Coastal Karnataka (Bhuta culture)
Wood
A rare figure of a Shiva in the form of a Bhuta. He wears an impressive tiered crown, has a prominent moustache and pointed beard and is decked with typical jewellery including a strands of necklaces, pendants, armlet and earrings. He wears an unstitched garment tied at the waist with pleats at the front, called a mundu. He carries a weapon in one hand and a blood bowl in the other.
The bhuta tradition is popular on the Malabar coast. Bounded by the dramatic sweep of the forested ghats to the east and the Arabian sea to the west, and encircled by rivers, the South Kanara district of coastal Karnataka has enjoyed relative geographic isolation until recent years. This has enabled the region to retain specific pre-Hindu belief systems and associated rituals, virtually intact, over several hundred years. These practices have a distinct identity of their own, although they have become linked in a variety of ways with mainstream Hinduism. Though now primarily confined to Coastal Karnataka, Bhuta cults once existed all over India under different names and forms.
Size (cms): 204(H) x 68(W) x 46(D)
Size (inches): 80.5(H) x 27(W) x 18(D)
