article
Aesthetics and power in Pāmbin Tullal: a possession ritual of rural Kerala
Ethnology • 26 (1) • Published In 1987 • Pages: 63-71
By: Neff, Deborah L..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
When afflicted by misfortunes such as childlessness, poor health, death, lack of marriage proposals, or joblessness, Nayar caste families seek the help of serpent deities. A key aspect of the ritual, performed by specialists from the Pulluvar caste, involves the symbolic feeding of eight mythological serpent deities represented in colorful floor drawings. This article discusses aesthetic aspects of these drawings, valued not only for their beauty as works of art but also for their power or efficacy.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Prayers and sacrifices
- Organized ceremonial
- Sacred objects and places
- Ritual
- General character of religion
- Spirits and gods
- Animism
- Magic
- Visual arts
- Gender roles and issues
- Inter-community relations
- Revelation and divination
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Kerala
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2017
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Asia
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- South Asia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Anthropologist
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Teferi Abate Adem ; 2016
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1983
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1983-1986
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Thrissur and Palakkad districts, Kerala, India
- NotesAdditional notes
- Deborah L. Neff
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 71)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 64005713
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Kerala (India)