Tańczące łodzie Kryszny: o rzecznej kulturze świątynnej środkowej Kerali
The Dancing Boats of Kr̥ṣṇa: On the River Temple Culture of Central Kerala

Summary/Abstract: The present essay draws from historical sources as well as ethnographies on the contemporary riverine culture of Central Kerala. It wider context connects to the problem of method and scale in representing Hinduism as a conglomerate of a multitude of regional religious cultures. It touches among else on the regional concept of Kṛṣṇa hidden within the body of one of the boatmen or oarsmen involved in spectacular events making part of the life of the river temple of Pārthasarathi in Āṟanmuḷa. The long snake boats (called paḷḷiyōṭaṃ or temple vessels) used for the big shows on the water in front of the temple appear to enjoy the status of sacred objects. Their performance on the river Pampā makes a part of a bigger ritual structure of the temple festivals but, nonetheless, it remains a remarkable spectacle in its own. It remains inscribed within an original cultural formation with its specific economy and social relations. The essay attempts to track and map historical change in the social construction of the symbolic representation of space focused on the Kr̥ṣṇa temple of Āṟanmuḷa by the river Pampā.

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