Feeding a Thousand Souls
Women, Ritual, and Ecology in India- An Exploration of the Kolam
Price: 1795.00 INR
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ISBN:
9780190858070
Publication date:
24/12/2018
Paperback
336 pages
235.0x156.0mm
Price: 1795.00 INR
We sell our titles through other companies
Disclaimer :You will be redirected to a third party website.The sole responsibility of supplies, condition of the product, availability of stock, date of delivery, mode of payment will be as promised by the said third party only. Prices and specifications may vary from the OUP India site.
ISBN:
9780190858070
Publication date:
24/12/2018
Paperback
336 pages
235.0x156.0mm
Vijaya Nagarajan
Rights: OUP USA (INDIAN TERRITORY)
Vijaya Nagarajan
Description
Every day millions of Tamil women in southeast India wake up before dawn to create a kōlam, an ephemeral ritual design made with rice flour, on the thresholds of homes, businesses and temples. This thousand-year-old ritual welcomes and honors Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and alertness, and Bhudevi, the goddess of the earth. Created by hand with great skill, artistry, and mathematical precision, the kolam disappears in a few hours, borne away by passing footsteps and hungry insects.
This is the first comprehensive study of the kōlam in the English language. It examines its significance in historical, mathematical, ecological, anthropological, and literary contexts. The culmination of Vijaya Nagarajan's many years of research and writing on this exacting ritual practice, Feeding a Thousand Souls celebrates the experiences, thoughts, and voices of the Tamil women who keep this tradition alive.
About the Author
Vijaya Nagarajan is an associate professor in the Department of Theology/Religious Studies and in the Program of Environmental Studies at the University of San Francisco and writes about Hinduism, gender, and ecology. She is active in the American Academy of Religion and in the environmental movements in the United States.
Vijaya Nagarajan
Table of contents
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Note on Diacritics and Transliterations
List of Figures
Introduction
Chapter 1- Beginnings
Chapter 2- Following Lines of Beauty
Chapter 3- Rituals
Chapter 4- Thresholds
Chapter 5- Antal
Chapter 6- Designs
Chapter 7- Embodied Mathematics
Chapter 8- Competitions: From Village to City
Chapter 9- Embedded Ecologies and the Earth Goddess
Chapter 10- Marrying Trees and Global Warming
Chapter 11- Feeding a Thousand Souls: A Ritual of Generosity
Chapter 12- Endings
Vijaya Nagarajan
Features
- The first comprehensive book in English on the kōlam, a ritual rice flour drawing created by Tamil women
- Explores the kōlam's significance in historical, mathematical, ecological, anthropological, and literary contexts
- Based on years of research on the kōlam and on the experiences of Tamil women
Vijaya Nagarajan
Description
Every day millions of Tamil women in southeast India wake up before dawn to create a kōlam, an ephemeral ritual design made with rice flour, on the thresholds of homes, businesses and temples. This thousand-year-old ritual welcomes and honors Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and alertness, and Bhudevi, the goddess of the earth. Created by hand with great skill, artistry, and mathematical precision, the kolam disappears in a few hours, borne away by passing footsteps and hungry insects.
This is the first comprehensive study of the kōlam in the English language. It examines its significance in historical, mathematical, ecological, anthropological, and literary contexts. The culmination of Vijaya Nagarajan's many years of research and writing on this exacting ritual practice, Feeding a Thousand Souls celebrates the experiences, thoughts, and voices of the Tamil women who keep this tradition alive.
About the Author
Vijaya Nagarajan is an associate professor in the Department of Theology/Religious Studies and in the Program of Environmental Studies at the University of San Francisco and writes about Hinduism, gender, and ecology. She is active in the American Academy of Religion and in the environmental movements in the United States.
Read MoreTable of contents
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Note on Diacritics and Transliterations
List of Figures
Introduction
Chapter 1- Beginnings
Chapter 2- Following Lines of Beauty
Chapter 3- Rituals
Chapter 4- Thresholds
Chapter 5- Antal
Chapter 6- Designs
Chapter 7- Embodied Mathematics
Chapter 8- Competitions: From Village to City
Chapter 9- Embedded Ecologies and the Earth Goddess
Chapter 10- Marrying Trees and Global Warming
Chapter 11- Feeding a Thousand Souls: A Ritual of Generosity
Chapter 12- Endings
