Name/Title
Altar coverEntry/Object ID
2023.3.188Description
Stephen Huyler identified this and the one that is going to LACMA: They’re covering for a procession kavadi, carried by devotees of Ayyappa on pilgrimage to Sabarimala temple in Kerala. The old ones claim to have been made by cutting up the wool uniforms of British soldiers, but that might well be pure story. Usually they depict Ganesha one side and Murugan on the other. They would have been draped over a wooden kavadi, often carved with two panels, one of each deity, and symbolizing the mountain of sins that Ayyappa carries on behalf of his devotees. By undergoing the arduous vrata (penance) of walking barefoot, usually wearing only black, draped clothing, begging for food, and carrying this symbolic mountain on your shoulders for possibly hundreds of kilometers on your way to Sabarimala, you help to shoulder these sins and hope to be cleansed of your own. John Gillow has a reference that says they are from the Kumghakonam district of Tamil Nadu in Indian Textiles on page 205.Acquisition
Accession
2023.3Source or Donor
Vickie ElsonAcquisition Method
GiftCredit Line
Gift of Vickie ElsonMaterials
Material
Cotton, Silk threadMaterial Notes
Suede? Velvet?Provenance
Notes
Gift of Vickie Elson. Donated to Tracing Patterns Foundation in 2023.