Comment

Comment by Albert L Refiti on November 20, 2012 at 10:14pm

Dear Nold, I just downloaded your book ʻArchitectural Anthropologyʻ from your academia page. I noticed there are similar drawings, photos and concepts published by Gunter Nitschke in his long article ʻShime: Binding/Unbindingʻ in AD 12 in 1974. I wondered what is the connection. I have been referring to Nitschkeʻs article but now Iʻve seen your, I am not sure what the relationship between your concepts and his. I found the concepts very useful. Albert

Comment by Nold Egenter on July 19, 2011 at 3:52pm

Dear Arnab Sen,
• Today religion in India interpretes deities in general as history-based, as mythical figures, mostly presented in anthropomorphous form. Travelling in India in rural areas I discovered that there is another evidently earlier type still used in local villages, deities in the centre of the cults being formed quite differently:
--as some sort of smaller or larger pillar decorated with twigs, flowers, ears and the like
--as smaller or larger huts, later set on fire
--as a cluster of rice plants combined with other elements representing Lakshmi as 'fertility of rice deity'
• These earlier types of deities are set up either in front of temples or they are put up in rice fields of some family in the village or related to the village sanctuary of the whole village. The Lakshmi deity shown in the video was covered up with cloth at the end of the ceremony and carried to the village where various groups had produced gates with sacrifices for the deity in procession. A beautiful cult event.
• I will put two or three videos of these festivals seen in India into YouTube (see YouTube: 'negenter').
• If you manage to find such local rural cults in some regions of India and manage to produce some photos and a short report we could discuss the support of such an expedition.
Regards, Nold Egenter

Comment by Arnab Sen on July 19, 2011 at 9:08am

Hi all

I am interested in space and territoriality in the context of indigenous homelands in India or South East Asia. Any suggestions on possible institutional affiliation / funding?