The tradition, art and mathematics of Hindu Kolam
May 9, 2019 8:17 AM Subscribe
Hindu women in central and southern India, as well as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and a few other Asian countries, start their day by cleaning the threshold to their home, and, following a centuries-long tradition, painstakingly draw beautiful, ritualistic designs called kōlam, using rice flour (Atlas Obscura). The kōlam is not just a prayer and an exercise in control and reflection; it is also a metaphor for coexistence with nature (S.F. Chronicle), an example of an ethnomathematical practice (YouTube, 19 minutes), and has attracted the attention of computer science (Jstor).
To celebrate the artistry and keep the traditions alive, there are kolam competitions (Rangoli Kolam), where the materials and styles vary from the purely traditional geometric patterns in rice flour.
To celebrate the artistry and keep the traditions alive, there are kolam competitions (Rangoli Kolam), where the materials and styles vary from the purely traditional geometric patterns in rice flour.
Interesting note from the talk:
posted by lucidium at 9:31 AM on May 9, 2019 [2 favorites]
You can actually read the mood of the woman of the house by the amount of time she has to make a kolam. [...] If you don't see a kolam in front of a household [...] there's an incapacity to feed a stranger. If there's been a death in the family, for example.Youtube led me from there to this channel which has demonstrations of hundreds of designs. It looks very satisfying.
posted by lucidium at 9:31 AM on May 9, 2019 [2 favorites]
Across the swathe of petty daily Indian rituals, plastic readymade cheap Chinese is the tradition killer.
That's a more grim tradition-killer than the one cited in the Atlas Obscura article:
posted by filthy light thief at 9:33 AM on May 9, 2019
That's a more grim tradition-killer than the one cited in the Atlas Obscura article:
the elaborate kōlam displays entered in competitions and drawn on the streets of Tamil Nadu during the Pongal festival use a variety of colored powders, to the consternation of traditionalists who rue that kōlam is becoming more like the rangoli (Wikipedia) of North India—similar floor art made with colored rice flour, stone powders, or flower petals that follows a different set of design principles."Too colorful" seems, to my eyes as an outsider, to be less problematic that "kids just buy pre-made designs."
posted by filthy light thief at 9:33 AM on May 9, 2019
How an Ancient Indian Art Utilizes Mathematics,
Makes sense, these look like more practiced versions of the designs I used to doodle in my notebook during math class.
posted by subdee at 9:56 AM on May 9, 2019
Makes sense, these look like more practiced versions of the designs I used to doodle in my notebook during math class.
posted by subdee at 9:56 AM on May 9, 2019
"Too colorful" seems, to my eyes as an outsider, to be less problematic that "kids just buy pre-made designs."
I think there's a continuum of outrage followed by the mami's - naturally copying the Northerner is higher on the outrageOmeter than kids these days...
which is a greater loss of tradition and craft?
posted by hugbucket at 10:02 AM on May 9, 2019
I think there's a continuum of outrage followed by the mami's - naturally copying the Northerner is higher on the outrageOmeter than kids these days...
which is a greater loss of tradition and craft?
posted by hugbucket at 10:02 AM on May 9, 2019
in Malaysia & Singapore, us non-Hindus get to enjoy public ones during Deepavali (or Diwali to the north) season. Since seasonal decorations is a given at malls, malls' concourses would generally be decorated with colourful kolams. (heh, there's even a Time Out feature once) Fascinating to learn that the colourfulness is seen as not very true-to-form though, we've just thought it's just a difference between home and show ones.
posted by cendawanita at 10:27 AM on May 9, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by cendawanita at 10:27 AM on May 9, 2019 [2 favorites]
How an Ancient Indian Art Utilizes Mathematics
How a mathematical Indian utilizes an ancient art.
Prof. Naranan's Fibonacci Kolams, including A Boardgame for Kolam Designs.
posted by otherchaz at 10:27 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]
How a mathematical Indian utilizes an ancient art.
Prof. Naranan's Fibonacci Kolams, including A Boardgame for Kolam Designs.
posted by otherchaz at 10:27 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]
cendawanita I haven't seen this in any suburban mall and the decor in Serangoon/Little India is nowhere close to this level of complexity - looks like the Christmas level preferred by the Orchard Malls
posted by hugbucket at 11:10 AM on May 9, 2019
posted by hugbucket at 11:10 AM on May 9, 2019
Singapore is missing out! Anyway now I'm duty-bound to say this just means Malaysia is better /s
(I really thought Singapore would have this custom too! That's just way too bad. One small datapoint to add to my understanding)
posted by cendawanita at 11:26 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]
(I really thought Singapore would have this custom too! That's just way too bad. One small datapoint to add to my understanding)
posted by cendawanita at 11:26 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]
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posted by hugbucket at 9:19 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]