- Title
- Dancer's Headpiece in the form of the Hindu Goddess Kali
- Date Made
- late 15th century
- Medium
- Wood with paint
- Dimensions
- 41 x 34 x 4 in. (104.14 x 86.36 x 10.16 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.77.60
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
This wooden headpiece was worn by a male devotee impersonating the destructive Hindu goddess Kali during the performance of a Malayalam dance drama entitled Daksha Yagam (The Fire-Sacrifice of Daksha). Based on the tale as told in the 8th-century Skanda Purana, the sage Daksha excludes his youngest daughter Sati and son-in-law Shiva from a ritual fire-sacrifice (yajna) that he offers to all the other gods. Insulted by her father, Sati self-immolates on the pyre. Furious, Shiva manifested as his fearful form of Virabhadra to avenge the grave offense and beheaded Daksha. Through the exhortations of Brahma, Shiva eventually forgave Daksha and restored him to life, albeit with the head of a goat.
The dramatic form of this headpiece is characteristic of those used in the Kathakali (story-play) dance drama of Kerala, which is performed using oversize headdresses traditionally made of Gmelina arborea wood.
