Women in Hindu Temple Art

Abstract

Abstract This paper will focus on the traditional or Agamic temples of South India, to explore the reasons why women are largely absent in significant hereditary roles determining the continuation of its art and ritual practices even at present. The art/ritual practice that women are primarily associated with is kolam-making. Kolams are geometric and abstract floor designs that are drawn by hand using impermanent materials like rice flour to mark the auspiciousness of an entryway, a festive occasion or time of the day. These are mostly done as voluntary services at temples by women in the locality, especially during festival days. The nature of this art is informal and ephemeral compared to the other codified and more permanent temple art forms, which women are not allowed to make. The limited and conditional access for female practitioners in Hindu temples is based upon restrictions constructed around the divine power, which the temple is designed to establish and maintain. This paper will study and locate the absence of women as contemporary temple art practitioners in the intersection of the meanings of being female and the meanings of Hindu temple forms and spaces.