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- Title
Masāne kī horī: Singing life in the cremation ground.
- Authors
Caranti, Erika
- Abstract
Named after the Hindu spring festival of holī, horī songs generally portray the frolicsome play of the day with the throwing of coloured powders by Kṛṣṇa as the main protagonist pranking Rādhā and the gopīs in Braj. The horī analysed in the present paper shows idiosyncrasies unveiling religious, theological, and ritual significance, besides offering precious insights into a 'living tradition:' the celebration of holī in the city of Banaras, at the cremation ground in Maṇikarṇikā ghāṭ, where śaiva devotees enact and 'actualise' the horī. The song depicts Śiva playing holī in the cremation ground with his retinue of ghostly creatures that are his favourite companions along with aghorīs. In place of colours, Śiva tosses the ashes from funeral pyres. In his divine dance and drumming, Mahādeva uses the poisonous snakes adorning him as water-guns to squirt venom instead of gulāl. The atypical choice of Śiva in one of his fearful manifestations as the subject of a horī is discussed through references to philosophical and theological interpretations and specific symbolism. The apparent contradiction of the celebration of a lively festival in the setting of the cremation ground, resolved in the divine character of Śiva, is illustrated and contextualised starting from textual analysis.
- Subjects
CREMATION; PRACTICAL jokes; POISONOUS snakes; SPRING festivals; SINGING; RITES &; ceremonies
- Publication
Kervan: International Journal of Afro-Asiatic Studies, 2022, Vol 26, Issue 1, p441
- ISSN
1825-263X
- Publication type
Article