medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Right you are! As a matter of fact, it is one of a number of
"ordeals" performed in the spring festivals, "Chaitra Parva", every
year in north-east India in what is now the state of Orissa. It also
includes water. A devotee carrys a pot of water taken from a
tributary of the Ganges on his head and trots back and forth over a
fire pit. It is, a ritual mixing of fire and water, or sun & earth,
which produces life. This is an exciting spectacle and the entire
village or villages of the area come to witness it. There are others,
such a rolling in thorns, hanging over the fire, etc. I made films on
all of these and am still trying to decide what I can do with them to
be useful to others. Oh, I forgot to mention lying on cacti, walking
on broken glass, and sleeping on a bed of nails. Finally, there is
the mendicant with buttons sewed to his flesh and nails stuck through
his flesh as well as a string which he will pull through a hole in his
tongue to demonstrate his whatever and for a small fee. Studs through
the tongue have become a fad among some of the students in the US and
they actually pay someone to do it to them. Ditto for metal through
the lips, cheeks, etc. I think this may have been brough back from
the East (not our Bill) by young people, who, for whatever reason
visited India. yrs, tom ault
On Fri, 5 Nov 2004 09:16:05 -0000
Madeleine Gray <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
>culture
>
> I think that in the more recent Hindu tradition this is not so much
>of
> an ordeal (and even less a penitential practice, though it was read
>as a
> penance by the Catholic missionaries) as a demonstration of faith in
>the
> god - rather like falling backwards into someone's arms.
>
> Maddy
>
> Dr Madeleine Gray, in the foothills of God's golden county of Gwent
> School of Humanities and Science, University of Wales, Newport
> Caerleon Campus, PO Box 179, Newport NP18 3YG. Tel: +44
>(0)1633.432675
>
>
> 'Even big collections of ordinary books distort space and time, as
>can
> readily be proved by anyone who has been around a really
>old-fashioned
> second-hand bookshop'.
>
>
>
> History at University of Wales, Newport:
>http://timezone.newport.ac.uk
> Gwent County History Association website:
> http://gwent-county-history-association.newport.ac.uk
> Cistercian Way: http://cistercian-way.newport.ac.uk
>
>
>
>
>
>
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