Taraka
by Weston Westmoreland
Title
Taraka
Artist
Weston Westmoreland
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Dance mask of Taraka, Hindu flesh-eating ogre. West Bengal, India.
Papier mâché, clay, fibre and silk mask that depicts Taraka with bloodshot eyes glaring from beneath unkempt hair and a red tongue hanging between tusks. Such masks are worn to re-enact scenes from folklore and epic poems at community-wide celebrations marking the Bengali New Year.
In the Hindu epic poem the Ramayana (650-350 BC), Taraka was a beautiful nature spirit with the strength of 1,000 elephants. When her husband was killed by a sage she attempted to avenge his death, but in doing so was punished and transformed into a monstrous flesh-eating ogre - an outer reflection of her inner rage. She was eventually defeated by Rama, the poem's hero. In Hindu myth monsters often personify the triumph of emotion and self-interest over acceptance and composure.
Weston Westmoreland
Uploaded
September 15th, 2022
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