The empowering image of the divine mother: A South African Hindu woman worshipping the goddess
The worship of the Mother Goddess by Hindu women in KwaZulu-Natal is very popular, as an ongoing daily devotion, as well as at the Goddess's various annual festivals, especially the Draupadi firewalking festival. A crucial question is how far this veneration of a powerful female deity brings em...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Carfax Publ.
[1998]
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| In: |
Journal of contemporary religion
Year: 1998, Volume: 13, Issue: 1, Pages: 73-90 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
| Summary: | The worship of the Mother Goddess by Hindu women in KwaZulu-Natal is very popular, as an ongoing daily devotion, as well as at the Goddess's various annual festivals, especially the Draupadi firewalking festival. A crucial question is how far this veneration of a powerful female deity brings empowerment, both to a woman's sense of her own worth and as recognition in the community. Pat Pillay, of Pietermaritzburg, is an example of a woman with little education or social and economic status, whose devotion to the Goddess has brought her a considerable sense of personal empowerment and social recognition, as well as offering healing to numbers of women in her community. It has also motivated her to challenge an all-male temple committee over their decision not to allow women full participation in the firewalking ceremony.1 |
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| ISSN: | 1469-9419 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of contemporary religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/13537909808580823 |