CREATING FOLK PANTHEON, PERFORMANCES, AND BELIEFS: A visual narrative of Gajan (hook swinging) in Bengal

Abstract

The essay aims to elucidate how the rural community in Bengal worships their folk deity Shiva in the festival, Gajan. With visual narratives of photographs, the essay portrays the processual nature of the embodiment in the festival and the different dimensions of festivity with rites of passage. The antaja sampradaya (lower rung of the social hierarchy) celebrates this festival, during the last month of the Bengali year and ritualistically welcomes the New Year with decorated temples, costumes, rites, and customs. The essay focuses on ritual symbolisms, social organisations, belief systems, and performances through a series of photographs.