ABSTRACT
Kaavad Banchana (Reading of a Kaavad) is a unique oral tradition in Rajasthan where itinerant storytellers known as Kaavadiya Bhats use a portable painted wooden shrine to recite revered narratives and genealogies for their jajmans, or patrons. Patrons consider this act as sacred as performing a pilgrimage. The Kaavad is made by a community of carpenters (Suthars) from Bassi, Chittor, who consider the making of the Kaavad as a sacred commitment to their ancestors. The shrine is flanked on its left and right with multiple panels hinged together, on which are painted visual narratives. Upon making benevolent donations, patrons may also be depicted among these narratives. Through the narratives and genealogies, the storyteller refreshes the memory of his patrons and elevates their status by forging and validating their kinship bonds with the deities present in the Kaavad. The storyteller unfolds the Kaavad as he recites and brushes each panel with a peacock feather to ward off undesirable spirits. The Kaavad is hierophany in motion; it acquires its spiritual charge from being on the move and through oral performance. As a liminal space, as an enchanted object, the Kaavad unifies the communities related to it, conferring upon them unique identities that reiterate their membership and offers them security, solace, and a sense of well-being.
