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

"A carefully crafted ethnography on the South Indian festival of the village goddess Gangamma in the pilgrimage town of Tirupati" ( Choice ). 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. "Flueckiger's rich and colorful descriptions of the stories, festivals, and worshipers connected with the goddess Gangamma evoke a world that previously had been accessible to very few living outside southern India. This work makes available to readers a close-up view of an extremely fascinating aspect of living Hinduism." —David L. Haberman, Indiana University "Carefully crafted. . . . Through these rituals, stories and lives, the author reveals new ways of comprehending gender both at the cosmological and human level." —Ann Grodzins Gold, Syracuse University Cover 1 CONTENTS 8 PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 10 NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION 16 Introduction 20 Part One. Imaginative Worlds of Gangamma 44 1. An Aesthetics of Excess 46 2. Guising, Transformation, Recognition, and Possibility 73 3. Narratives of Excess and Access 94 4. Female-Narrated Possibilities of Relationship 116 5. Gangamma as Ganga River Goddess 132 Part Two. Those Who Bear the Goddess 156 6. Wandering Goddess, Village Daughter: Avilala Reddys 158 7. Temple and Vesham Mirasi: The Kaikalas of Tirupati 176 8. The Goddess Served and Lost: Tatayyagunta Mudaliars 199 9. Exchanging Talis with the Goddess: Protection and Freedom to Move 229 10. “Crazy for the Goddess”: A Consuming Relationship 261 Conclusion: Possibilities of a World Become Female 284 GLOSSARY 292 NOTES 300 REFERENCES 316 INDEX 324 A 324 B 325 C 325 D 325 E 326 F 326 G 326 H 327 I 327 J 327 K 327 L 328 M 328 N 329 O 329 P 329 R 330 S 331 T 332 U 332 V 332 W 333 Y 333 Preface and AcknowledgmentsNote on TransliterationIntroductionPart 1. Imaginative Worlds of Gangamma 1. An Aesthetics of Excess 2. Guising, Transformation, Recognition, and Possibility 3. Narratives of Excess and Access 4. Female-Narrated Possibilities of Relationship 5. Gangamma as Ganga River GoddessPart 2. Those Who Bear the Goddess 6. Wandering Goddess, Village Daughter: Avilala Reddys 7. Temple and Vesham Mirasi: The Kaikalas of Tirupati 8. The Goddess Served and Lost: Tattayagunta Mudaliars 9. Exchanging Talis with the Goddess: Protection and Freedom to Move 10. "Crazy for the Goddess": A Consuming RelationshipConclusion: Possibilities of a World Become FemaleGlossaryNotesReferencesIndex 4e de couv.: 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 An Aesthetics Of Excess -- Guising, Transformation, Recognition, And Possibility -- Narratives Of Excess And Access -- Female-narrated Possibilities Of Relationship -- Gangamma As Ganga River Goddess -- Wandering Goddess, Village Daughter : Avilala Reddys -- Temple And Vesham Mirasi : The Kaikalas Of Tirupati -- The Goddess Served And Lost : Tatayyagunta Mudaliars -- Exchanging Talis With The Goddess : Protection And Freedom To Move -- Crazy For The Goddess : A Consuming Relationship -- Possibilities Of A World Become Female. Joyce Burkhalter Flueckiger. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.