Ethno-Indology Heidelberg Studies in South Asian Rituals General Editor Axel Michaels Volume 13 2013 Harrassowitz Verlag. Wiesbaden
South Asian Festivals on the Move Edited by Ute Hüsken and Axel Michaels 2013 Harrassowitz Verlag. Wiesbaden
The publication of this volume has been made possible by the generous funding of the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) within the framework of the Collaborative Research Centre 619, Ritual Dynamics, at the University of Heidelberg. Cover: Procession to the bathing place (Har-kī-Pauḍī) during the Kumbha Mela 2010 (photographed by Silke Bechler) Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.dnb.de abrufbar. Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. For further information about our publishing program consult our website http://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden 2013 This work, including all of its parts, is protected by copyright. Any use beyond the limits of copyright law without the permission of the publisher is forbidden and subject to penalty. This applies particularly to reproductions, translations, microfilms and storage and processing in electronic systems. Printed on permanent/durable paper. Printing and binding: Memminger MedienCentrum AG Printed in Germany ISSN 1860-2053 ISBN 978-3-447-06909-0
Table of Contents Introduction 9 1. Festivals as Sites of Public Negotiation Eva Ambos & William S. Sax Discipline and Ecstasy: The Kandy and Kataragama Festivals in Sri Lanka... 27 Kerstin Schier Paṅkuṉi Uttiram and the Transmission of Cultural Memory... 59 Alexander Henn Moving the World Moving the Self: The Gaude Jagor in Goa... 83 Ute Hüsken Flag and Drum: Managing Conflicts in a South Indian Temple... 99 Rich Freeman Arresting Possession: Spirit Mediums in the Multimedia of Malabar... 135 2. The Global and the Local Christiane Brosius Negotiating Belonging in a Megacity: The Spatial Politics of a Public Art Festival... 169 Leah Lowthorp The Translation of Kutiyattam into National and World Heritage on the Festival Stage: Some Identity Implications... 193 Lokesh Ohri Political Appropriation and Cultural Othering in a Heritage Festival... 227 Heike Moser Kūṭiyāṭṭam on the Move: From Temple Theatres to Festival Stages... 245
6 Table of Contents Karin Polit Moving Deities and the Public Sphere... 275 3. People on the Move: Festivals and Processions as Public Events Silke Bechler Kumbha Mela: Millions of pilgrims on the move for immortality and identity... 297 Axel Michaels From Syncretism to Transculturality: The Dīpaṅkara Procession in the Kathmandu Valley... 317 Jörg Gengnagel (in collaboration with Rajendra Singh Khangarot) Inside and Outside the Palace: The Worship of the Royal Insignia (śastravāhanādipūjā) in Jaipur... 343 4. The Old, the New and the Old Renewed Annette Wilke Tamil Temple Festival Culture in Germany: A New Hindu Pilgrimage Place... 369 Paul Younger Pilgrims in a Trans-national Setting: Pilgrimage in the Canadian Temple Traditions of Ayyappan and Athi Parasakthi... 397 Contributors 417 Index 421
Acknowledgments The basis of this volume is a workshop-conference that took place at Oslo University in summer 2011. The participants were members of the Collaborative Research Center Ritual Dynamics (SFB 619), members of the project project Religion on Stage: Traditional South Asian Performances in New Public Spheres and Media of the Cluster of Excellence Asia and Europe in a Global Context The Dynamics of Transculturality (both projects at Heidelberg University), and members of the Oslo project on Ritual traditions in Kanchipuram. Moreover, we invited a number of renowned and young specialists in the field to join us in our common endeavor. The 2011 Oslo workshop built in form and content on another workshop on festivals held in October 2009 at the University of Oslo. While the first workshop Perspectives on Festivity opened the scene with case studies from all over the world, the 2011 workshop South Asian Festivals on the Move focused on festivals in South Asian traditions, taking place in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Germany. The editors wish to express their gratitude for the generous financial support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, the Sonderforschungsbereich 619 Ritual Dynamics at Heidelberg University, the Cluster of Excellence Asia and Europe in a Global Context: The Dynamics of Transculturality at Heidelberg University, the Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages (IKOS) at Oslo University, and the research network PluRel (Religion in Pluralist Societies) at Oslo University. We moreover want to thank Eva Kahlmann and Quoc-Bao Do for their invaluable help with preparing the manuscript and the index.