Goddess Temples in North Eastern India – Re-Storied Sites and Routes

Temple of Goddess Kamakhya is situated on the Southern bank of the Brahmaputra in Silghat, Nagaon district, Assam. Photo: stairway to the temple. (2020)
View from the temple hill. (2015)
There is a beloved picnic spot on the bank of the river near the temple. Many people who come for the picnic also visit the temple. (2012)
The temple was constructed on the order of the king Pramatta Simha in classical Ahom style in 1745 on the site of an ancient shrine. The history of the temple goes back to the mythic times. According to the local place-lore Śiva and Parvati spent their wedding night here. (2012)
The hall of the temple is still in construction. (2009)
The altar with two images of the Goddess. On the left: Durga, on right: Kamakhya. Next to Kamakhya is the Brahmin Tarun Barthakur. (2009)
Durga and Kamakhya. (2009)
Hall of the temple. (2012)
Image of god Ganesha in the hall of the temple with history script about its origin. (2012).
Next to the temple is Kamakhya village, which was estblished together with the temple in 1745. Brahmins and other families who serve the temple live here. (2012)
Brahmin Golap Barthakur in a home shrine. (2012)
Moment from fieldwork. Brahmins Golap Barthakur and Phatik Barthakur. (2012)
Hall of the temple. (2015)
On the wall of the altar hall 10 images of the Goddess have been depicted (dasmahavidya). This tradition is closely connected to Tantric doctrines. (2015)
The altar hall (garbhagriha). (2015)
The main hall of the temple. (2015)
Photos: Ülo Valk. I am thankful to my fieldwork companions Neelakshi Goswami, Kailash Dutta and Parag Moni Sarma, to the Brahmins Tarun Barthakur, Golap Barthakur and Phatik Barthakurile, and to other people in the service of the temple and to the village people.

Additional reading

Valk, Ülo (2020). Goddess Temples in North Eastern India: Overcoming Narrative Distance in Place-Lore. In: M. Mani Meitei, R. K. Dhawan (eds.). Folklore Studies: Local and Global (125−138). New Delhi: Prestige Books International.

Valk, Ülo (2017). Shrines, stones, and memories: the entangled storyworld of a goddess temple in Assam. South Asian History and Culture, 8 (3), 508−522. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19472498.2017.1371503