Local Protector

As local protector of villages and towns and individual tribal peoples, Devi encompass local goddesses as well as local representations of goddesses whose aspects as cosmic force have already been noted. The Indian countryside is dotted with numerous wayside shrines that are often located at the threshold of villages. Except for those dedicated to local heroes these shrines are invariably "mata" or mother goddess shrines. Sometimes a "mata" shrine encloses nothing more than an earthen water pot with molded clay protrusions that symbolize the nourishing breasts of the goddess. At other times, a rock smeared with saffron and vermillion speaks of her presence. On occasion, a simply modeled stone image serves to invoke the deity. These goddesses, who are concerned only with local affairs, are all-important in the villages and tribal areas. They give an immediacy to worship that cannot be provided by the great male gods, Vishnu and Shiva, who are usually enshrined in temples in the major towns.

[IMAGE: Durga beneath a Sunburst Medallion. India, state of Himachal Pradesh, Kullu. 16th century. Bronze. Lent by Leo S. Figiel, M. D. Beneath a large sunburst medallion, a triumphant four-armed Durga stands over a decapitated buffalo. The zigzag shaft of her trident simulates a thunderbolt as it pierces the buffalo at her feet while her other hand holds the wretched demon Mahisha. An incongruously small lion attacks the buffalo's rear. This vigorous rendition of Durga with a disproportionately large head and short skirt is typical of the folk style of Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The large number of Durga images from this region are testimony to the high regard in which she is held.]

[IMAGE: Seven sisters on a pedestal. India, state of Madhya Pradesh, Bastar district, 19th century. Bronze. Lent by Leo S. Figiel, M.D. Seven female figures representing the seven sisters (sat-bahini) here stand in a row, their arms wrapped around one another's backs in folk-dance formation. Since prehistoric times the number seven has had mystical significance in India. It denotes multiplicity and plurality and is widely associated with cyclic renewal. In western India groups of seven water nymphs are propitiated to protect women from infertility and miscarriages. In southern India, the sapta kannagis (seven maidens) are considered the tutelary deities of water tanks. In tribal Bastar, where young people often live in dormitories called ghotul, the seven sisters are looked upon as protectors of adolescent girls. The divine maidens have individual names, which are often conferred as titles of honor upon the resident girls. These bronze figurines depicting the seven divine maidens may also refer to the girls engaged in ritual dances in their honor.]

[IMAGE: The Goddess Markama in the sanctum of her temple in Bissamcuttack. The goddess's face is covered with red powder and is decorated with silver eyes, tongue, and nose, as well as a diadem. There are seven swords placed on the stone image; one belongs to Markama's spouse, Niamraja, a deity of the Dongaria Kondh tribe. Photo by Cornelia Mallebrein, India, state of Orissa, Rayagada district, spring, 1997.]

The fluctuating imagery of local goddesses is dramatically exemplified in the tribal region of Bastar in central India, where bronze casters create images from personal dream visions of the deities. With such an individual approach, only the craftsman and the commissioning patron know a deity's precise identity. A favored Bastar mode for representing the goddesses is to model them seated upon a swing or within wheeled chariots.

[IMAGE: Durga with Her Family. India, state of West Bengal or Orissa, 17th-18th century. Bronze. Lent by Leo S. Figiel. M. D. In eastern India, Durga, the slayer of the buffalo demon, is also visualized as Uma, the consort of Shiva. When the goddess visits her parents' home during Durga Puja, a ten-day fall festival especially popular in this region, she is accompanied by her children. In this bronze altar, the central figure of Durga slaying the buffalo demon is flanked by the goddesses Lakshmi and Sarasvati, envisioned in this region as Durga's daughters. Alongside are her sons, Kartikeya standing on his peacock and Ganesha seated on his rat. The griffin head given to Durga's lion is a regional characteristic. In this large and complex tableau, each figure is cast individually by the lost-wax process. It juxtaposes Durga's two contradictory roles--the divine destroyer of the demon and the affectionate daughter and mother.]

[IMAGE: Woman with parasol and pot. India, state of Orissa, Kondh tribe, late 20th century. Bronze. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Dr. Leo S. Figiel. S1997.138a-c. This female figure, unusually large for a Kondh bronze, is a fine example of Kondh craftsmanship, although it was unlikely to have been created for a ritual purpose. In recent years, size and weight have been the criteria by which to assess the value of bronzes made for other than ritual purposes. The surface is covered with the crisscross lattice texture typical of Kondh bronzes and the woman's braided hair and hairpins are depicted in minute detail. The umbrella and pot were cast separately and inserted into her hands. This bronze bears the Kondh woman's distinctive tattoo marks on cheeks, chin, and forehead, as well as multiple piercings of the earlobes. As a preparation for marriage, Kondh girls are tattooed at the age of ten, while even earlier, holes are pierced along the outer ear and earlobes to receive the earrings their bridegroom will one day give them.]

[IMAGE: Elongated goddess. India, state of Madhya Pradesh, Bastar district, 19th or 20th century. Bronze. Lent by Leo S. Figiel, M. D. The piquant proportions of this female figure, with its bold deliberate distortions of form, illustrate the sharp contrast that exists between depictions of deities within classical Hinduism and folk religion. Sculptors who make images for the traditional temples work according to textual prescriptions following strict guidelines for the physical proportions of deities, their adornment, and other iconographic details. Folk artisans are unfettered by any such regulations. Their work, believed to be inspired directly by the deities who appear in their dream visions, renders each piece unique. This figure may have been either an icon or equally a votive object that was offered to a goddess. Only the pedestal retains traces of the faint horizontal ribbing that is evidence of the wax-thread process typical of Bastar bronzes.]

A different type of visual representation and its accompanying belief is evident in the unique Bhuta cult practiced along India's southwestern coastal strip. The term "bhuta" refers to a group of divine spirits or supernatural beings who are generally benign but are also capable of causing misery requiring periodic propitiation and workshop. Local people refer to bhutas with awe and veneration. Close to four hundred individual bhutas are recognized of which a large number are female, referred to as Mothers.

[IMAGE: Female bhuta. India, state of Karnataka, coastal south Kanara, ca. 1800. Wood with traces of pigment. Lent by Dr. Siddharth Bhansali. This small, stocky image of a bhuta, or supernatural spirit, may represent the goddess Chikku (literally, small one), a petite, demure figure who is reportedly today's favorite bhuta. She is abundantly ornamented with her hair drawn straight back to hang as a heavy plait, and her strikingly stylized facial features giver her an air of austere grandeur. A bowl of sacred ash, known as vighuti, rests in her upraised hand.]

[IMAGE: Female bhuta. India, state of Karnataka, coastal south Kanara, 19th century. Bronze. Lent by Dr. Siddharth Bhansali. This image with hands joined in a gesture of adoration is usually in home shrines situated in a room at the rear of the house. Only on festival days would such an image be taken out of its seclusion and brought into the square where the Koolam dance is performed. This bhuta has a wide, infectious smile, elaborate jewelry, a topknot pulled to one side of the head, and a skirt whose swirling movement are ingeniously depicted.]

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