mythic tradition, the site was estab-
lished when Skanda went hunting in
the jungles of Sri Lanka, fell in love
with a tribal woman named Valli, and
vowed to remain forever in her home.
As the son of the god Shiva, Skanda is a
powerful deityin the Hindu pantheon.
His relationship with Valli shows his
accessibility and his love for his devo-
tees (bhakta).
The annual Kataragama pilgrimage
in July–August is a theater to demon-
strate these qualities: Many people
come seeking healing from physical
ailments or deliverance from distress,
while others come to fulfill vows for
benefits already received. Such vows
often take the form of extreme self-
mortification—by carrying the kavadi,
a yoke held in place by hooks piercing
the flesh; by piercing the tongue or
cheeks with tiny arrows, one of the
symbols of Skanda; or by hanging from
hooks embedded in the back and
thighs. These ardent devotees are
reportedly rewarded for their suffering
with a state of ecstasy in which they
feel no pain and suffer no bleeding. In
this state of ecstasy, the devotees are
also believed to be mouthpieces for the
god Skanda. Other pilgrims seek their
advice for every conceivable kind of
problem, under the assumption that
Skanda will give them the most appro-
priate answer. For further information
see Paul Wirz, Kataragama:the Holiest
Place in Ceylon, 1966; and Bryan
Pfaffenberger, “The Kataragama
Pilgrimage,” in Journal of Asian
Studies,Vol. 28, No. 2, 1979.
Katha
(“conversation”) Genre of public reli-
gious address based on recitation and
exposition of a religious text. Katha is
most often associated with the
Ramcharitmanas, a version of the
epic Ramayanawritten by the poet-
saint Tulsidas, but may be used to
explain other religious texts as well.
Kathas may be delivered in a number
of ways: The speaker may go through
large parts of the text, give detailed
analysis and commentary on a very
small portion of the text, select pas-
sages from throughout the text to
illustrate a particular theme, or pre-
sent a completely spontaneous and
free-floating exposition. For listeners,
attending such events is not only aes-
thetically satisfying but also consid-
ered to be a form of satsang or
religious association. Such gatherings
were (and are) one of the major ways
in which illiterate people memorize
large parts of these primary texts. For
further information see Philip
Lutgendorf, The Life of a Text,1991.Kathak
One of the classical danceforms of
India; some of the others are
Bharatanatyam, Orissi, Kuchipudi,
Kathakali, and Manipuri. Like much
of traditional Indian culture, classical
dances are identified with certain
regions; Kathak is primarily found in
northern India. Traditionally, Kathak
descended from the ras lilasof Braj,
devotional dances illustrating events
from the life of Krishna. This claim
has little historical support and may
simply reflect the desire to root all of
the Indian arts in religion. It is not dis-
puted, however, that Kathak devel-
oped as an art form in the courts of the
northern Indian princes, where it was
performed for the entertainment of
the monarch and his guests. In time,
two major Kathak centers developed:
Jaipur, famous for spectacular foot-
work; and Lucknow, known for its
attention to acting. Stylistically,
Kathak is marked by an upright pos-
ture, with the legs kept straight. The
dance emphasizes rapid, rhythmic
foot patterns, rhythms accentuated by
strings of bells worn on the dancer’s
ankles and complemented by multiple
turns; the torso is kept fairly immobile.
As with all forms of Indian dance,
Kathak includes a well-developed
“vocabulary” of facial expressions and
gestures of the arms and hands thatKatha