Brass Bhuta Figure Of Panjurli Boar - Late 19th Century

The tribal cultures of South India are fascinating, none more so than the Bhuta traditions on the Malabar Coast. This brass cast boar is from Karnataka in South India and depicts Panjurli, the Bhuta boar spirit.

Bhuta Kola is an animist form of spirit worship from the coastal regions of Karnataka and North Kerala. These ceremonies usually took place annually and were sponsored by wealthy Kshatriya caste families. Boars were often responsible for the destruction of cultivated crops in Southern India and the worship of Panjurli was an act of appeasement to protect farmers' crops. Panjurli was later absorbed into the Hindu pantheon as Parvarti's pet boar, killed, and later resurrected by Shiva.

From Southern Karnataka, India 

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