Food, ritual and interspecies intimacy in the Chitwan elephant stables: a photo essay
Abstract
This photo essay focuses on the hattisar, or elephant stable, a multispecies institution where humans and elephants live together in intimate and mutually entangled ways. The Nepali hattisar was historically staffed by the indigenous Tharu, who captured and tamed elephants for the rulers of Nepal for trade, for tribute, for use in agriculture, and for use in regal hunting expeditions (rastriya shikar). This essay illustrates the daily routines involved in feeding captive elephants in and around the Chitwan National Park, the sacrificial practices conducted by handlers, and the ways in which worshipful acts convert gifts into sacred food that bind handlers to both elephants and gods.Downloads
Additional Files
- 1. Captive Elephants from The Khorsor Elephant Breeding Centre
- 2. Elephant Team Returning from Morning Grass Cutting
- 3. Mahut Climbs Simal Tree to Cut Branches for Elephant Food
- 4. Ram Gaj Tries to grab a snack
- 5. Phanet Dil Bahadur Kumal Making Dana
- 6. Feeding Shanti Kali Dana
- 7. Preparing a Goat For Sacrifice
- 8. Goat sacrificed to Ban Devi
- 9. Satya Narayan Offers an Apple to Ganesh
- 10. Paras Gaj Returns to His Consecrated Post
- 11. Cooking for the Men in The Khorsor Kitchen
- 12. Sacrificial Goat Curry and Rice
Published
04-Jun-2013
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How to Cite
Food, ritual and interspecies intimacy in the Chitwan elephant stables: a photo essay. (2013). The South Asianist Journal, 2(2). https://www.southasianist.ed.ac.uk/article/view/82