A Million Shaktis Rising: Pongala, a Women's Festival in Kerala, India

Each spring Thiruvananthapuram the capital city of Kerala India shuts down for a day while more than a million women of many religions communities and classes line the streets with their pots to cook porridge for Attukal Amma (Mother). They are performing a women’s ritual that is deeply rooted in ancient Kerala mythology and cultural tradition and also has powerful meaning for women today as evidenced by its rapid growth during the past twenty years. My research of Attukal Pongala a women’s offering to the goddess Bhagavati at Attukal Temple in Kerala South India brings to the academy some voices of women speaking about their own ritual experiences. This work attempts to place women “center stage” and to present them as “subjects not objects with their own experiences and aspirations.” Although there were differences in women’s ritual experiences based on caste class and religion I attempt to understand what in the experience of offering Pongala each woman found valuable. (excerpt)