
Revelry, Rivalry, and Longing for the Goddesses of Bengal
The Fortunes of Hindu Festivals
Rachel Fell McDermott(Author)
Columbia University Press
Will be published approx. on 31. May 2011
Book
Paperback/Softback
392 pages
978-0-231-12919-0 (ISBN)
Description
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.
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.
Reviews / Votes
This is a book of superior, indeed pristine scholarship that significantly advances our knowledge on a number of fronts, historical and theoretical. What is so artful about this particular work is the way it handles multiple, sometimes abstract theoretical issues (iconography, ritual theory, colonial history, mythology, postcolonial theory, sacrifice, censorship, poster art, prostitution, environmentalism, and diaspora and immigration studies) through very concrete historical details and, most important, a single, overarching historical narrative spanning some three to four centuries. This is a truly comprehensive book, and it will become the definitive study of the subject. -- Jeffrey J. Kripal, Rice University, author of Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred McDermott's pioneering study is a scholarly achievement that is impressive, enlightening and enjoyable to read. -- Chris J. Fuller Pacific Affairs McDermott's Revelry, Rivalry, and Longing is a wonderful book that thoroughly presents the development of three of the most important festivals in Bengal. Journal of Hindu StudiesMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
37 illus.
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
524 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-231-12919-0 (9780231129190)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Rachel Fell McDermott
Revelry, Rivalry, and Longing for the Goddesses of Bengal
The Fortunes of Hindu Festivals
E-Book
09/2015
1st Edition
De Gruyter
from
€29.95
Available for download

Rachel Fell McDermott
Revelry, Rivalry, and Longing for the Goddesses of Bengal
The Fortunes of Hindu Festivals
Book
05/2011
Columbia University Press
€109.12
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Person
Rachel Fell McDermott is professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures at Barnard College. Her books include Singing to the Goddess: Poems to Kali and Uma from Bengal and Encountering Kali: In the Margins, at the Center, in the West.
Content
List of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgments Notes on Transliteration Introduction 1. P?j? Origins and Elite Politics 2. The Goddess in Colonial and Postcolonial History 3. Durg? the Daughter: Folk and Familial Traditions 4. The Artistry of Durg? and Jagaddh?tr? 5. Durg? on the Titanic: Politics and Religion in the P?j? 6. The "Orientalist" K?l?: A Tantric Icon Comes Alive 7. Approaches to K?l? P?j? in Bengal 8. Controversies and the Goddess 9. Dev? in the Diaspora Conclusion Appendix: An Overview of the Press in Bengal up to 1947 Notes Bibliography Index
Read chapter 7, >Approaches to Kali Puja in Bengal. (pdf)