January 15, 2019

Singaporeans may be familiar with Tai Pucam, a Hindu festival that usually takes place between late January and early February. A number of rituals are carried out during the Tai Pucam processions along the streets of Singapore, including the carrying of kavati on the shoulders of devotees. A kavati, a wooden pole surmounted by a wooden arch, is often decorated with peacock feathers and a small offering of milk is attached to each end, with the entire kavati seen as a shrine itself. Professor Vineeta Sinha (NUS Sociology) views the act of kavati-making as part of a process of material production and consumption of ritual objects within Singapore’s Hindu domain.

Prof Sinha focuses on two material objects of Hindu religiosity in her chapter, ‘Made in Singapore: Conceiving, Making and Using Ritual Objects in Hindu Domains,’ published in 2017 in New Religiosities, Modern Capitalism, and Moral Complexities in Southeast Asia. One is the many visual representations of Hindu divinity through devotees’ imagination of divinity, as figured in artistic endeavours and meditative reflections. The other is the kavatis carried during the pilgrimage by devotees on Tai Pucam. Prof Sinha engages with the work of Hindu devotees as artists, producers, and consumers to discuss the broader issues of manufacturing ritual objects through commercial initiatives and individual efforts within Singapore.

Read the article here.