INDIA, Himachal Pradesh—16th/17th century - Lot 15

INDIA, Himachal Pradesh—16th/17th century Large, weathered face of an anthropomorphic deity carved from wood, bearing traces of ritual vermilion deposits; it has bulging eyes, a long, straight nose, a mouth with fangs, and cheeks adorned with two rosettes. The forehead is crowned with a headdress featuring three chevrons bordered by a frieze of faces. From the village of Mondi, Mandi District, associated with the Kahika Festival. H. 57 cm Dating validated by radiocarbon (carbon-14) dating, Qed Laboratory, February 20, 2011. This divine effigy is associated with the Kahika Festival, a major religious ceremony practiced in the Mandi and Kulu regions, the frequency of which varies by community and can be as long as twelve years. Spanning three days, the festival’s primary purpose is to purify participants of their sins and renew their bonds with local deities. It is particularly associated with the Kanet-Rajput caste, considered significant in the region’s religious life. During the ceremony, the Nar, a ritual performer, is induced into a state of lethargy resembling death after ingesting a concoction presented as an intoxicating poison. He is then carried through the village, wrapped in a white shroud, in a procession resembling a funeral cortege. After various rites, the Nar regains consciousness, thus symbolizing a passage from death to rebirth. Effigies or “faces of the gods,” such as the one shown here, are associated with these ritual practices: they may be brought out of the shrines during festivals and serve to represent and manifest the presence of the deities in the human world. Publication: - Featured in *Lettre du Toit du Monde*, No. 21, 2017

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