Oh Terrifying Mother: Sexuality, Violence and Worship of the Goddess Kali [Paperback]

Sarah Caldwell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 16, 2001

Oh Terrifying Mother is an anthropological exploration of a South Indian ritual in which male actors become possessed by the fierce goddess Bhagvati as a divine offering. By providing an on-the-ground look at the many meanings of Kali to those who worship her, this book fills an important niche in the burgeoning literature on Hindu goddesses.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I recommend the book as a new classic and primary source in post-modern anthropology... The brilliance of Caldwell's text is in giving the reader an experience akin to the audience at the ritual."--Journal of Anthropological Research

About the Author

Sarah Caldwell is at California State University,Chico, USA.

Product Details

• Paperback: 340 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (August 16, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195657969
• ISBN-13: 978-0195657968
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,771,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent ethnographic work on muttiyetu and related culture, October 22, 2009

By 

Kaulika - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oh Terrifying Mother: Sexuality, Violence and Worship of the Goddess Kali (Paperback)

This book is an excellent example of critical ethnography, exploring the depths of the ritual art of muttiyetu, the theatrical ritual event in which male dancers become possessed by the deities they portray. Caldwell's multifaceted approach is by all means controversial - she employs a variety of methods to paint a full and in-depth portrait of this intense, arresting art form.

Each chapter unfolds like one of the ritual powder drawings created at the beginning of every ritual performance, as Caldwell employs both technical skill and personal insight through her field journals to show the entire process of research as well as the result of the research itself. In so doing, this is not a typical ethnography, but instead a rich and compelling story of both the subjects of her research as well as her own journey and transformation as the researcher. The start of each successive chapter brushes away the assumptions created in the last, just as the powder drawing is destroyed as part of the ritual, yet still creating a more complex and full picture of the world of muttiyetu in the process.

Caldwell's findings have certainly upset some right-wing Hindus, particularly when she uncovers some culturally uncomfortable behaviors that seem to be rather common amongst young Keralan men, and employs Freudian analysis to connect and extrapolate the tense and complex relationships between men and women into the dance itself. But Caldwell herself writes in the introduction to the book that she doesn't know if this is successful, and that each reader has to make their own judgment from all the evidence presented.

Contrary to what another reviewer wrote here, I find Caldwell's knowledge of Hinduism and Keralan culture to be very solid, as she demonstrates with her writing. However, her controversial findings may cause discomfort to some readers. I encourage a close reading of the text in its entirety, which will reveal the book as a suggestion of several perspectives, rather than a declaration of absolute fact.

This is a must-read for anyone interested in this art form, but also for those writing critical ethnographies and interested in organic inquiry as part of the ethnographic process.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good and personal, May 22, 2011

By 

Mark Love Williamson (ABQ, usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oh Terrifying Mother: Sexuality, Violence and Worship of the Goddess Kali (Paperback)

A very good introduction to the Kali of Sout India. Here she is not the playful nubile and loving mother of Ramprasad but a great destroyer of demons. Ms. Caldwell covers the basics of Kali worship in this region very clearly and with great sensitivity. This book is an academic work and wades into the anthropological debates about origins of worship,the status of women in South India and the goddess as a normative as well as liberating reflection of the culture. This is a feminist scholarly work and the scholarship is very high, although I feel that some of the forays into Freudian arguments are rather unconvincing and unnecessary. In addition, the work was written at a time when anthropologists were experimenting with giving the 'meta-narrative' behind a thesis: Ms. Caldwell intersperses her discussion of Kali with notes from her personal journal, some of which is very harrowing and moving. I think this could have been handled a bit more organically, the jump from academic text to personal reflections often disrupts the flow of the text. Personally, had Ms. Caldwell provided more personal reflections, not just an account of her marriage disintegrating, the book may have been even better.

1 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Do not buy this book., December 19, 2006

By 

V. Choyi - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oh Terrifying Mother: Sexuality, Violence and Worship of the Goddess Kali (Hardcover)

Completely inaccurate. The author does not understand Hinduism and nor does she understand the worship of the Goddess.