Includes bibliographical references (pages 191-209) and index.
Contents:
Machine generated contents note: 5. The Durgafication of the goddess. Sitala in pop-devotional culture. The goddess Sitala in Indian literature -- Puranas and dharmanibandhas -- Tantric and agamic literature -- The Bengali Sitalamangalkavyas -- Bhakti giti -- Concluding remarks -- 2. Visions of the goddess: The iconography of Sitala -- Aniconic murtis -- Ethnographic vignette 1 Sri Mata Sitala Devi Mandir, Gurgaon (Haryana) -- The water pitcher -- The broom and the winnower -- Cephalomorphic murtis -- Ethnographic vignette 2 The Agam Kuan, Patna (Bihar) -- Ethnographic vignette 3 The Chota Ma Yatra, Salkia (West Bengal) -- Zoomorphic and phytomorphic murtis -- Equestrian murtis -- The ass vahana -- Ethnographic vignette 4 Sri Daksini Adi Sitala (Burhiya Mai) Mandir, Banaras (Uttar Pradesh) -- Concluding remarks -- 3. Hosting Ma, feeding Ma. Controversies around Sitalapuja -- Ethnographic vignette 5 Animal sacrifice: feeding and thanking the goddess -- Ethnographic vignette 6 Possession: bearing the visit of the goddess -- Ethnographic vignette 7 Mortification of the flesh: Sitala meets Mariyamman -- Concluding remarks -- 4. The smallpox myth and the creation of the goddess of smallpox -- Ethnographic vignette 8 The Bari Sitala Mandir of Adalpura (Uttar Pradesh) -- Disease and ambiguity: The construction of the 'other' in the Bengali mangalkavyas -- The consolidation of the smallpox myth: The struggle against smallpox -- Concluding remarks -- 5. The legacy of Sitala -- After smallpox. The AIDS myth? -- Sitala's shade in Calcutta: On a contemporary mangal novel -- The Durgafication of the goddess. Sitala in pop-devotional culture.
Summary:
"This volume examines notions of health and illness in North Indian devotional culture, with particular attention paid to the worship of the goddess Sitala, the Cold Lady. Consistently portrayed in colonial and postcolonial literature as the ambiguous 'smallpox goddess', Sitala is here discussed as a protector of children and women, a portrayal that emerges from textual sources as well as material culture. The eradication of smallpox did not pose a threat to Sitala and her worship. She continues to be an extremely popular goddess. Religion, Devotion and Medicine critically examines the rise and affirmation of the 'smallpox myth' in India and beyond, and explains how Indian narratives, ritual texts and devotional songs have celebrated Sitala as a loving mother who protects her children from the effects, and the fear, of poxes, fevers and infantile disorders but also all sorts of new threats (such as global pandemics, addictions and environmental catastrophes). The book explores a wide range of ritual and devotional practices, including scheduled festivals, songs, vows, pageants, austerities, possession, animal sacrifices and various forms of offering. Built on extensive fieldwork and a close textual analysis of sources in Sanskrit and vernacular languages (Hindi, Bhojpuri and Bengali) as well as on a rich bibliography on the struggle against smallpox in colonial and post-colonial India, the book reflects on the ambiguous nature of Sitala as a phenomenon largely dependent on the enduring fascination with the exotic, and the horrific, that has pervaded public renditions of Indian culture in indigenous fiction, colonial reports, medical literature and now global culture. To aid study, the volume includes images, web links, appendixes and a filmography."-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.