Kataragama : a god for all seasons /

In ever-increasing numbers Sinhalese of all religions (Muslims, Christians and Buddhists) are turning to Kataragama, an ancient Hindu God, at times of trouble and desperation. Once a year pilgrims make the journey to Kataragama's shrine in southeast Sri Lanka (Ceylon) to fulfil vows by performi...

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Bibliographic Details
Online Access: Full text (MCPHS users only)
Other Authors: Nairn, Charlie (Director, Producer), Obeyesekere, Gananath (Contributor)
Format: Electronic Video
Language:English
Published: London : Royal Anthropological Institute, 1973
Series:Disappearing world
Subjects:

MARC

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245 0 0 |a Kataragama :  |b a god for all seasons /  |c directed and produced by Charlie Nairn. 
260 |a London :  |b Royal Anthropological Institute,  |c 1973. 
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500 |a Title from resource description page (viewed Feb. 6, 2014). 
518 |a Recorded in Sri Lanka. 
520 |a In ever-increasing numbers Sinhalese of all religions (Muslims, Christians and Buddhists) are turning to Kataragama, an ancient Hindu God, at times of trouble and desperation. Once a year pilgrims make the journey to Kataragama's shrine in southeast Sri Lanka (Ceylon) to fulfil vows by performing acts of penance and worship in payment for a favour received. Kataragama is called on to help with a wide range of problems (unemployment, sickness, examinations, personal relationships) and is appealed to by people of all social backgrounds, notably the growing middle class and urban dwellers. A good third of the film is concerned with the annual festival, showing the often gruesome and sensational acts which the pilgrims perform including fire-walking, and the piercing of body and tongue with needles - all acts designed to obtain forgiveness and grace. One man is suspended from hooks in his back - a self-torture undertaken with apparent joy by a man who, like many others that perform such acts, feels himself (after a time) to be possessed by the God's spirit. These rather sensational acts are interwoven with the story of a peasant family whose son has disappeared, leading them eventually to seek help from Kataragama. The unfolding of this personal drama (with reconstruction of early episodes, and voice-over to detail their thoughts and feelings) forms the context for the events we see at the festival. The effect of the interweaving of these two `stories' is to place the otherwise purely exotic spectacle of the pilgrims' acts of penance within a universally understandable social context - that of the despair of a family whose young son is lost. The unplanned return of the boy, apparently in response to the family's appeal to Kataragama, provides a dramatic and moving finale to a film which has been compared in some respects to the great Italian neo-realist films. Clearly this film is an important one both for anthropologists and those concerned with ethnographic film per se. 
546 |a This edition in English. 
506 |a Access restricted to authorised ANU staff and students.  |5 ANU 
650 0 |a Hinduism  |z Sri Lanka. 
650 0 |a Kārttikeya (Hindu deity) 
651 0 |a Sri Lanka  |x Religious life and customs. 
651 0 |a Kataragama (Sri Lanka)  |x Religious life and customs. 
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700 1 |a Obeyesekere, Gananath,  |e contributor. 
710 2 |a Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland,  |e production company. 
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