arton the painting with the aim of identifying the patient with the sacred
figures depicted in it. As the figures in the painting are obliterated by
the patient sitting on them, it is believed that they are transformed into
the patient, which suggests that at the conclusion of the ceremony the
sick person becomes the painting. At that point, the patient enters the
sphere of the Holy People, which provides the ill person with healing
and harmony.
In contrast to Muslim and Navaho art, Hindus view the aim of art as
embellishment. Therefore, Hindu art is not intended to imitate or to accu-
rately depict nature, because its purpose is to portray nature as it should
be ideally. The task of the Hindu artist is to render a subject in its para-
digmatic or its idealized form. In other words, the artist creates concrete
or metal models of divine archetypes. Thus Hindu art is an attempt to
present heaven on earth. In order to accomplish this task, the artist must
mentally identify with the idealized object or deity being created, fash-
ioning an object from the image in his mind. If the artist is successful, a
work of art can enable a viewer to experience rasa (aesthetic mood) that
can culminate in a transcendental bliss. The function of the deities
depicted on the gopurams (pyramidal structures at the entrance to tem-
ples located at the four cardinal directions) is to teach ordinary people
stories and give theological messages from the epic and purāÏic
literature.
From these diverse examples, it is possible to understand the many
roles played by art within religious traditions. Art can stimulate a
viewer’s emotions and aesthetic sensibilities. Since paintings and
images tell stories, art possesses a didactic or teaching purpose. For the
Catholic tradition, Michelangelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel in
Rome, for instance, teach viewers biblical stories. Books can be trans-
formed into works of art by an artist creating an illustrated manuscript.
Native American Iroquois use masks during rituals and dance perfor-
mances that transform the wearer into a powerful spirit. The artistic
creation of religious symbols on large vehicles, such as trucks and
buses, in Pakistan not only adopt these vehicles into the culture, but,
more importantly, they function to protect the driver and passengers.
This is especially true when a vehicle contains on its side a large eye
that is intended to protect passengers from the evil eye. The prophy-
lactic role of religious objects is evident on the divine image or cards
with divine images attached to the car dashboards of Hindu and Sikh
vehicles in India.
Further reading: Blair and Bloom (1995); Cort (1996); Cragg and Speight
(1980); Davis (1997)