Embodying the non-human: Ritual Possession and the Performance of Bhūtakola in Karnataka and Kerala

Abstract

This presentation is part of my dissertation on Bhūtakola, a festival of the Tulu region in South India, where performers embody guardian spirits (bhūtas and daivas) to mediate village disputes and protect communities. I specifically look at the traditions of the Panjurli daiva (the boar deity) as preserved in the Tulu pāḍdanas, oral narratives integral to the bhūta kola ritual. In addition to the pāḍdanas, I also draw insights from primary and secondary ethnographic descriptions (Bruckner 1995, Carrin 2003), Bhūta Kola visual materials by Arnold Bake (1938), and the Bake Restudy 1984 (Nazir Jairazbhoy & Amy Catlin).