed by an
intruder is to beliefs rather than to physical security. This notion is consis-
tent with Altman’s (1975) suggestion that territoriality—especially for
secondary territories—can serve several functions, including group identity.
In such cases, territoriality is a way to defend that identity. Second, it investi-
gates the conflict religious groups may have in terms of welcoming or barring
outsiders. Third, it looks at the role of groups in territorial behavior, specifi-
cally group norms and specialized roles.

HYPOTHESES

We expected that territoriality would be evidenced both by person-

alizations (e.g., the number and size of identifying flags and banners) and by
barriers (e.g., fences, gates, and guards). We also expected that more territo-
rial camps would have rules about who could enter the campsite. In addition
to these observable aspects, we expected that how campsites responded to an
intrusion by one or two strangers who were either male or female could be
measured by how quickly they responded to an intrusion, which would be an
indication of territorial defense (Edney, 1972). We also collected data on five
variables occurring after the initial response that we considered indicators of
how welcoming the campsites were of intruders: (a) the length of time they
spent with the intruder, (b) the number of pilgrims who spoke to the intruder,
(c) where the interviews were conducted, (d) whether intruder-interviewers
were allowed to sit, and (e) whether intruder-interviewers were offered
refreshment.
In addition to investigating the size and religious fundamentalism of the
organizations occupying the land, we also were interested in studying the
effects of the gender and number of intruders. For the most part, studies on
territoriality have examined how men and women react to intrusions by a
male, but there have been few, if any, studies of how individuals react to intru-
sions by a female. Analogous research on invasions of personal space indi-
cates that invasions by males are more distressing and more likely to lead to
flight than are invasions by females (Krail & Leventhal, 1976; McBride,
184 ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR / March 2005

King, & James, 1965). The absence of research on territorial intrusions by

women could be because intrusions by females are generally rare. For exam-
ple, studies of seating in college classrooms suggest that females are reluct-
ant to invade the territories of males (Haber, 1980). This reluctance would
probably be even more true in a culture such as India’s where women have
substantially less social power than in the West.
Despite these findings on the effects of gender, we expected in our study
that females would cause more territorial response than would males because
in South Asia territorial intrusions by women, especially a woman alone,
would be so nonnormative as to call for immediate action. That is, outside of
the large cities, women in India rarely go out by themselves and, thus, female
intruders would be unusual.
In terms of the experimental manipulation of the number of intruders, we
expected that two intruders would pose more of a threat than one intruder and
thus should elicit more territorial behaviors (e.g., a quicker response to an
intrusion). We also expected an interaction of gender and number. The intru-
sion of two males should be a greater threat than the intrusion of one male
because two males can do more harm than one male. In contrast, in India the
intrusion of one female is a greater threat than the intrusion of two females
because a woman alone is so unusual and nonnormative. In India, a lone
woman is virtually never seen outside of the metropolitan areas. Thus, there
would be more territoriality with one than two female intruders.

METHOD

OVERVIEW

We used three data sources to investigate territorial behavior at the Magh

Mela. First, we observed campsites to obtain more detailed information
about the quality of the campsites (e.g., number of tents, type of toilets,
kitchen). Second, we obtained information through a structured survey of a
representative of the camp that included questions about the group’s open-
ness to outsiders, the group’s history at the Mela, the group’s satisfaction
with the campsite, the nature of the group’s relations with its neighbors, and
whether there are any rules regarding entry by strangers. Third, we obtained
behavioral measures of territoriality including the amount of time (in sec-
onds) between the entry by the interviewer(s) and when some member of the
campsite first spoke to them. This territorial intrusion was experimentally
manipulated in terms of number and gender of intruders.
 Ruback, Kohli / TERRITORIALITY AT THE MAGH MELA 185

PARTICIPANTS

Of the approximately 2,150 campsites at the Mela we sampled 241. More

than half (53%) of the organizations and pandits sponsoring the camps in the
sample came from the Allahabad district (the region in which the city of
Allahabad and the Sangam are located), and 72% came from the northern
Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, the state of about 170 million people in which
Allahabad is located. Most of the remaining 28% generally came from the
states of Bihar, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharasthra.

PROCEDURE

Two teams, consisting of either two males or two females, conducted the
study. Each pair conducted the intrusions as a replicate of four conditions in
the following order: intrusion by both, intrusion by one, intrusion by both,
intrusion by the other. In this way there were the same number of single and
double intrusion conditions, and this order permitted us to control for possi-
ble day and time of day effects. When both individuals intruded, one asked
the questions and the other completed the observation form. The two individ-
uals alternated between these roles in the condition where both intruded.
From the Mela administration authorities we obtained a map of the site
that we used to systematically sample campsites from every street in the
Mela. Researchers started at one end of the street and collected data at every
other camp. For each road in the Mela the two men worked as a team on one
side while the two women worked as a team on the other side.
The study was conducted on 9 different days during a 2-week period in
February 2003. No interviews were conducted on the major ritual bathing
days when there were about a million visitors to the Sangam.

Entering the campsite. The intruder-interviewers (one or two, male or

female, depending on condition) walked five steps into the campsite,2 stood
there until someone came to them, and, using a stopwatch, measured the time
in seconds from the time they entered the campsite until someone came to
speak with them. In several cases, walking the five steps was not possible
because the gate was closed,3 the intruder-interviewers were stopped at the
gate and questioned there, or they were questioned before they could take five
steps. If no one came to talk to them, they waited up to 2 min and then looked
for someone to talk to.

Surveying respondents. The intruder-interviewers introduced themselves

as graduate students in psychology at Allahabad University. They then said
186 ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR / March 2005

they were conducting a study on the use of space at the Mela and were inter-
ested in asking respondents some questions that would take about 10 min.4 If
they agreed, and all did, then the interviewers began the structured questions.
All of the intruder-interviewers were extensively trained and had the oppor-
tunity to practice delivering these instructions during several pilot sessions.
Consistent with the practice in other studies involving minor intrusions that
commonly occur (e.g., Milgram, Liberty, Toledo, & Wackenhut, 1986), we
did not debrief research participants about the experimental manipulation.
Three interviews were terminated before all of the interview data were col-
lected. The individuals at these three campsites, when told about the inter-
view, said they preferred not to answer any questions because they had
additional equipment from the government (e.g., fluorescent lights) beyond
what they should have had. Even though they had been promised anonymity,
they were afraid that their behavior would become known to the authorities.
For these three campsites, however, we still had measures of intrusion time
and of the observation items.

INTERVIEW SCHEDULE

The interview schedule consisted of 29 questions that asked about the

organization that sponsored the camp (size of the sponsoring organization,
home location, name of the individual who was its head), the organization’s
history at the Mela, their opinion about the quality of the campsite, whether
the campsite was the group’s first choice, the number of people at the camp-
site, the group’s attitude toward strangers, and the group’s religious funda-
mentalism. In addition to these questions, the interviewers noted the number
of people they spoke to, the length of their interviews, whether they were
asked to sit, where the interview was conducted (at the gate or inside the
camp), whether they were offered refreshment, and whether there were any
religious programs going on at the time.

OBSERVATION FORM

In addition to the interview schedule, the intruder-interviewers also com-

pleted an observation form. Their ratings included observations of the num-
ber and size of flags (coded as small, about 1 ft; medium, about 2 ft; or large,
about 3 ft) and banners (coded as small, about 3 ft; medium, about 6 ft, or
large, about 9 ft); the type of gate (coded as none, bamboo, bamboo with
cloth, wood, decorated wood, and steel); position of the gate (open, half-
open, closed); the type of boundary around the camp (none, twine, rope,
wood, bamboo, steel, or brick); the height of the boundary (approximately
 Ruback, Kohli / TERRITORIALITY AT THE MAGH MELA 187

3 ft, 6 ft, or 9 ft); the number and type of tents; the number of water taps and
toilets; the size and type of cooking facility; the number of incandescent and
fluorescent bulbs; the number of beds and chairs; the type of flooring in the
camp; and whether the camp had grass and flowers.
When two interviewers intruded, they completed the observation form
together. When only one interviewer intruded, both that person and the other
person (who was on the road outside the camp) completed the observation
form. Thus, for half of the campsites (i.e., when there was only one intruder)
we have measures of the reliability of the observations. Because the person
who was on the road outside could not see everything that was inside the
camp, reliability could be determined for only 15 items.
In general, reliability was very high for the nominally coded items: 97%
for the size of the flags, 98% for the size of the banners, 97% for whether
there were private guards, 99% for the type of gate, 100% for the position of
the gate (open, half open, or closed), 95% for the height of the boundary, 99%
for the type of boundary, 94% for whether there was a covered area for reli-
gious discourse, 91% for whether there was grass in the camp, 96% for
whether there were flowers in the camp, and 91% for the type of flooring in
the tents. For the continuous items that the outside observer could see, the
correlations were also very high (rs greater than .99 for the number of flags,
number of banners, and number of boundaries and r = .91 for the number of
small tents).

RESULTS

Before conducting analyses of the observed indicators of territoriality and

of the behavioral responses to an intrusion we related the camps’ distance
from the Sangam to factors about the camp. Then we used responses to the
survey to divide the campsites based on the size and fundamentalism of the
sponsoring organization.

Distance from the Sangam. We conducted two different analyses based on

location in the Mela. The first was based on the street on which the camp was
situated. A one-way ANOVA by street indicated that different streets had dif-
ferent amounts of wealth as indicated by the number of water taps, fluores-
cent lights, wooden beds, chairs, mats, and toilets. In addition to using the
street, we also measured the distance on a map from the midpoint of each of
the streets on which interviews were conducted to the point where the Ganges
River meets the Yamuna River. We used a point in the water because bathers
188 ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR / March 2005

would use both banks at the point where the two rivers meet. For two very
long streets we used two midpoints to calculate the distance from the
Sangam. Correlations between this distance on the map and characteristics of
the campsites revealed several significant relationships. In general, these
results suggested that camps that were farther from the Sangam were less
territorial—fewer flags, r(238) = –.13, p < .05, and fewer boundaries around
the camp, r(238) = –.37, p < .001. People at campsites farther from the
Sangam were less likely to say the site was their first choice and more likely
to say they had gone to the Mela authorities to ask for a new location. This
finding is consistent with the fact that campsites farther away are less
desirable.

Size. Respondents gave us self-reports about whether the campsite was

sponsored by a single pandit (13%) or by an organization that was small
(30%), medium (14%), or large (43%) in size. We used this information to
create a dichotomous variable relating to the size of the organization: (a)
small organizations (43%) that consisted of single pandits and self-described
small organizations and (b) large organizations (57%) that consisted of self-
described medium and large organizations. To determine whether this di-
chotomy was a valid indicator or size we conducted t tests comparing these
organizations on the number of people there and property in the campsite. As
shown in Table 1, campsites sponsored by large organizations had more peo-
ple at the campsite (about three fifths of whom were male). Moreover, camp-
sites sponsored by large organizations were wealthier as evidenced by the
fact that they had more of virtually all types of personal property. The one
exception was light bulbs, of which smaller organizations had more. But
because incandescent bulbs are not as efficient and do not give as much light
as fluorescent lights, the fact that the smaller camps had more light bulbs is
really an indication that they were poorer.

Fundamentalism. During the interview, respondents were asked to rate on

a 4-point scale how staunch they were in their religious beliefs.5 Of the 238
individuals who answered this question, the mean was 3.05 (Mdn = 3.00). We
dichotomized this variable based on a median split such that 140 (59%)
answered 1, 2, or 3—which we coded as low fundamentalism—and 98
(41%) answered 4—which we coded as high fundamentalism. Answers to
two of the survey items suggest that this division is reasonable and that the
measure is valid. With regard to the question of whether anyone could
become a member, high fundamentalist camps (47%) were less likely than
low fundamentalist camps (78%) to answer affirmatively, χ2(1, 238) = 22.92,
p < .001. With regard to the question of whether there were rules for who
 Ruback, Kohli / TERRITORIALITY AT THE MAGH MELA 189

TABLE 1
Comparison of Small and Large Campsites at the Magh Mela

Size of Organization
Small Large
2
Aspects of the Campsite (n = 103) (n = 138) t or

Total number of people 34.99 108.61 3.05**

Number of males 21.47 72.37 3.05**
Number of females 13.52 36.24 2.33*
Number of water taps 1.33 2.85 5.47***
Number of incandescent lights .21 .05 3.81***
Number of fluorescent lights .28 2.43 3.36***
Number of folding beds .27 .49 1.16
Number of wooden beds 2.30 5.67 4.48***
Number of chairs 1.89 6.67 4.71***
Number of mats 2.35 6.66 4.11***
Number of toilets 1.44 3.09 4.54***

Observable Territorial Characteristics

Number of flags 1.56 3.14 2.69**

a
Size of flags 2.50 2.21 2.10*
Number of banners .71 1.72 5.38***
b
Size of banners 1.69 1.91 1.98*
Number of sides of the camp on which
there were barriers (0-4) 2.35 3.61 6.51***
c
Type of barrier 1.89 1.95 .39
d
Height of barrier 2.10 2.28 1.82
e
Type of gate 1.20 2.30 6.47***
f
Position of gate 2.89 2.80 1.50
Whether grass planted in camp (% yes) 40% 48% 1.42
Whether flowers planted in camp (% yes) 2% 14% 8.58**
Whether there was a private guard (% yes) 1% 8% 4.54*
a. n = 133. Coded as 1 = 1 ft, 2 = 2 ft, 3 = 3 ft.
b. n = 167. Coded as 1 = 3 ft, 2 = 6 ft , 3 = 9 ft.
c. n = 191. Coded as 1 = bamboo, 2 = wood, 3 = wood and cloth, 4 = corrugated steel.
d. Coded as 1 = 3 ft, 2 = 6 ft, 3 = 9 ft.
e. Coded as 1 = no gate, 2 = bamboo only, 3 = bamboo and cloth, 4 = wood, 5 = corrugated steel.
f. Coded as 1 = closed, 2 = half open, 3 = open.
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

could enter the camp, high fundamentalist organizations (57%) were

more likely than low fundamentalist camps (16%) to answer affirmatively,
χ2(1, 238) = 41.28, p < .001. The size and fundamentalism of the organization
were not significantly related, χ2(1, 238) = 1.19, ns (this and all other 2 × 2
tables used Yates’ correction).
190 ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR / March 2005

Compared to low fundamentalist organizations, high fundamentalist

organizations had significantly more people, Ms = 191.98 vs. 96.86, t(236) =
2.37, p < .05; significantly more water taps, Ms = 2.53 vs. 1.94, t(235) = 1.99,
p < .05; significantly more toilets, Ms = 3.06 vs. 1.91, t(234) = 3.09, p < .01);
and significantly fewer incandescent lights, Ms = 0.04 vs. 0.17, t(235) = 3.10,
p < .01. On all other aspects of the campsite high and low fundamentalist
organizations did not differ significantly.6

OBSERVED INDICATORS OF TERRITORIALITY

We related the size and fundamentalism of the sponsoring organization to

nine observed indicators of territoriality: number and size of flags, number
and size of banners, number of sides of the campsite on which there was a
barrier, the type of barrier, the height of the barrier, the type of gate, and the
position of the gate.

Size of the organization. Because they would have greater wealth, we

expected larger organizations to be more territorial. As shown in Table 1,
large organizations generally were more territorial than small organizations.
Specifically, they had significantly more flags, banners, and boundaries
around the campsite. They also had significantly higher boundaries and sig-
nificantly more substantial boundaries. The gates were also significantly
more substantial and significantly less likely to be completely open. The
campsites of large organizations were also significantly more likely to have
planted flowers and to have private guards. However, the size of organiza-
tions was unrelated to rules for entry, boundary disputes with neighbors, and
how upset respondents indicated they were when strangers entered.

Fundamentalism of the organization. Based on the notion that high funda-

mentalist organizations would be more exclusive, we expected high funda-
mentalist organizations to be more territorial. Consistent with that hypothesis
we found that in general, high fundamentalist organizations were more terri-
torial than low fundamentalist organizations. Compared to low fundamental-
ist organizations, high fundamentalist organizations had more substantial
barriers around the camp, Ms = 2.11 vs.1.75, t(187) = 2.24, p < .05; more sub-
stantial gates, Ms = 2.15 vs. 1.57, t(232) = 3.11, p < .01; and their gates were
less likely to be open, Ms = 2.76 vs. 2.89, t(236) = 2.12, p < .05. However, low
fundamentalist organizations were significantly more likely to have grass in
their campsites (54% vs. 32%), χ2(1, 229) = 9.63, p < .002. On all other mea-
sures, high and low fundamentalist organizations did not differ on observable
territorial characteristics.
 Ruback, Kohli / TERRITORIALITY AT THE MAGH MELA 191

BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES TO INTRUSION

In this study we had six behavioral indicators of territoriality based on

how persons at the campsite responded to the intruders. These indicators
included three types of continuous measures: response time after intrusion,
the duration of the interview, and the number of people who spoke with the
intruders. There were also three dichotomous measures of territorial behav-
ior: where the interview was conducted (at the gate or inside), how the inter-
view was conducted (standing or sitting), and the hospitality of the respon-
dents (whether refreshments were offered).

Response time after intrusion. The first measure of territorial behavior

was the latency of response in seconds from the time the intruders entered the
campsite to the time someone spoke with them. This measure ranged from 0
to 120 s. As with all reaction time measures, most of the responses occurred
soon after the intruders entered (M = 33.4 s; Mdn = 12.0 s). Despite this
strong positive skew, however, in 30 campsites (12%) no one responded to
the intruders during the 2-min waiting period. Bivariate analyses suggested
that the religious pilgrims tended to respond sooner to the female intruders
(M = 28.6 s) than to the male intruders, M = 38.9 s, t(239) = 1.95, p = .052.
There was also a tendency for pilgrims to respond sooner to one intruder (M =
28.4 s) than to two intruders, M = 38.2 s, t(239) = 1.85, p = .065.
A 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 (Number of Intruders × Gender of Intruders × Size of Orga-
nization × Fundamentalism of Organization) ANOVA revealed four signifi-
cant effects. First, there was a significant Number of Intruders × Size of Orga-
nization interaction, F(1, 222) = 4.78, p < .05. When there was one intruder,
small organizations (M = 37.4 s) and large organizations (M = 31.7 s) did not
differ significantly. When there were two intruders, however, small organiza-
tions (M = 25.6 s) responded significantly sooner than did large organizations
(M = 45.1 s). (This and all subsequent post hoc tests used the Newman-Keuls
procedure, p < .05).
Second, there was a significant Number of Intruders × Fundamentalism of
Organization interaction, F(1, 222) = 7.10, p < .01. Based on post hoc
Newman-Keuls tests, low fundamentalist organizations responded signifi-
cantly sooner to one intruder (M = 23.9 s) than to two intruders (M = 40.1 s)
whereas high fundamentalist organizations responded significantly sooner
to two intruders (M = 30.7 s) than to one intruder (M = 45.2 s). Third, there
was a significant Size of Organization × Fundamentalism of Organization
interaction, F(1, 222) = 15.34, p < .001. Small, low fundamentalist organiza-
tions (M = 17.3 s) responded significantly faster than large, high fundamen-
talist organizations (M = 30.1 s), which responded significantly faster than
192 ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR / March 2005

TABLE 2
Interaction of Number of Intruders, Gender of Intruders, and Size
of Organization on Response Time to Intrusion (Means in Seconds)

Number of Small Organizations Large Organizations

Intruders Male Female Male Female

c d,e c,d b
One 31.3 43.5 39.3 24.2
c,d a e d,e
Two 36.7 14.6 46.4 43.9
NOTE: Means that share a common superscript are not significantly different according to a post hoc
Newman-Keuls test (p < .05).

both small, high fundamentalist organizations (M = 45.8 s) and large, low

fundamentalist organizations (M = 46.7 s), which did not differ significantly
from each other.
Finally, there was a significant Number of Intruders × Gender of Intruders ×
Size of Organization interaction, F(1, 222) = 4.14, p < .05. As shown in Table
2, most of the difference was due to how the organizations responded to
female intruders. With small organizations, two females elicited the fastest
response of any condition. With large organizations, a single female intruder
was responded to significantly sooner than were two females or than one or
two males. For male intruders, in contrast, regardless of size of the organiza-
tion, people at the campsite responded sooner to one than to two intruders.
Small organizations were less likely to have a gate and boundaries and to be
holding religious discourses. For such small organizations, a single person
may have been viewed as someone coming to visit a kalpavasi. But two
strangers could not be so easily explained. In contrast, a lone person, male or
female, coming to a large organization would be unusual and would require
an immediate response.
Because the time after intrusion before pilgrims spoke to the intruders was
not distributed normally, we transformed the raw scores using a logarithmic
transformation and conducted the complete ANOVA on these transformed
scores. Exactly the same pattern of results was obtained with this analysis as
with the raw scores except that the three-way interaction was only marginally
significant (p < .06). Post hoc tests of the means of the transformed scores
showed the same pattern as with the raw scores.

Duration of the interview. The interviews ranged in length from under 3

min to 45 min (M = 8.98, Mdn = 8.00). A 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 (Number of Intruders ×
Gender of Intruders × Size of Organization × Fundamentalism of Organiza-
tion) revealed three significant effects. Interviews of male intruders were sig-
nificantly longer (M = 10.8 min) than were interviews of female intruders
 Ruback, Kohli / TERRITORIALITY AT THE MAGH MELA 193

(M = 7.9 min), F(1, 222) = 24.46, p < .001. Interviews with males could have
been longer because our intruder-interviewers, despite their training, might
have behaved differently; the males might have been more curious and asked
questions whereas the females were more businesslike. More likely, how-
ever, the camp members probably felt more comfortable talking with the men
than with the women.
There was also a significant Number of Intruders × Gender of Intruders
interaction, F(1, 222) = 4.38, p < .05, such that although people in the camp-
sites always responded sooner to female than male intruders, the difference
was much greater when there were two intruders (Ms = 7.7 s vs. 11.7 s for
female and male intruders, respectively) than when there was one intruder
(Ms = 8.2 s vs. 9.8 s for female and male intruders, respectively). The means
for the female intruder conditions were not significantly different from each
other, but all other differences were significant.
Finally, there was a significant Gender of Intruders × Fundamentalism of
the Organization interaction, F(1, 222) = 5.70, p < .05. The difference in
lengths of interviews of female and male intruders was significantly greater
for low fundamentalist organizations (Ms = 11.2 min vs. 6.9 min for female
and male intruders, respectively) than for high fundamentalist organizations
(Ms = 8.9 min and 10.4 min for female and male intruders, respectively). All
means were significantly different from each other.

Number of people spoken to. We believed that the number of camp resi-
dents who spoke to the interviewers would be a measure of interest in
strangers and therefore would be related to territoriality. The number of people
who spoke to the intruders ranged from 1 to 10 (M = 1.98, Mdn = 2.00). A 2 × 2 ×
2 × 2 (Number of Intruders × Gender of Intruders × Size of Organization ×
Fundamentalism of Organization) revealed two significant effects. Not sur-
prisingly, more people from large organizations spoke to the intruders (M =
2.22) than did people from small organizations, M = 1.66, F(1, 220) = 11.01,
p < .001. There was also a significant Gender of Intruders × Size of Organiza-
tion × Fundamentalism of Organization interaction, F(1, 220) = 4.30, p < .05.
As can be seen in Table 3, for high fundamentalist organizations, for both
male and female intruders, more people spoke to the intruders when the orga-
nizations were large than small, although the difference was much greater for
female than male intruders. For low fundamentalist organizations there was
no difference for female intruders as a function of organization size, but for
male intruders there was the overall main effect of more people for large than
small organizations.
Because the number of pilgrims at a campsite greatly varied, we also ana-
lyzed the data in terms of people spoken to as a proportion of the total number
194 ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR / March 2005

TABLE 3
Interaction of Gender of Intruders, Size of Organization, and Fundamentalism
of Organization on Number of People Who Spoke to the Intruders

Low Fundamentalist High Fundamentalist

Size of Organizations Organizations
Organization Male Female Male Female

b c,d b,c a
Small 1.63 1.90 1.71 1.38
e d,e d,e f
Large 2.18 2.01 2.03 2.67
NOTE: Means that share a common superscript are not significantly different according to a post hoc
Newman-Keuls test (p < .05).

of people staying at the campsite. This analysis revealed three significant

effects.7 First, there was a significant effect for organization size, F(1, 220) =
8.77, p < .01, such that a higher proportion of individuals in smaller organiza-
tions spoke to the intruders (M = 0.17) as compared to the proportion in larger
organizations (M = 0.09). Second, there was a significant effect for funda-
mentalism, F(1, 220) = 4.71, p < .05, such that a higher proportion of individ-
uals in low fundamentalist organizations spoke to the intruders (M = 0.16) as
compared to the proportion in high fundamentalist organizations (M = 0.10).
Finally, there was a significant interaction of Organization Size and Funda-
mentalism of Organization, F(1, 220) = 4.97, p < .05. With large organizations
there was no difference in the proportion of individuals who spoke to the
intruders whether the fundamentalism of the organization was low (M = 0.09)
or high (M = 0.09). In contrast, with small organizations a significantly higher
proportion of individuals in low fundamentalist organizations spoke to the
intruders (M = 0.23) as compared to the proportion in high fundamentalist
organizations (M = 0.11). This finding suggests that in terms of proportion,
small, low fundamentalist organizations were the most welcoming of
strangers.

Dichotomous measures of territoriality. There were three dichotomous

behavioral measures of territoriality: (a) whether the interview was conducted
at the gate or inside the campsite, (b) whether the intruder-interviewers stood
during the interview or were invited to sit down, and (c) whether the intruder-
interviewers were not or were offered refreshment. For the logistic regression
analyses of all three variables the main effects were entered first, then the
two-way interactions, and then the three-way interactions. In all three mod-
els, the addition of the block of main effects was significant. However, for
none of the models did the blocks of two-way or three-way interactions reach
 Ruback, Kohli / TERRITORIALITY AT THE MAGH MELA 195

TABLE 4
Logistic Regressions of Dichotomous Measures of Territoriality

Whether Invited Whether Offered

Place of Interview to Sit Down Refreshment
(0 = gate; 1 = inside) (0 = no; 1 = yes) (0 = no; 1 = yes)

Gender (0 = F; 1 = M) 1.35** 1.01** –.23

Number of intruders
(0 = 1; 1 = 2) .77* 1.03** .98**
Size of organization
(0 = small; 1 = large) .61 .46 .97**
Fundamentalism
(0 = low; 1 = high) –.33 –.21 –.20
2
Model χ 18.61*** 18.34*** 20.64***
2
Nagelkerke R .124 .117 .121
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

significance. Thus, we report here only the main effects for the three
variables.
As can be seen in Table 4, male intruder-interviewers were more welcome
at the campsites than were female intruder-interviewers as male intruder-
interviewers were more likely to have been invited inside the camp and to sit
down. Similarly, two intruders were more likely than one intruder to be wel-
comed as two intruders were more likely to be invited inside the camp,
invited to sit down, and offered refreshment. Larger organizations were more
likely to have offered refreshment. The fundamentalism of the organization
had no effect on any of the dichotomous measures.

PHOTOGRAPHS

In addition to the intruder-interviewers’ratings, we also had a more objec-

tive measure of the camp. After completing the interview at the camp, the
intruder-interviewers took a photograph of the gate to the campsite. Some of
the photographs could not be printed, so we were left with 206 photographs
(85%) of the 241 campsites in the study. These photographs were then shown
to two graduate student raters who were blind to the nature and hypotheses of
the study. These students rated each of the gates on a scale ranging from 1
(poverty) to 5 (wealth). Their ratings had reasonably high reliability (r = .65,
p < .001). The two ratings were then averaged and correlated with other mea-
sures. Rated wealth was significantly related to several physical characteris-
tics of the camp: the number of boundaries (r = .42, p < .001); the number of
flags (r = .31, p < .001); the number of banners (r = .34, p < .001); and the
196 ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR / March 2005

height of the boundary (r = .30, p < .001). Thus, as is reasonable, territoriality

is in part a function of wealth. Rated wealth was negatively related to the
number of years the group had been coming to the Mela (r = –.19, p < .01) and
the number of years the group had been at the campsite (r = –.23, p < .001).
Camps that asked the intruder-interviewers to take refreshment were rated
wealthier (M = 3.89) than camps that did not offer refreshment, M = 3.49,
t(201) = 2.55, p < .05. Similarly, camps that invited other people to lunch
were rated wealthier (M = 3.69) than camps that did not, M = 2.96, t(202) =
3.34, p < .001. Finally, camps that said anyone can become a member were
rated wealthier (M = 3.72) than camps that limited membership, M = 3.42,
t(202) = 2.03, p < .05.

DISCUSSION

This study found clear differences in territoriality at the Magh Mela.

Larger (and wealthier) organizations had more personalizations (flags, ban-
ners) and more barriers (gates, boundaries) around the campsite. In addition,
more fundamentalist organizations tended to be more territorial. In addition
to being affected by these organization-level factors, responses to intrusions
were also affected by the gender and number of the intruders. The results sug-
gest that contrary to research in the West, intrusions by women are more
upsetting than intrusions by men and that intrusions by one person require
more territorial defense than intrusions by two people.
Arguably, the quicker response time to intrusion by women, especially a
lone woman, might be evidence of concern for her welfare rather than of ter-
ritorial behavior. However, the fact that the interviews conducted by women
were significantly shorter than the interviews conducted by men suggests
that concern for the women was not the primary reason, for, if it were, then
the interviews should have been at least as long as those conducted by the
men. In fact, interviews with the women were significantly shorter.
Intrusion in territory is usually thought of as an attack on a particular
place; a threat that the land or something on it will be taken or damaged. In
our study, the intrusion by the female confederate might have also constituted
an attack on cultural norms. Thus, in contrast to research on territoriality
among animals, research on territoriality among humans needs to examine
the extent to which defense protects not only against territorial intrusions but
also intrusions against social deviance.
Future research might vary the extent of the territorial intrusion. In this
study, the intrusion was a minor, temporary intrusion; what Lyman and Scott
 Ruback, Kohli / TERRITORIALITY AT THE MAGH MELA 197

(1967) referred to as a “violation.” The results probably would have been dif-
ferent had the intrusion been greater. For example, it may be the case that our
manipulation of multiple males was not strong enough. That is, two male
strangers may not have posed enough additional threat beyond a single male
stranger to cause increased concern about the welfare of the campsite.

TERRITORIALITY AND RELIGION

One of the novel aspects of this research was that it was conducted at a
location where Hindu pilgrims went for religious purposes. Because of the
unique nature of the population and the location, the results may have limited
generalizability. It would be important to determine whether these findings
are replicable in other cultures. For example, would high fundamentalist
organizations holding revival meetings in the United States be territorial in
response to intrusions by strangers?
There is an interesting irony in terms of the nature of social identity and
the practice of religion in Asian and Western cultures. In general, in terms of
social identity, Asian cultures tend to be more collectivistic (i.e., individuals
tend to define themselves primarily in terms of group memberships such as
family and nation) whereas Western cultures tend to be more individualistic
(i.e., individuals tend to place their own goals and happiness above those of
the groups to which they belong; Hofstede, 1980; Markus & Kitayama,
1991).
But with the practice of religion, the pattern is different. As Iannaccone
(1995) has noted, Western religions tend to be collective in that they are con-
gregationally oriented. To prevent the free-rider problem, these religions
tend to be exclusive and require high levels of commitment. In contrast,
Asian religions tend to be more private. People often do not have exclusive
attachments to a single religion, and their religious practices tend to focus on
a single religious practitioner or to involve fee-for-service transactions
(Iannaccone, 1995). In addition, there tend to be more household rituals and
more money offerings to specific gods for particular outcomes.
These patterns of social identity and religious practices in Asian and
Western cultures suggest an interaction regarding territoriality in nonreli-
gious and religious places. Although collective solutions are not always used
in collective societies (P. B. Smith & Bond, 1993), they are probably more
likely because group membership is an important component of identity,
groups are less easy to leave, and group efforts are more likely to be success-
ful (Triandis, Bontempo, Villareal, Asai, & Lucca, 1988). Thus, we might
expect more of a collective response to intrusions in nonreligious settings in
Asian than in Western locations whereas we might expect more of a collec-
198 ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR / March 2005

tive response to intrusions in religious settings in Western than in Asian loca-

tions. Future research might fruitfully investigate this proposed interaction.

NOTES

1. The Hindi term is panda. Pandas help worshippers gain quick entry to their temple, and
at the Sangam they help people perform the last rites of the dead. Individuals have their own
panda and visit only him for religious reasons. Whenever an individual visits a panda, the
panda enters the event in ledgers that contain records of the visits of that person’s ancestors to
the panda’s forefathers. Regions, groups, and sects are likely to have their own panda.
2. All but 46 campsites had a physical boundary of some type facing the street, and thus it was
clear when the intruders had entered the campsite. For the 46 campsites that did not have a physi-
cal boundary, the intruders were considered to have entered the campsite when they crossed an
imaginary boundary that was aligned with the boundaries of the neighboring campsites.
3. We counted a closed gate as 0 s because it was the same as being met immediately at the
gate. Excluding the three cases in which the gate was closed from the analyses of response time
produced substantially the same pattern of results as those reported in the Response Time After
Intrusion section.
4. In most cases the responding individual was the person who greeted the intruders. In some
cases, however, the intruders were taken to the head of the campsite. In all cases the responding
individual was a male.
5. Because many respondents were illiterate and not accustomed to scales, we used a two-
step procedure in which respondents were first asked whether they were fundamentalist “a lot” or
just “a little.” If they answered “a lot,” they were then asked whether their fundamentalism was
strong or very strong. If they answered “a little,” they were then asked whether their fundamental-
ism was “little” or “very little.”
6. The interviewers asked respondents to name the primary god to which the sect worshipped
because we suspected that the gender and nature of the god might be related to territorial defense.
To test this hypothesis, we recoded responses into eight categories: Durga (4%), Ganga (7%),
Hanuman (3%), Krishna (4%), Ram (22%), Shiva (24%), Vishnu (7%), and other gods (29%).
However, analyses of variance of the continuous measures and chi-square analyses of the nomi-
nal measures indicated that this variable was not significantly related to any of our measures of
territoriality and thus it is not discussed further.
7. When we conducted the analysis using an arcsine transformation of the proportion there
was the same main effect for organization size and a marginally significant interaction (p = .056).
The fundamentalism effect was not significant.

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