Procession For Kali Ma (Black Madonna of the East)

Procession for KALI MA (Black Madonna of the East) during our Annual Yo! Yogi Hip Hop Yoga Retreat

By the time the Sanskrit scholars of India set to write down the sacred texts of Yoga, Black Warrior Goddess Kali was already being maligned.

European colonial disgust shown for Kali and her worshippers drew from negative characterizations of elite Indian discourse. Any record of the point of view of those “others” who worshipped “The Black One" is sorely lacking from the Vedic and Puranic periods. Kali derives in part from an ancient deity indigenous to the people of Tamil called “Kottavai.” This Goddess rides a tiger, wears a necklace of tiger teeth, and shouts in victory on the battlefield where she comes to kill, eat flesh and drink blood. Kottavai embodies “ananku” an early conception of shakti - the dangerous power inherent to the natural world, female humans & deities. Ananku can be found in the breasts, loins, and genitals of living women, and manifests as both violent and sexual energy. In ancient times dramatic possession performances acting out the passionate and violent nature of this supernatural energy were essential to society, and yet always threatened to get out of control.

- Paraphrased from Sarah Caldwell “Tracing KaliThrough Space, Time and Culture” 🖤

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