figure (communication artefact); figure (ritual & belief: representations)

Painted papier mache figure of Kali dancing on Shiva, who is lying on his back, and accompanied by a striped wild animal, probably intended to represent a tiger. She carries a curved sword in one hand, the severed head of a demon in another, one is raised in blessing and the other is slightly cupped, palm upward. Her necklace is of severed heads and her girdle of severed hands. Her tongue hangs out. Shiva clutches a discus in his right hand and has snakes around his waist and arms. The figures are on a wooden platform. This image is of the type used for Kali-puja and then paraded through the streets before being immersed in a tank or river at the end of the festival.

Collection Information

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