Oh Terrifying Mother Sexuality, Violence and Worship of the Goddess Kali

by Caldwell, Sarah

• ISBN13: 9780195644623
• ISBN10: 019564462X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-05-11
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Oh Terrifying Mother is an anthropological exploration of a South Indian ritual in which male actors become possessed by the fierce goddess Bhagvati as a divine offering. By providing an on-the-ground look at the many meanings of Kali to those who worship her, this book fills an important niche in the burgeoning literature on Hindu goddesses.

Author Biography

Sarah Caldwell is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at California State University, Chico, USA.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgements	xiii
Note on Transliteration	xv
List of Figures	xvii
Prelude: A Way in	1	(9)
The Goddess and Her People	10	(54)
Bhagavati's Living History	10	(17)
Kali in the Kalari: the Sakta Tradition in Kerala	27	(6)
Performers and Patrons	33	(18)
Fieldwork, Backstage	51	(13)
Devikopam: The Wrath of the Goddess	64	(40)
Dusk	69	(3)
Enlivenment	72	(10)
Setting Forth	82	(11)
Comic Relief	93	(2)
Kuli	95	(3)
War	98	(2)
Blessings	100	(1)
Blood for Spirits	100	(1)
Dawn	101	(3)
Landscapes of Feminine Power	104	(51)
Marutam: Trees and Food	105	(9)
Bleeding Stones and Red Earth	114	(8)
From Virgin to Mother: Three Kerala Temples	122	(9)
Seasons, Time, Space	131	(11)
Snakes and the Underworld	142	(8)
The Three Landscapes: Transformations of Kali in Kerala	150	(5)
Male Experiences	155	(40)
Ball of Fire: The Angry Mother	156	(6)
Yaksis: Dangerous Virgins	162	(8)
Fellatio and the Self-feeding Breast	170	(14)
Kuli: The Voice of Protest	184	(4)
Kinds of Power	188	(7)
Female Frustrations, Women's Worlds	195	(57)
So Much for Matriarchy	195	(7)
`The Place of Delivery and All'	202	(11)
Hysteria and Badha	213	(5)
Seductive Virgins: Whose Lust?	218	(18)
The Theme of Vengeance Revisited	236	(16)
Transformation Through Theatre	252	(22)
An Open End	274	(12)
Glossary	286	(3)
Works Cited	289	(18)
Index	307