Book cover of The Play of the Feminine

How to Cite

Ilkama, Ina Marie Lunde: The Play of the Feminine: Navarātri in Kanchipuram, Heidelberg: Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing, 2023 (Ethno-Indology: Heidelberg Studies in South Asian Rituals, Volume 16). https://doi.org/10.11588/hasp.1167

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Identifiers

https://doi.org/10.11588/hasp.1167
ISBN 978-3-948791-60-5 (PDF)
ISBN 978-3-948791-59-9 (Hardcover)

Published

11/28/2023

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Authors

Ina Marie Lunde Ilkama

The Play of the Feminine

Navarātri in Kanchipuram

Ethno-Indology: Heidelberg Studies in South Asian Rituals

In Tamil Nadu, the nine-night autumnal Navarātri festival can be viewed as a celebration of feminine powers in association with the goddess. This book explores Navarātri as it is celebrated in the South Indian temple town of Kanchipuram. It investigates the local mythologies of the goddess, two temple celebrations, and the domestic ritual practice known as kolu (doll displays). The author highlights three intersecting themes: namely the play of the goddess in myth and ritual, the religious agency and images of women and the divine feminine, and notions of playfulness in Navarātri rituals; as articulated in creativity, aesthetics, competition, and dramatic expressions.

Ina Marie Lunde Ilkama is assistant professor of religion and religious education (RE) at the University of South-Eastern Norway. She has a Ph.D. in South Asian Studies. Her research interests include goddess traditions, ritual, the interaction of text and practice, and how religious traditions of the East are taught in the Norwegian school system.

Chapters

Table of Contents
Pages
PDF
Front matter
i-iv
Contents
v-vii
List of Figures
ix-xi
A Note by the Editors
xiii
Acknowledgements
xv-xvi
Notes on Language and Transliteration / Abbreviations
xvii
Introduction
1-19
PART I - Navarātri in Myth and Temples
1 Kanchipuram, the Goddesses, and Their Temples
23-39
2 The Myth: the Goddess and the Demon
41-61
3 Navarātri in the Kāmākṣī Temple
63-97
4 Navarātri in the Paṭavēṭṭammaṉ Temple
99-132
PART II - Navarātri at Home
5 The Kolu as a Feminine Space
135-155
6 Creativity and Playfulness in Kolu
157-186
7 Newly Started Kolu, Brahminization and Adaptations
187-211
8 Sarasvatī Pūjā: A Festival within the Festival
213-216
Concluding Remarks: The Play of the Feminine
217-224
Glossary of Recurring Terms
225-226
Bibliography
227-241
Backcover

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