On this topic, I particularly recommend this rich collection of studies:

Eschmann, Anncharlott, Hermann Kulke, and Gaya Charan Tripathi, eds. 1978. The Cult of Jagannath and the Regional Tradition of Orissa, South Asian Studies, no. VIII, S. Asia Institute, Heidelberg University. Delhi: Manohar.    

Best,

Timothy Lubin
Professor of Religion and Adjunct Professor of Law
Washington and Lee University
Lexington, Virginia 24450

http://home.wlu.edu/~lubint 
http://wlu.academia.edu/TimothyLubin 
https://twitter.com/TimothyLubin

From: INDOLOGY <indology-bounces@list.indology.info> on behalf of Paolo Eugenio Rosati <paoloe.rosati@gmail.com>
Date: Monday, July 6, 2015 at 6:03 AM
To: "indology@list.indology.info" <indology@list.indology.info>
Subject: [INDOLOGY] Religious Literature with Political Purposes

Dear Indologist-friends,
 
Maybe someone can advice me about secondary literature on the use and incorporation of tribal/local myths into Puranic (and/or Tantric) mythology as "Hindu-Brahmanic" 's tool for the absorption of local/tribal traditions with a specific political purpose.
 
Best,
Paolo

--
Paolo E. Rosati
Oriental Archaeologist
PhD candidate in Civilisations of Asia & Africa
Section: South Asian Studies
Dep. Italian Institute of Oriental Studies (ISO)
'Sapienza' University of Rome
Skype: paoloe.rosati