1
Aditya Barve
Ritual and City Form Templ T emple e Towns Towns of South So uth Indi India a Theory of City Form 4.241 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Spring 2012
2
Shrirangam
Madurai
Suchindram
1. Temple Towns of South India
Cities are the products of social interaction, which also shapes them into nite urban forms . Rituals form a key part of social interactions. Rituals require communal participation and often appropriate the space in which they are performed. Rituals can be divided into two categories -- static or dynamic -- and they shape the urban form around them accordingly. This paper will examine the relation between the urban form and rituals by focusing on three historic cities in South India: Shrirangam, Madurai and Suchindram. It will focus on the changing nature of ritual and its corresponding urban form in order to arrive at conclusion as to how the rituals have shaped the urban patterns.
3
One can dene a ritual as a specic social
gatherings give rise to open civic spaces like plazas and
action of symbolic importance requiring communal
squares. The scale of these spaces can also be linked to
participation. In every culture, rituals are a key part of
the scale and importance of the rituals, which can play a
social interaction. An individual, group or community
more important role in the size and shape of that space
can perform a ritual and invariably they are initiated
than the built form around it. Both sociologists and
by demarcating the space in which it is performed.
anthropologist have studied the role of ritual extensively;
Rituals sustain society’s equilibrium and strengthen the
however, less work has been done in the eld of urban
solidarity among its members. Rituals can be political or
design to understand the effects of rituals on the
religious in nature; they can also be characterized based
production of space. This paper attempts to understand
on their appropriation of space. This appropriation can
the processes inuenced by the rituals that are involved
be seen as either dynamic or static. Dynamic rituals like
in the creation of urban space. The understanding of the
processions or parades are linear in nature. In contrast
temporal nature of space is meaningful for designers
to, static rituals like fairs, festive gatherings, and even
and planners, for it enables them to design more humane
games are central or nodal in nature.
spaces.
Rituals inuence the way urban form develops,
This paper will examine the inuence of rituals
and they are the expressions of values that the particular
on urban form, specically in the case of Temple towns
society holds dear. In the words of philosopher Henry
in South India. In all cases the nature of ritual is similar
Lefevbre,“every society offers up its own peculiar space
and has yielded an urban form that is commensurate
[…] as an object for analysis and overall theoretical
with it. In the temple towns of Madurai, Suchindram
explication.” 1 For example, linear rituals like parades,
and Shrirangam the religious ritual of circumambulatory
often force axiality on the urban form. Fairs and
procession around the central shrine has produced a city with concentric rings of development. Yet the
1
Henry Lefebvre, The Production of Space (Cambridge: Blackwell, 1991), 47
urban morphology of these cities is not the same. These
4
cities, with different urban morphologies but similar
given over to technological routine”. 3 To explain this
societies, offer the opportunity to investigate some
further, tying one’s shoelaces is a routine, but tying the
aspects of rituals that shape the urban form. This paper
laces of specic foot rst can be a ritual. Rituals often
will try to analyze how the differing nature and type of
reveal the beliefs of a person or a society. They exalt
rituals produce differences in the urban fabric. It will
the participant beyond the everyday functional plane.
identify which components of built form are required
Time is also important a factor while considering ritual.
for particular ritualistic types; and it will trace how the
Ritualistic process is a cyclic process, and is performed
city adapts to the changing nature of rituals.
in specic cycles of time; for example, Olympic games comprises of a sports ritual that takes place every four
Ritualistic processes and their nature
years.
Before we can study the examples of cities and
The word “ritual” is often used interchangeably
rituals, we need to dene the scope of the word “ritual”
for religious, ceremonial or customary actions. Rituals
as it applies to the eld of urbanism. The word “ritual”
almost always serve to revive the memory. Thus, as
has many subtle meanings and shades. It comes from
Turner puts it, rituals and symbols are storage systems
Latin word ritualis, which means relating to rites. 2
where memory and the past are linked and stored. 4
The distinction between mere action and ritual is not
Ritualistic processes often serve to revive myths by
clear, for instance, eating a meal is a normal action, but
recreating symbolic actions that are linked with the
saying ‘grace’ or a prayer is a ritual. Ritual has been
mythical setting. Rituals in a society can then be
discussed at length in anthropology and sociology.
categorized based on the intent or on the form of their
British cultural anthropologist Victor Turner denes
space appropriation. Rituals can be political like parades,
ritual as “prescribed formal behavior for occasions not
religious such as processions or civic, such as Olympics. 3
2
Online Etymology Dictionary. (2012, April 27) retrieved from http:// www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=ritual
Victor Turner, The forest of symbols: aspects of Ndembu ritual (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1967), 19
4 Ibid ,
5
Generally most rituals fall in-between the spectrum of
monumentality. This link between space appropriation
being political or religious with varying degrees of either
and memory is reected in the works and writings of
condition. Rituals that need community participation
architect Aldo Rossi. He makes interesting linkages
are often guided with some authority and controlled by
between monument and ritual:
some belief system. The Political side of ritual then acts (…) The importance of ritual
as a control system of social behavior. This aspect of a
in its collective nature and its essential
ritual is important for sociologists and anthropologists;
character as an element for preserving myth, constitutes the key understanding
however, for urban designers and planners, the second
(of) the meaning of monument, and
nature of ritual, its appropriation of space, carries more
moreover
the
implications
of
the
founding the city, and of the transmission
promise.
of ideas in an urban context. (…) If the ritual is the permanent and conserving
Ritual, be it political, religious or civic,
element of myth then so too is the
appropriates the space in some or the other way.
monument, since in the very moment
Festivities, political rallies, parades, and religious
that it testies to myth it renders ritual forms possible.5
processions mark the spaces in which they are performed in one or more ways. This space appropriation can be categorized as linear, circular or nodal. Furthermore, there is a strong link between the ritual, which revives memory, and architecture, which acts for its appropriation of space. It is important to note that memory, as intended here, is distinctly different from history of the place; moreover, memory can even be mythical and carries some enshrinement of the act. Architecturally this act of claiming the space is often signied with the
Thus, monument is a built equivalent of the ritual. But ritual is far more than just a memorial service. It constitutes festivities and fairs; and the spaces in which those take place are of extreme importance; moreover, the nature of the ritual dictates the nature of the space. This relation of ritual and space can be observed at all scales, from the scale of a small shrine to the scale of an entire city. During rituals, the most mundane of 5
Aldo Rossi, Architecture of the City ,(Cambridge : MIT Press) 24
6
2. Vastu Purusha Mandala
3. Conceptual city plans prescribed in Mayamatam based on Vastu Purusha Mandala
urban spaces can be transformed to an unrecognizable
evolved in parallel, often inuencing each other.
degree and elevated to the place of the supernatural. The
Traditional texts on architecture state that the towns,
processional streets of all the Temple towns discussed
especially capital cities, require a major temple to house
here are a perfect example of this.
the protective god or goddess. This divine connection was responsible for the well-being of the citizenry. The
The diagram of the city and its importance.
layout of these cities was guided by a strict geometrical
At this point it is important to understand
system known as ‘ Vastu Purush mandala’. The word
the roots of south Indian temple towns. These towns
mandala literally means “circle” but can imply any
were founded in pre-industrial times; thus, as with all
enclosed and symmetrically divided gure of ritual
pre-industrial cities, religion has been central to these
and religious signicance. A vastu purush mandala ,
cities. Many have religious symbolism embedded in
often a complex subdivision of a square, is a diagram
their design. These cities emerged in medieval ages as
representing the divine connection of architecture. It is a
declaration to the political power of the king, backed
way to dene space through means of a cosmic diagram.
by the religion. One can trace the beginnings of this
The relationship of the square and the circle can be
process in the adoption of the king as the mediator
explained in the interpretation of the circle as a cyclic
between divinity and his subjects. This divine kingship
representation of time and square as an unequivocal and
with throne, palace and royal temple as its attributes
absolute form. If one considers just the bare earth, it is
were then enclosed in a holy city. As a symbol of his
represented as a circle but when the earth is regarded as
power, the king built the city with the central shrine;
the manifestation of the supreme principle, Brahmān, it
often according to the ritual formulas in the sacred texts
is rendered as a square. Man and earth correspond to each
like Mayamatam or Shilpa Shastras. The City thus
other in this diagram. 6 Ancient Indian architecture and
became a tool to connect the divine to the earthly.
town planning was based on this idea of the mandala.
In ancient India, religion and architecture
6 Volwahsen Andres, Living Architecture : Indian , 44
7
The mandala diagram was a symbolic representation
every morning. 7
of the ideal pattern of cosmic order. This cosmic connection is woven in the city through placement of
Rituals: Temple Towns of South India
religious markers at specic points in the mandala.
In India, the relationship of ritual and space is
Cardinal points in the square grid were assigned to a
nowhere as pronounced as in the temple towns of Tamil
protective god or goddess.
Nadu. These cities were least affected by the Muslim
The more detailed use of these diagrams is
invasions compared to cities in northern India, and that
prescribed in Śhilpa Śhaāstras — the traditional texts
is why they offer undisturbed connection with traditions
on architecture. A mandala can be drawn in 32 ways
of Hindu architecture. In the words of art historian
according to scriptures and besides myths and ritual,
George Michell “the interaction between sacred space
architecture is most pronounced representation of this
and urban space is a prominent feature of Tamil Nadu’s
cosmic order. The mandala is further dened by the
temple towns”8. In these temple towns, the mandala
presence of the vāstu purusha – the spirit of the site. Art
diagram is palpable in the city plan. It is also important
historian Stella Kramrisch in her monumental treatise
to note, that these temple towns follow the exact same
on Hindu architecture argues that the central shrine is
rituals since the early medieval ages. These rituals are
the vertical realization of the vāstu purusha mandala .
thus distilled in their respective urban patterns. While
Because of the purely diagrammatic nature of mandala
this paper focuses on three towns, scores of other towns,
it can be used in any scale, without loosing its symbolic
small and large, exhibit the relation of the characteristic
integrity. A ritual procession through the city traces the
diagram formed by ritual procession in their plan.
same mandala, which in its miniature scale is traced
One can nd two typologies of religious order
by circumambulation around the central shrine. This
in the city plan. First and most prominent is the regular
representation even goes down to the scale of ritual
geometrical conguration, governed by a mandala with
diagrams – Kolam, drawn by women in front of houses
7 Volwahsen Andres, Living Architecture : Indian, 45 8
Michell George, Temple Towns of Tamil Nadu, 7
8
a central shrine. The other is a street layout, dominated
Another important factor that links the diagram
by independent shrines, which forms the focal points
of the city and the ritual is the identity of the deity. In
of city fabric. The towns of Madurai and Shrirangam
Hindu belief, the god triad of Brhāma, Viśhnu and Shivā
are examples of the rst, whereas Kumbhakonam and
is related with the generation, regulation and destruction
Kanchipuram are examples of the second. To understand
of the world. The worship of last two, Shivā and Viśhnu
the effects of ritual and space in Temple towns, we must
evolved in specic cults of Shaivites and of Vaishnavites,
rst understand the nature of ritualistic procession in
based on veneration of specic god. Each god also
these towns.
commands xed number of circumambulations. 9 Often,
Temple rituals may be characterized as private
one can link the plan of the temple town and number
and public. Pūjā, which is daily, is performed in front
of its concentric rings with the deity of the city. The
of the deity and is generally more private in nature. On
Majority of the towns with central shrine dedicated to
the other hand, festivals, which are occasional, form the
Shivā have one concentric ring; those dedicated to the
most visible and public events. Festivities -- tiruvilā
Viśhnu have three. This observation, though helpful in
royal feasts in local Tamil language -- are based on the
symbolizing the deity in town-plan does not always hold
lunar calendar. The most important of these is the great
true and the exceptions like Kumbhakonam, Uttiramerur
feast ( Bramhōstsava), which takes place in the month of
or Kanchipuram can be attributed to different historic
cittirai (April-May) over ten days. On each of the rst
models.
nine days, two daily processions take place in mornings
Spatial manifestation of Processions
and evenings. For these processions, a smaller version
In these cities, the role played by the deity is
of the deity is placed on a wooden chariot. This chariot
singular; the god here is not just an idol or a symbolic
then is taken on a prearranged route; the route involves
presence but is considered as a person and a sovereign
visits to specic temples outside the city boundary and 9
circumambulates the city in specic directions.
Arun Ganpathy, “Why We Circumambulate,” Times of India, Aug 11,2011,http://articles.timesondia.indiatimes.com/
9
extending his power over the city. Presence of the deity
processional rituals follow prescribed routes, which
as a person in these cities is further strengthened by their
depend upon time, season and the nature of a ritual. Not
entitlement to the most human of things-- marriage,
only do gods follow these cosmic diagrams but the ritual
desire to take holidays, willingness to engage in playful
path is also traversed at the time of last rites on the dead.
quarrels and conquest with other temple deities in the
The body is carried out on certain specied paths tracing
region 10. The rituals make little sense unless viewed with
the mandala diagram in space and time. Cast and rank
the perspective that they are homage to a sovereign. With
of the dead decide the path that this procession takes;
this symbolism center of the cosmic diagram becomes
thus it even anchors the deep structure of society to
the most sacred place, and is assigned a temple. This
the diagram (see g.6). It also governs the habitation
symbolism generates essential elements for the city that
patterns; prescribing the location for specic casts to
is based on strong geometry, and is directed inwards to
live in specic parts of the diagram. 12
the center. The ritualistic movement in the form of
Water in the form of tanks with ‘ Kulam’ -shrines and other smaller temples -- is also an important
processions is in turn governed by the city’s cosmic
part of formal repertoire of urban elements. In most
diagram. According to architectural historian Andres
cases it forms the boundary of a town. There are usually
Volwahsen, this tradition is analogous to Vedic rituals
eight tanks in eight cardinal directions with one in the
of venerating the altar by carrying it in the clockwise
center. These tanks not only play important role in ritual
direction in the procession. 11 This evolved into the
bathing but also are the meaningful components of a
chariot processions of south Indian temples. Processions
ritual as once a year the deity travels on water in an
are also the way to extend the religious and ritual
important festival ceremony. For this ritual, the temple
presence of the divine outside the temple walls. These
towns have at lest one large tank. Square in shape, this
1� ppadurai ppadurai rjun and Breckenridge Breckenridge Carol, The south Indian temple: temple:
tank is often located at one end of the main axis, and is
authority, honor and redistribution, 19� 11 Volwahsen Volwahsen Andres, Living Architecture : Indian, 44
12 Piper an, The spatial structure of Suchindram, AARP 17 (London, 19�0)
Shrirangam
Madurai
Suchindram
4. Plans of three temple towns showing the temple proper at same scale
aligned with the temple gates. All the temple towns were and still are market towns of importance. Kanchipuram, dealing in exquisite
10
conrm and differ with the prescribed model. For the purpose of this analysis we will ignore the specicities of rituals in those cities and relay on the similarities.
textiles, provides an example of this growth pattern. It
Shrirangam and Madurai
also highlights the simultaneous rise of political power,
Cities of Madurai and Shrirangam share many
trade, and religious pilgrimages. Religious rituals in the
of the same ideals. In the case of Shrirangam, the spatial
form of festivals are also benecial to trade. George
manifestation of the mandala diagram and its ritualism
Michell, in his analysis of Kumbhkonam, describes this
appears in its purest form. Shrirangam’s urban fabric is
phenomenon as:
composed of seven concentric rings. Out of that, rst four
Processions take place in the street, in full view of crowds of visitors, who pay homage to gods and goddesses before proceeding to the
constitute the temple zone, while others are residential. In the regional scale, Shrirangam is the rst of the four
Viśhnu pilgrimage sites. By visiting each of them in a
business of buying and selling. (…)
prescribed sequence, one can circumambulate the entire
Each of the religious complexes
Tamil region. Situated on an island, Shrirangam is also
of Kumbhakonam, for instance, is
a part of the string of holy places along the Cauvery
approached by a long colonnade that functions as market.
River.
13
The Urban fabric of the town, with its several With this overview we can now look at examples that concentric zones, consists of specic markers like ritual best represent some of these characteristics of a temple bathing tanks, sites where three temple chariots are kept, town shaped by ritualistic movement. There are scores and the temple proper. The gure of the city is xed in of temple towns but we will consider Shrirangam, relation with river by series of ghats or cremation and Madurai and Suchindram and will focus on how they religious spaces. The ghats are linked by a north-south 13 Vivek Nanda, Anna Dallapiccola, Michal George: The Ramasvami Temple (South Asian Studies 13:1, 1997) 1-15
axis to the main temple and the axis mundi of the city
5.The symmetric principal that dominates Shrirangams plan, walls and concentric zones
6. The social strcuture controlled by diagram with higher cast in NE-SW Diagonal
11
7. Shrirangam
diagram. The city diagram is oriented around two axial streets that cross at right angles. Ritualistically, all these elements form the experiential space of the town. Nine tanks mark the innermost zone; eight are placed on the periphery and the ninth is at the center. By performing ritual baths in a specic sequence in all of these, pilgrim circumambulates the town three times, three being the number of circumambulations prescribed for lord
Viśhnu. The concentric streets are named after the months �. View of Shrirangam Temple Complex with a Gopura in foreground
in the Tamil year, according to the month when the deities were taken in procession around the city. Another dimension of the diagram of the city is its control of social structure. Brahmin or priestly cast exclusively inhabits the rst two rings ( Uttira and Chittira). They also take up the northwest and southeast corners of the city, leaving opposite corners for lower classes. With certain exceptions no car festival is allowed on this third street; circumambulation is limited to only Uttira
and
Chittira streets and has to be done in clockwise direction.
Madurai is the most multifaceted example 9. one of the processional charriots in Shrirangam
amongst the three. Architect ulian Smiths discusses it
12
10. Madurai
at length for its relation with processions 14. Due to lack of archeological evidence, the correct founding date of Madurai is unknown. The earliest mention of Madurai comes from Koutilya’s Arthashastra. It was the capital of the Sangam
dynasty from 300 B.C. to 200 A.D. Thus, Madurai presents a clear case as a divine connection between the God and the King. The city diagram, though not as precise as Shrirangam, still holds the same principals. It has ve concentric streets, named after the months in Tamil calendar. Each month there are processions that correspond to specic street and thus by the end of the year deities trace out the map of the city. The main difference between Shrirangam and Madurai is that Shrirangam is a direct translation of prescribed diagram, and its concentric rings suggest the heightened importance to the pilgrim rather than to the city dweller. The concept of time is important in this ritual; it is not reproducible anywhere else in the same form. By tracing the city diagram in space and time, ritual acts as a mnemonic device. It is also infused with local conditions as the calendar on which it is based is related with seasons, and is thus associated with timings of agrarian, commercial 11. Tracing the sacred diagram : Sequence of procession throughout the year in madurai.
activities. 14 ulian Smith, “Madurai : the Architecture of a City” (SMarchS Thesis, MIT,1969)
13
12. Suchindram
The town of Suchindram is slightly different from the above-discussed temple cities model, where the role of axiality and water are more pronounced. 13. Main religious elements in Suchindram 1: Main Temple 2: Ganesh Temple 3:Water Tank
Suchindram
Suchindram is a small town, located in southernmost part of Indian peninsula. Nayaka kings founded it in the 9th century A.D. Irrespective of its small size, kings of Travancore dynasty made Suchindram as their family shrine, and a major religious center. The functions of the city are limited to serving the temple and hence the urban elements are directly related to the religious activities. The temple of Suchindram is oriented off the cardinal axis by a few degrees. It orients towards the direction of the sunrise and sunset, as on the day of its foundation. This alignment is also a tool to evoke the memory in the subtlest way.
In terms of urban fabric, the town
consists of the temple, one processional road around it, 14. Four secondary temples in cardinal points xing the xis Mundi
ceremonial path that runs east to west, a water tank and related religious structures. This is the assemblage of most essential elements in temple town. All the above elements are laid out to form a specic movement pattern
14
in urban space. They are either to be circumambulated,
circumambulation. On its way out, the procession halts
moved through, across or out from. All the elements
before every household, it halts at corners and almost
form markers in the space that is then appropriated with
as a spatial response corners become wider than the
rituals.
street. During three major festivals there are 72 grand The symbolic role of water in Suchindram is
circumambulation and 216 less important ones 16. The
slightly different from Shrirangam or Madurai. Instead
chariot procession takes place on the ninth day of grand
of eight cardinal tanks, Suchindram has one large tank.
festival. The fact the chariot takes more than 1000 men
ust like chariot circumambulating a temple, a ritual
to move is signicant of the space needed for this ritual.
circumambulation by the ceremonial oat is associated
Dragging this seemingly immobile structure is the most
with this tank. This highlights an analogy between the
haptic of urban rituals.
tank and the temple. Anthropologist an piper portrays this particular aspect as juxtaposition of the solid and the void, of male ‘upper town’ of Shiva around the temple and a female ‘lower town’ with a temple of goddess
parvati, in tank facing north.
15
Another element that defers from Madurai and Shrirangam is the east-west street that forms an axis. This axis is ritualized in a procession that marks the end of almost all festive days. This is the path through which the idol returns to temple after the ritual 15 an piper, “Spatial Structure of Suchindram” AARP 17(London, 19�0), 75
16 Ibid., 76
15
Inferences
ancient rituals on newer and modern parts of these cities.
The main aim of this paper was to understand
Old temple towns present a very clear case of rituals and
the relation between the built form of the city and the
its appropriation of form, modern day rituals however are
ritual practices that generate it. The case of South Indian
more difcult to pinpoint and so are their effect on urban
temple towns is a remarkable example for this study as it
form. It is yet to be seen how these “cosmic cores” will
presents a clear cohesion between a prescribed theory of
respond to the new market forces, but even in their present
architecture, religion and the sociol pattern. While Looking
form, they hint towards the possibility of a design process
at these examples from a modern viewpoint, it is difcult
that strives to pull together all the strands of social life
to fully acknowledge the intertwined nature of religion,
into the mythical and ritualistic realm and gives it a nite
built form and the myth; nonetheless in these towns,
urban form.
the presence of a strong bond that links the space with the beliefs of a society is palpable. These are the places where religion is still the dominant force and despite the impact of modern day changes, most of the rituals are still carried out with same orthodoxy, as they were centuries ago. Some of these cities however have expanded outside the boundaries prescribed by the original city diagram; the new growth has no relation with rituals of the old part and it reects the aspirations of a newer generation. This paper discusses three towns in some detail but the same ideals are present in well over seventeen towns; it will be useful to examine these in more detail. Further studies also could be done focusing on effects of these
Illustrations Credits 5,6,13,14 : Pieper, an, ed. Ritual Space in India: Studies in Architectural Anthropology. Vol. 17. London: AARP, 19�0. 3,4,11: Smith, ulian S. “Madurai, India : The Architecture of a city.” unpublished thesis, MIT. 1976. 2: Volwahsen, Andres. Living Architecture - India. London: MacDonald and Co, 1969. 7,10,12 : Google Earth accessed on April 29,2012 1,8 : Michell, George, ed. Temple Towns of Tamil Nadu. Mumbai: Marg, 1993.
16
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