I. I N F E R N O
The Element of Fire. From the embers of Malabar to the fiery trances of Kulasi.
Project
I. I N F E R N O
Year
2023
About
THE RITE OF FLAME
In the animist tradition, fire is never just a physical element. It is a doorway. Across the sacred geographies of the South, the flame is the only force capable of burning away the human ego to make space for the divine.
The Forms of Fire In the Theyyam of North Malabar, the performer leaps through pyres not to prove courage, but to prove presence—showing that the god within cannot be burned. In the ancient drama of Mudiyettu, torches are not merely sources of light; they are weapons in the battle between chaos and order, held by the goddess Bhadrakali as she cleanses the earth.
The Trance of Kulasi Travel further to the coast of Kulasekarapattinam during Dussera, and the fire changes form again. Here, amidst the millions of devotees, the "Agni Kapalam" (Fire Pot) is carried on bare heads. The heat induces a state of absolute trance, blurring the lines between pain and devotion, the self and the spirit.
The Universal Truth Whether it is the exploded embers of a Theyyam leap or the steady burn of a Dussera torch, the purpose remains the same: To destroy the mundane so that the sacred may emerge. This archive documents that precise moment of incineration.