buried images

[Benjamin Fleming]

Dear Fred Smith,

There is a description of the burial of the Jagannaatha images in Orissa by
G.C. Tripathi in his article, "Navakalevara", in The Cult of Jagannath and
the Regional Tradition of Orissa, ed. by A. Eschmann, H. Kulke, and G.C.
Tripathi (Manohar, 2005 [reprint of 1978]), pp 225-264, esp. 261.

Although, perhaps not for "prophylactic" purposes, "apotropaic" is something
of a broad category and you might find this relevant.


Regards,

Benjamin Fleming


On 4/20/08 12:31 PM, "Smith, Frederick M" <frederick-smith at UIOWA.EDU> wrote:

> Does anyone know if there is a history of burying statues or any other sorts
> of images in the ground for apotropaic or prophylactic purposes. I came across
> references to burying images of Demeter and other goddesses in the Greek (and
> Roman) world, and wonder if there is any such parallel phenomenon in India or
> Southeast Asia. It seems to me that I have read about this somewhere, but
> can't recall where.
> 
> regards,
> Fred Smith
> Univ. of Iowa
>