عنوان

Revelry, rivalry, and longing for the goddesses of Bengal :

(Number (ISBN

023152787X

(Number (ISBN

9780231527873

Erroneous ISBN

0231129181

Erroneous ISBN

023112919X

Erroneous ISBN

9780231129183

Erroneous ISBN

9780231129190

Title Proper

Revelry, rivalry, and longing for the goddesses of Bengal :

General Material Designation

[Book]

Other Title Information

the fortunes of Hindu festivals /

First Statement of Responsibility

Rachel Fell McDermott.

Place of Publication, Distribution, etc.

New York :

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

Columbia University Press New York,

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

2011.

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

©201

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

©2011

Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item

1 online resource (xviii, 372 pages) :

Other Physical Details

illustrations

Text of Note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 329-351) and index.

Text of Note

Pūjā origins and elite politics -- The goddess in colonial and postcolonial history -- Durgā the daughter : folk and familial traditions -- The artistry of Durgā and Jagaddhātrī -- Durgā on the Titanic : politics and religion in the Pūjā -- The "orientalist Kālī" : a Tantric icon comes alive -- Approaches to Kālī Pūjā in Bengal -- Controversies and the goddess -- Deva in the diaspora -- Appendix : an overview of the press in Bengal up to 1947.

0

Text of Note

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.

Source for Acquisition/Subscription Address

JSTOR

Stock Number

22573/cttgtk71

Title

Revelry, rivalry, and longing for the Goddesses of Bengal.

Durgā-pūjā (Hindu festival)-- India-- West Bengal.

Jagaddhātrī-pūjā (Hindu festival)-- India-- West Bengal.

Kālī-pūjā (Hindu festival)-- India-- West Bengal.

Durgā-pūjā (Hindu festival)

Jagaddhātrī-pūjā (Hindu festival)

Kālī-pūjā (Hindu festival)

RELIGION-- Comparative Religion.

RELIGION-- Hinduism-- Rituals & Practice.

West Bengal (India), Religious life and customs.

India, West Bengal.

0

7

HIS017000

REL-- 017000

REL032000

REL032020

Number

Edition

Class number

Book number

McDermott, Rachel Fell.

Date of Transaction

20200822103525.0

Cataloguing Rules (Descriptive Conventions))

pn

Electronic name

[Book]

Y