Revelry, Rivalry, and Longing for the Goddesses of Bengal

The Fortunes of Hindu Festivals

Nonfiction, History, Asian, India, Religion & Spirituality, Eastern Religions, Hinduism
Cover of the book Revelry, Rivalry, and Longing for the Goddesses of Bengal by Rachel Fell McDermott, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Rachel Fell McDermott ISBN: 9780231527873
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: May 31, 2011
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Rachel Fell McDermott
ISBN: 9780231527873
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: May 31, 2011
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

Annually during the months of autumn, Bengal hosts three interlinked festivals to honor its most important goddesses: Durga, Kali, and Jagaddhatri. While each of these deities possesses a distinct iconography, myth, and character, they are all martial. Durga, Kali, and Jagaddhatri often demand blood sacrifice as part of their worship and offer material and spiritual benefits to their votaries. Richly represented in straw, clay, paint, and decoration, they are similarly displayed in elaborately festooned temples, thronged by thousands of admirers.

The first book to recount the history of these festivals and their revelry, rivalry, and nostalgic power, this volume marks an unprecedented achievement in the mapping of a major public event. Rachel Fell McDermott describes the festivals' origins and growth under British rule. She identifies their iconographic conventions and carnivalesque qualities and their relationship to the fierce, Tantric sides of ritual practice. McDermott confronts controversies over the tradition of blood sacrifice and the status-seekers who compete for symbolic capital. Expanding her narrative, she takes readers beyond Bengal's borders to trace the transformation of the goddesses and their festivals across the world. McDermott's work underscores the role of holidays in cultural memory, specifically the Bengali evocation of an ideal, culturally rich past. Under the thrall of the goddess, the social, political, economic, and religious identity of Bengalis takes shape.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Annually during the months of autumn, Bengal hosts three interlinked festivals to honor its most important goddesses: Durga, Kali, and Jagaddhatri. While each of these deities possesses a distinct iconography, myth, and character, they are all martial. Durga, Kali, and Jagaddhatri often demand blood sacrifice as part of their worship and offer material and spiritual benefits to their votaries. Richly represented in straw, clay, paint, and decoration, they are similarly displayed in elaborately festooned temples, thronged by thousands of admirers.

The first book to recount the history of these festivals and their revelry, rivalry, and nostalgic power, this volume marks an unprecedented achievement in the mapping of a major public event. Rachel Fell McDermott describes the festivals' origins and growth under British rule. She identifies their iconographic conventions and carnivalesque qualities and their relationship to the fierce, Tantric sides of ritual practice. McDermott confronts controversies over the tradition of blood sacrifice and the status-seekers who compete for symbolic capital. Expanding her narrative, she takes readers beyond Bengal's borders to trace the transformation of the goddesses and their festivals across the world. McDermott's work underscores the role of holidays in cultural memory, specifically the Bengali evocation of an ideal, culturally rich past. Under the thrall of the goddess, the social, political, economic, and religious identity of Bengalis takes shape.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book The Cutting Edge by Rachel Fell McDermott
Cover of the book Projecting Race by Rachel Fell McDermott
Cover of the book The Wealth of Nature by Rachel Fell McDermott
Cover of the book The Reagan Era by Rachel Fell McDermott
Cover of the book Child Welfare for the Twenty-first Century by Rachel Fell McDermott
Cover of the book Modern Korean Drama by Rachel Fell McDermott
Cover of the book On Slowness by Rachel Fell McDermott
Cover of the book Out of the Blue by Rachel Fell McDermott
Cover of the book Faithful to Secularism by Rachel Fell McDermott
Cover of the book Interest Rate Swaps and Other Derivatives by Rachel Fell McDermott
Cover of the book The Columbia Guide to African American History Since 1939 by Rachel Fell McDermott
Cover of the book Educational Supervision in Social Work by Rachel Fell McDermott
Cover of the book Emperor Wu Zhao and Her Pantheon of Devis, Divinities, and Dynastic Mothers by Rachel Fell McDermott
Cover of the book The Metropolitan Revolution by Rachel Fell McDermott
Cover of the book The Taste of Apples by Rachel Fell McDermott
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy