Female Bhuta
South India, Malabar Region
18th – 19th century
Bronze
Height: 20 ¾ inches (52.7 cm)

The stories of the Bhutas, or spiritual deities, have been handed down orally from generation to generation through narrative folk songs called paddanas. There are well over one hundred female bhutas known, and it is difficult to identify them specifically. Larger figures such as this example are commonly thought to be of the more popular Bhutas such as Abbage and Daragge, the granddaughters of Siri, a legendary heroine that met a tragic death.

Although the majority of Bhuta material was carved from wood, images such as this example, cast from bell metal, have been found on rare occasion. The figure’s hands are joined together in the gesture of adoration. Her hair is pulled back into a knot centered at the back of her head. She is adorned with a profusion of carefully sculpted jewelry. This Bhuta is unusual in the realistic depiction of the figure. While many examples are highly stylized, the bodily proportions and facial features of this piece are far more elegant, staying truer to the human form.

Images such as this were kept typically in home shrines and taken out only during festival days. An elaborate dance known as the Koolam is preformed at this all-night festival in hopes to help evoke the Bhuta. The body of a human impersonator known as the patri serves as the host for the spirit.

This is an unusually large and masterful example of the material culture from the Malabar region.