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Chantal Jumel

Chantal Jumel

Freelance researcher, artist, traveller and writer, specialised in Indian visual and performing art.

๐Ÿ“ France
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Kolam to welcome the Chess Olympiad in Chennai
Kolam/Tamil Nadu

Kolam to welcome the Chess Olympiad in Chennai

For a few years, the kolam, which once exhorted the virtues of the Indian woman is changing. Kolam artists have added another dimension to their traditional themes, reinterpreting the chess tournament according to their culture and imagination.

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Chantal Jumel Jul 31, 2022 • 3 min read
Colourful carpets to celebrate Corpus Christi in France
Corpus Christi

Colourful carpets to celebrate Corpus Christi in France

At dawn, the men, women and children and members of the association join to set up the station altars and mark the 1.6-kilometre procession route through the village streets with sawdust and flower decorations.

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Chantal Jumel Jul 3, 2022 • 6 min read
Kolam to celebrate the birth anniversary of god Rama
Ram Navami

Kolam to celebrate the birth anniversary of god Rama

Bow, arrows, and padukas as symbols of Rama in kolam. He is adorned with all virtues, exceptional strength, and incredible archery skills. Janaka, the king of Mithila had decided that the king who could lift the bow would marry his daughter Sita.

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Chantal Jumel May 22, 2022 • 7 min read
Kapaleeswarar temple, the chariot festival
Temple chariot/ter/ratha

Kapaleeswarar temple, the chariot festival

Processional chariots (ratha in Sanskrit, ter in Tamil) are an integral part of temples and public life in South-India. It is therefore normal to find in the kolam repertoire a rich collection of chariot designs dedicated to the gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon.

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Chantal Jumel Apr 2, 2022 • 7 min read
Kerala Kalam, "Ayyappan, the hunter and the householder"โ€” part 2
Kalam/Kerala

Kerala Kalam, "Ayyappan, the hunter and the householder"โ€” part 2

Ayyappan Tiyattu ritual is performed in the regions of northern and central Kerala. The paintings of the Nambiar community exhibit a perfect mastery of line. The three-dimensional effects add a sculptural dimension to the paintings and a liveness to the image of Ayyappan and the other characters.

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Chantal Jumel Feb 27, 2022 • 6 min read
Pongal festival, the Chettiar way โ€” part 3
Pongal/Tamil harvest festival

Pongal festival, the Chettiar way โ€” part 3

Finally, it is Pongal, and I can't wait to see the preparations in the house. The women unleash their creativity by adorning the earthen and bronze vessels. The kolam stands out once the rice paste has dried, and is ready to welcome the celebration with an auspicious Ganesha portrait.

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Chantal Jumel Jan 29, 2022 • 6 min read
Kerala Kalam, "Ayyappan, the Lord of Sabarimala"โ€” part 1
Kalam/Kerala

Kerala Kalam, "Ayyappan, the Lord of Sabarimala"โ€” part 1

The 41-day mandalakalam period, which starts in Vrikshikam (November-December) and culminates by December-end, embodies a time of intense religious fervour and austerities, particularly in temples of Ayyappan and the Goddess. This ritual period benefits the kalam painters.

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Chantal Jumel Jan 22, 2022 • 6 min read
Kerala Kalam, "Colours and emotions" โ€” part 4
Kalam/Kalamezhuttu

Kerala Kalam, "Colours and emotions" โ€” part 4

Panchavarnam, five colours for the kalam paintings are more than just an aesthetic choice; they convey concepts as well as feelings. The five powders are chosen according to the attributes of each god or goddess. The iconography refers to myths and legends.

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Chantal Jumel Jan 8, 2022 • 5 min read
Kerala Kalam,"Measuring and sketching the body"โ€” part 3
Kalam/Kalamezhuttu

Kerala Kalam,"Measuring and sketching the body"โ€” part 3

Kalam paintings are not born of the priest's or ritual painter's own imagination; they are drawn according to precise rules, which include specifications about shapes and colours. A kalam begins, in most cases, by tracing an east-west vertical line called brahmasutra.

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Chantal Jumel Dec 20, 2021 • 4 min read
Kerala Kalam, "Hand drawing techniques"โ€” part 2
Kalam/Kerala

Kerala Kalam, "Hand drawing techniques"โ€” part 2

In Kalamezhuttu images, the hands constitute drawing and colouring tools. The simplest gesture involves holding the powder between thumb and index and allowing it to drop smoothly onto the floor to complete dots or lines of varying thickness.

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Chantal Jumel Dec 11, 2021 • 4 min read
Kolam to celebrate the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna
Gokulashtami/Krishna Janmashtami

Kolam to celebrate the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna

Of the various kolam created on Gokulashtami, drawing the feet of baby Krishna is a custom in Tamil-Nadu and a sign of welcoming the Divine at home. I have always been moved by the women printing with their fists dipped in wet rice flour, tiny footprints from the threshold to the altar.

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Chantal Jumel Nov 24, 2021 • 8 min read
Kerala Kalam, "Draw and sing the paintings" โ€” part 1
Kalam/Kerala

Kerala Kalam, "Draw and sing the paintings" โ€” part 1

Almost invisibles, the floor paintings called kalam do not expose themselves to the morning walker's gaze. They are drawn in privacy and focus the attention of the family within the home and of devotees in the temple premises.

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Chantal Jumel Nov 14, 2021 • 4 min read
Two games inspired by Kolam and Rangoli
Kolam/Rangoli games

Two games inspired by Kolam and Rangoli

Meet Kanaka Ananth and her creative games called KRAZY KOLAM and RANGOLIO. Both are inspired by the fabulous floor painting traditions called kolam and rangoli.

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Chantal Jumel Oct 17, 2021 • 3 min read
Celebrating Nรขga Panchami
Snake worship

Celebrating Nรขga Panchami

The festival of Nรขga Panchami is celebrated during the Tamil month of Aadi (mid-July, mid-August) in most parts of South India. It is also known as Garuda Panchami, as on the first day, Garuda (an eagle) and the vehicle of God Vishnu, is worshipped along with the serpent-gods.

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Chantal Jumel Aug 19, 2021 • 7 min read
Kerala Kalam, Pulluvanpattu "To protect mother and child"โ€” part 1
Kalam/Kerala

Kerala Kalam, Pulluvanpattu "To protect mother and child"โ€” part 1

Although Western medicine has long been part of the Kerala landscape, there are still communities of ritual painters whose hereditary task equates them to medicine-men. Pulluvanpattum was once an exorcism and its ceremonial paintings were designed for an essentially therapeutic purpose.

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Chantal Jumel Aug 11, 2021 • 5 min read
Kerala Kalam, "Painting the Serpent Gods"โ€” part 3
Kalam/Kerala

Kerala Kalam, "Painting the Serpent Gods"โ€” part 3

In Sarppam thullal rituals, images of the Snake-Gods vary depending on whether they appear in a one, five or seven-day ceremony. Beyond a one-day rite, the kalam are invariably white in the morning, yellow at noon, and of five colours for the evening one.

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Chantal Jumel Jul 30, 2021 • 6 min read
Kerala Kalam, "Pulluvan honouring the serpent-gods"โ€” part 2
Kalam/Kerala

Kerala Kalam, "Pulluvan honouring the serpent-gods"โ€” part 2

In the backyard of the house, which served as a school, an immense floor painting of a snake coiled around a tree was rising from the ground under the skilful gestures of several crouching men.

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Chantal Jumel Jul 17, 2021 • 5 min read
Kerala Kalam, "Pulluvan and snake worship"โ€” part 1
Kalam/Kerala

Kerala Kalam, "Pulluvan and snake worship"โ€” part 1

In India, snakes are highly revered and enjoy a prolific profile in Hindu, Buddhist, or Jain legends. Guardians of underground treasures, water spirits, and rainmakers, they are raised to the status of deities.

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Chantal Jumel Jul 12, 2021 • 6 min read
Kolam, creating awareness during a pandemic
Covid-19/rangoli

Kolam, creating awareness during a pandemic

Since March 2020, kolam artists and other folk masters have added another dimension to their traditional themes, reinterpreting the pandemic according to their culture and traditions.

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Chantal Jumel May 18, 2021 • 6 min read
Shivaratri, the night of Shiva โ€” part 2
Shivaratri festival

Shivaratri, the night of Shiva โ€” part 2

In his most subtle form, he is equal to the undifferentiated Absolute, and when he voluntarily creates, it is together with Shakti, his equally powerful feminine counterpart. In a cosmic dimension, Shiva the Absolute, takes the form of a phallic-shaped lingam.

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Chantal Jumel Mar 11, 2021 • 5 min read
Shivaratri, the night of Shiva โ€” part 1
Shivaratri festival

Shivaratri, the night of Shiva โ€” part 1

Of the three major divinities of the Hindu pantheon, Shivaโ€™s role is to act as the Destroyer of the universe. But unlike Vishnu, he does not incarnate each time the world is threatened but instead assumes several disguises: a beggar, a criminal, a hunter, a holy yogi, or a benevolent guru.

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Chantal Jumel Mar 10, 2021 • 7 min read
Tamil Kolam, "Books and references"
Kolam/Tamil Nadu

Tamil Kolam, "Books and references"

A selection of books on Kolam written by researchers, kolam artists and art lovers.

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Chantal Jumel Mar 2, 2021 • 7 min read
Ratha Saptami/Surya Jayanti
Ratha Saptami

Ratha Saptami/Surya Jayanti

Several festivals are dedicated to Surya, the Sun god. He is celebrated during the harvest festival of Pongal in South India and elsewhere in India as Makar Sankranti. During the month of Mรขci in Tamil-Nadu (mid-February, mid-March), Ratha Saptami is another celebration of the Sun god.

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Chantal Jumel Mar 1, 2021 • 4 min read
Blumenhaus Magazine
Flower decorations

Blumenhaus Magazine

Flowers and leaf garlands, petals of various hues, shrubs, and roots find their way every morning into open air markets within close proximity to the temples. Regardless of whether it is their ephemeral beauty or the symbolism that Indian flowers convey, I wanted to write about them.

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Chantal Jumel Jan 18, 2021 • 2 min read
Kolam to celebrate Mattu Pongal โ€” part 3
Pongal/Tamil harvest festival

Kolam to celebrate Mattu Pongal โ€” part 3

On Mattu Pongal day, the farmers buy their cows new bright halters, bells to adorn their hooves, brass cap horn ornaments, wreaths of fresh flowers, pom-pom garlands and multi-coloured beads to adorn their neck. They decorated the cow's coat in variations according to districts.

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Chantal Jumel Jan 16, 2021 • 6 min read
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