Kavad Shrine

Item number 2587/2 a-k from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

Public

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Description

A miniature mobile temple with several doors, each painted with various folk deities and text, appearing to tell a story. The last door concludes the narration, opening with a darshan of Ram, Lakshman and Sita, standing in the innermost chamber of the temple. The sides and ends of the shrine are decorated with floral, ray and cross-hatching motifs. There is a small drawer under the doors and a compartment in back for worshippers to deposit coins (see Cultural Context field). A leather strap is attached to the top. There is a shrine (part a), a sliding panel (part b), and doors (parts c-k).

Cultural Context

The Kavdiya-Bhats, who carry the Kavad from village to village, open the doors one after another and sing and dance to explain the significance of these paintings to the audience standing all around. The singing and dancing done by the Bhats have their own significance. The audience is then required to offer coins in a special slit attached to the temple.