The Play of the Feminine: Navarātri in Kanchipuram

Ina Marie Lunde Ilkama

doi:10.11588/hasp.1167

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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, 卷 16). https://doi.org/10.11588/hasp.1167

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https://doi.org/10.11588/hasp.1167

ISBN 978-3-948791-60-5 (PDF)

ISBN 978-3-948791-59-9 (Hardcover)

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11/28/2023

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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.

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Titelei

i-iv

Contents

v-vii

List of Figures

ix-xi

A Note by the Editors

xiii

Acknowledgments

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

Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing