Practices and Rituals | Sahapedia

Kavus are sacred groves which have a shrine or a temple within them. The kavus were designated forest areas from where foraging and harvesting of firewood could be done. However, any human activity in a kavu has to be done in a controlled way, without damaging the ecosystem within the grove. It is considered inauspicious to fell trees, or to collect flowers and fruits within close proximity to the shrine, hence the entire grove is considered sacred.

Kirthana Devdas

Spirit of the Sacred Groves: Thira of Northern Kerala

Performing Arts, Practices and Rituals

राम सिंह कंवर की भक्ति और मिट्टी का काम/Bhakti, Popular Culture and Clay Work: Inside Ram Singh Kanwar's HouseVideo

बस्तर का गोंचा पर्व/The Goncha Festival of BastarVideo

Guru Padmasambhava: Symbolism and Visual Culture Article

Mandi’s Shivaratri Mela is a Fascinating Example of India’s Multi-deity CultureArticle

पीड़ा एवं सौंदर्य :छत्तीसगढ़ी गोदना प्रथा / Between agony and ecstasy : Godna practice in ChhattisgarhVideo

Spirit of the Sacred Groves: Thira of Northern KeralaImage Gallery

In Conversation with Sanal Thathapuzha: ‘On Uttarayan, the Terraces Turn into Streets’Interview

विश्वसों के मूर्तिकार : बस्तर के लोहार | The Lohars of Bastar: moulding material practices Module

The Pātañjalayogaśāstra alias the Yogasūtra and the YogabhāṣyaArticle

Mushtak Khan in Conversation with Kamal Singh Lohar on the Process of Stone CarvingVideo

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विश्वसों के मूर्तिकार : बस्तर के लोहार | The Lohars o…

Knowledge Traditions Practices and Rituals

Ashna Patel

Uttarayan: The Kite Festival of Ahmedabad

Practices and Rituals Built Spaces

Goncha: The Cult of Jagannath in Bastar/ गोंचा: बस्तर म…

Practices and Rituals

Videos

Embedded thumbnail for राम सिंह कंवर की भक्ति और मिट्टी का काम/Bhakti, Popular Culture and Clay Work: Inside Ram Singh Kanwar's House

राम सिंह कंवर की भक्ति और मिट्टी का काम/Bhakti, Popular Culture and Clay Work: Inside Ram Singh Kanwar's House

Practices and Rituals People

Embedded thumbnail for बस्तर का गोंचा पर्व/The Goncha Festival of Bastar

बस्तर का गोंचा पर्व/The Goncha Festival of Bastar

Practices and Rituals People

Embedded thumbnail for पीड़ा एवं सौंदर्य :छत्तीसगढ़ी गोदना प्रथा / Between agony and ecstasy : Godna practice in Chhattisgarh

पीड़ा एवं सौंदर्य :छत्तीसगढ़ी गोदना प्रथा / Between agony and ecstasy : Godna practice in Chhattisgarh

Visual and Material Arts Practices and Rituals

Sanal Thathapuzha is an architect, kite-flying enthusiast and resident of western Ahmedabad (Courtesy: Sanal Thathapuzha)

In Conversation with Sanal Thathapuzha: ‘On Uttarayan, the Terraces Turn into Streets’

Practices and Rituals Built Spaces

Image Galleries

Kirthana Devdas

Spirit of the Sacred Groves: Thira of Northern Kerala

Ashna Patel

Beyond a Skyful of Kites: Many Meanings of Uttarayan

मुश्ताक खान

Mushtak Khan field diary 1983: Documentation of Godna motifs / मुश्ताक खान फील्ड डायरी १९८३: गोदना का प्रलेखन

Priyanka Chharia

Uniting the Living and the Dead: Arghum Ceremony of the Gurungs

Articles

Gyetrul Jigme Rinpoche

Guru Padmasambhava: Symbolism and Visual Culture

Knowledge Traditions Visual and Material Arts Practices and Rituals People

Manan Kapoor

Mandi’s Shivaratri Mela is a Fascinating Example of India’s Multi-deity Culture

Knowledge Traditions Practices and Rituals

Philipp A. Maas

The Pātañjalayogaśāstra alias the Yogasūtra and the Yogabhāṣya

Knowledge Traditions Practices and Rituals

Sahapedia Frames

Thira is a ritual dance-drama where various deities of the land are invoked and they give divine blessings for the welfare of the land and the people. Thira is unique to the Malabar region in Northern Kerala, where it is performed in sacred shrines and ancestral temples located in kavus (Courtesy: Kirthana Devdas)

Kirthana Devdas

Spirit of the Sacred Groves: Thira of Northern Kerala

Women of the Gurung household weave together a garland for the departed soul; it is considered an offering that they might need in their journey to the afterlife. Hence, unlike regular floral garlands, these contain food items such as biscuits and snacks (Courtesy: Priyanka Chharia)

Priyanka Chharia

Uniting the Living and the Dead: Arghum Ceremony of the Gurungs

Tusu is a harvest festival celebrated by the Kurmi community of Chhota Nagpur Plateau in West Bengal and Jharkhand. (Courtesy: Pinki Biswas Sanyal)

Pinki Biswas Sanyal

Tusu: A Harvest Festival of Chhota Nagpur

Transgender people from across India and abroad gather in Koovagam, a village in the Ulundurpettai taluka in Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu. The festival takes place every year over an 18-day period in the month of Chaitra (April/May). Transgender women take part in the Koovagam festival to re-enact the marriage of Aravan with Mohini, a story which appears in the Tamil versions of Mahabharata.

G. Pattabiraman

Thousand Weddings and a Funeral: Koovagam Festival and Cult of Aravan

Library Artifacts

गोरखनाथ के समसामयिक सिद्ध/Gorakhnath ke Samasamyika Siddha

गोरख सिद्धान्त/Gorakh Siddhant

गोरखनाथ का अपदिष्ठ योग मार्ग/ Gorakhnath ka Upadishta Yoga Marga

गोरखनाथ/Gorakhnath

Chaumasa

सुवागीत/Suva Geet

Chaumasa

छत्तीसगढ़ी सुआ गीत/ Chhattisgarhi Sua Geet