When the World Becomes Female: Guises of a South Indian Goddess

During the goddess Gangamma's festival in the town of Tirupati, lower-caste men take guises of the goddess, and the streets are filled with men wearing saris, braids, and female jewelry. By contrast, women participate by intensifying the rituals they perform for Gangamma throughout the year, such as cooking and offering food. Joyce Burkhalter Flueckiger argues that within the festival ultimate reality is imagined as female and women identify with the goddess, whose power they share. Vivid accounts by male and female participants offer new insights into Gangamma's traditions and the nature of Hindu village goddesses.

Author: Joyce Burkhalter Flueckiger
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Published: 07/23/2013
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9780253009562

Review Citation(s):
Choice 11/01/2014 pg. 463

About the Author

Joyce Burkhalter Flueckiger is Professor of Religion at Emory University. She is author of In Amma's Healing Room: Gender and Vernacular Islam in South India (IUP, 2009) and Gender and Genre in the Folklore of Middle India.