Abstract:

This innovative and compelling ethenographic documentary explores issues of gender, religion, and culture raised by a dramatic South Indian ritual dance form known as mudiyettu, in which men become possessed by the spirit of the fierce goddess Bhadrakali. Using an unconventional narrative structure, the film gradually leads viewers into the world of mudiyettu, replicating the experience of ethnographic fieldwork as a means of gathering answers. The film explicitly avoids English narration as it unfolds its inquiry experientially. A nine-minute non-narrated opening segment provides a taste of the sights and sounds of the ritual. In the following sequences, images and interviews present village life, mythes of the Bhadrakali cult, the artists who perform mudiyettu, related agricultural symbolism, and the relevance of the martial arts. The final 20-minute sequence once again presents the rituals of mudiyettu, this time fully explicated by the performing artists in voice-overs. Ball of fire will stimulate discussion and analysis in a wide variety of courses in anthropology, religion, Asian studies, women's studies, cultural psychology, and performance studies.