One God, Two Goddesses, Three Studies of South Indian Cosmology

Don Handelman

ISBN 10: 9004256156 / ISBN 13: 9789004256156

Published by Brill Sep 2013, 2013

About this Item

Neuware - One, God, Two Goddesses presents three studies, one of Tamil myths of the god Murugan and two of goddess rituals: Gangamma in Tirupati and Paiditalli in Vizianagaram, both in Andhra Pradesh. All three essays search for lineaments of the cosmos that these deities inhabit and shape. These cosmoi are characterised by the dynamism of their incessant interior movement. Should they become still, they would die. Deities activate and regenerate such a cosmos. The dynamism of Murugan's cosmos eliminates the chaotic. Through ritual, Gangamma regenerates her cosmos through feminising it. Through ritual, Paiditalli annually re-grows the historic little kingdom of Vizianagaram, regenerating its kingship. All three studies point to the need to rethink cosmology in South India.

Seller Inventory # 9789004256156

Bibliographic Details

• Title: One God, Two Goddesses, Three Studies of South Indian Cosmology
• Publisher: Brill Sep 2013
• Publication Date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9004256156
• ISBN 13: 9789004256156
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 239W x 157H x 18D millimeters 239 millimeters width by 157 millimeters height by 18 millimeters depth
• Weight: 499 grams

About this title

Synopsis

One, God, Two Goddesses presents three studies, one of Tamil myths of the god Murugan and two of goddess rituals: Gangamma in Tirupati and Paiditalli in Vizianagaram, both in Andhra Pradesh. All three essays search for lineaments of the cosmos that these deities inhabit and shape. These cosmoi are characterised by the dynamism of their incessant interior movement. Should they become still, they would die. Deities activate and regenerate such a cosmos. The dynamism of Murugan’s cosmos eliminates the chaotic. Through ritual, Gangamma regenerates her cosmos through feminising it. Through ritual, Paiditalli annually re-grows the historic little kingdom of Vizianagaram, regenerating its kingship. All three studies point to the need to rethink cosmology in South India.

About the Author

Don Handelman, Ph.D. (1971), Manchester University, is Shaine Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Hebrew University. He publishes extensively on ritual and religion, including Models and Mirrors (Berghahn 1998) and co-authored with David Shulman God Inside Out (Oxford, 1997) and Śiva in the Forest of Pines (Oxford, 2004).