Fire rituals

The Inferno Walker - A devotee traverses the boundary between man and myth, illuminated by the sparks of the ritual fire.

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Theyyam and Mudiyettu in Kerala, and the Dasara festival at Kulasekarapattinam, Tamil Nadu.

Story

Fire rituals

Year

2023

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The Gaze — The mortal eye disappears behind the painted mask of the god.

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The Night Sun — A halo of living flame crowning the deity in the void.

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About

Fire rituals, 2023

Photographs from two ritual traditions in which fire is central. In North Malabar, Kerala, Theyyam performers take on the form of deities through paint, costume and fire. Mudiyettu, also from Kerala, is a ritual drama in which the goddess Bhadrakali battles the demon Darika by torchlight.

At Kulasekarapattinam on the Tamil Nadu coast, devotees who have taken vows for the Dasara festival carry fire pots on their heads to the Mutharamman temple. All photographs were made without direction or staging.