Shiva Urella

From the venue:

Shiva Urella, Emory University, Graduate Division of Religion

"Gender is so fluid here": Guising, Ritual, and Community at a South Indian Festival

Every year, the festival of Mallanna jatara is celebrated in the south Indian state of Telangana. This talk addresses the ritual of geometric floor art created by ritual specialists known as Ogguvandlu and organized by "gender-transgressive" devotees called Shivashaktis. It discusses their community formation through guising and ritual participation that visually renders gender fluidity legible while simultaneously subverting and affirming gender norms.