Feeding a Thousand Souls - Paperback

by Nagarajan (Author)

Every day millions of Tamil women in southeast India wake up before dawn to create a new kolam, an ephemeral but highly elaborate ritual design made with rice flour, on the thresholds of homes, businesses, and temples. This thousand-year-old ritual welcomes and honors the goddesses Lakshmi and Bhudevi. The first comprehensive study of the kolam in English, Feeding a Thousand Souls is the culmination of Vijaya Nagarajan's many years of research and writing on this exacting ritual practice.

Author Biography

Vijaya Nagarajan is an associate professor in the Department of Theology/Religious Studies and in the Program of Environmental Studies at the University of San Francisco.