Practices and Rituals | Sahapedia

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: The Koovagam Festival and the Cult of Aravan

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Thousand Weddings and a Funeral: The Koovagam Festival and the Cult of Aravan Image Gallery

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Topics

Dr Nilakshi Goswami

From History to Heritage: Sociocultural Dynamics of Satt…

Performing Arts Practices and Rituals

जीत सिंह (Jeet Singh)

नन्दा लोकोत्सवों का समसामयिक अध्ययन

Knowledge Traditions Practices and Rituals

Sebanti Chatterjee

Choral Traditions of India

Performing Arts Practices and Rituals

Videos

Dancers performing bhor-taal nritya (a parushar nritya) in Guwahati (Courtesy: Collection of Ranjumoni Saikia and Rinjumoni Saikia)

In Conversation with Jatin Goswami on Sattriya Nritya

Performing Arts Practices and Rituals

Sajjan Singh Rawat, a jagar singer, has been performing ritualistic folk songs for over five decades in Uttarakhand (Courtesy: Jeet Singh)

जागर गायक सज्जन सिंह रावत का साक्षात्कार

Performing Arts Practices and Rituals People

Embedded thumbnail for In Conversation with Father Joaquim Pereira: Choral Singing in Goa

In Conversation with Father Joaquim Pereira: Choral Singing in Goa

Performing Arts Practices and Rituals

Embedded thumbnail for In Conversation with Pauline Warjri: Choral Music in Meghalaya

In Conversation with Pauline Warjri: Choral Music in Meghalaya

Performing Arts Practices and Rituals

Image Galleries

G. Pattabiraman

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

Pradeep KS

Dance of the Spirits: Bhuta-Kola of Dakshin Kannada

Aravindhan C. and Rabboni Rabi

The Life of a Sport: Jallikattu, a Photo Essay

Sujata Khanna

Training the Body and Mind: Kung-Fu Nuns of Kathmandu

Articles

मुश्ताक खान

कथा गायन और दान/Dana in Storytelling Traditions

Practices and Rituals People

Dr Nilakshi Goswami

Sociocultural Dynamics of Sattriya Nritya

Performing Arts Practices and Rituals

जीत सिंह (Jeet Singh)

बहु-आयामी नंदीकुण्ड नन्दा जात

Knowledge Traditions Practices and Rituals

Sahapedia Frames

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: The Koovagam Festival and the Cult of Aravan

The Tuluvas engage spiritually with a host of local spirits and deities during the annual celebration of Bhuta-Kola; bhuta meaning spirit and kola meaning play or performance, in the Tulu language. During the ritual, oracles summon bhutas and are temporarily possessed by them, forecasting future events or acting as mediators to provide moral guidance and resolve legal disputes.

Pradeep KS

Dance of the Spirits: Bhuta-Kola of Dakshin Kannada

The Chinese word gun refers to a long staff used as a weapon. It is one of the four major weapons, along with the qiang (spear), dao (sabre), and the jian (straight sword), used in Chinese martial arts.

Sujata Khanna

Training the Body and Mind: Kung-Fu Nuns of Kathmandu

Amid the Ahoms: Rongali Bihu of Sibsagar

Arnab Bhaumik

Amid the Ahoms: Rongali Bihu of Sibsagar