Oil Lamp

A striking three tiered Kerala temple lamp, called Ammai Villaku in Kerala.

The lamp is conceived as the vehicle through which the divine can be accessed. Lamps are used in rituals within the domestic realm, as well as religious or temple settings, in order to propitiate the gods. There are innumerable ways in which lamps are employed depending on the specific location and society. Within the more private setting of the home, the lamp is used in Hindu practice to activate the presence of the deity with the arati ritual – the moving of a lamp, held on a plate, in a circular fashion in front of an image. This allows the devotee to acknowledge and to accept blessings.

While the form of the lamp changes, depending on the religious context in which it is made and used, it is the lamp’s “carrying” of light that is significant, whether it takes the form of a goddess, an animal, or a tree. The preservation of light signifies the deity’s favour and presence. An intersection of the human and the divine is thus central to the crafting of the lamps and incense burners under consideration.