From demon to deity: Forging a new iconography for Mahishasur
This article focuses on the forging of a new iconography for Mahishasur, a ‘demon’ in Hindu mythology who was reclaimed by indigenous communities both as a ‘god’ and as a champion of their political autonomy. The public political ritual of venerating Mahishasur was deemed blasphemous by the Hindu na...
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| Medienart: | Elektronisch Aufsatz |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Verfügbarkeit prüfen: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Lade...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Veröffentlicht: |
Sage Publ.
2023
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| In: |
Journal of material culture
Jahr: 2023, Band: 28, Heft: 1, Seiten: 106-130 |
| weitere Schlagwörter: | B
Hindu Nationalism
B indigenous activism B Counterculture B aesthetics and politics B caste politics B indigenous resistance B Mahiṣāsura |
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Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Zusammenfassung: | This article focuses on the forging of a new iconography for Mahishasur, a ‘demon’ in Hindu mythology who was reclaimed by indigenous communities both as a ‘god’ and as a champion of their political autonomy. The public political ritual of venerating Mahishasur was deemed blasphemous by the Hindu nationalist party in power. Among clay-modellers of Bengal, the dominant ‘demon’ image of Mahishasur embodies the highly-valued skill of Naturalistic sculpture; but the movement needed a new benevolent image. Through interviews with image-makers and organisers of this political ritual in several villages of West Bengal, I will show how local aesthetic ideals of masculinity, virtue, and political ideology are expressed in the new aesthetic form(s) and iconographies of this emerging hero of Indian politics. |
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| ISSN: | 1460-3586 |
| Enthält: | Enthalten in: Journal of material culture
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/13591835221116708 |