Skip to content
Nithyanandapedia
Night photograph of a fire-walking ritual pit: a long trench of glowing charcoal and embers with smoke rising, lined on both sides by bamboo poles. Many people in white clothes crowd the edges, some dressed in white dhotis and shirts, with drummers at right playing large drums in light-coloured clothing. A lantern hangs above the pit near a palm tree. Dry straw covers the earth banks beside the pit.

More like this

Open the gallery
December 30 20062006-12-30Night photo of a fire-walking pit at an outdoor temple ground. A long trench of glowing red embers and grey ash smokes in the foreground, bordered by packed earth and bamboo poles laid as barriers. Behind the barrier, a crowd of men in white dhotis and white shirts stands watching, some with lanyards, with women in saris visible at the right edge. A lit lamp or kalasha-like object is raised on a pole in the background under strings of bunting, with a figure in white near the pit's far end. No individual's face is clearly identifiable as a person; the scene shows a fire-walking ritual rather than a clearly identified presence.2006-12-30Night photograph of a fire-walking pit, a long trench filled with glowing charcoal and embers, bordered by bamboo poles. Behind the barrier, many men in white dhotis and white shirts stand and sit in darkness, lit by a single bright lamp above. On the right, two drums with decorative red and white fabric are played by drummers in white. A small lit lamp or altar structure appears at the top centre. A blue bucket sits at the lower left. The scene resembles a fire-walking ritual gathering.2006-12-30December 30 20062006-12-30December 30 20062006-12-30Night photo of a fire-walking ritual in an outdoor ground. A long rectangular pit of burning embers and flames fills the centre, bordered by bamboo rails. Behind the rails, a crowd of people in white clothes stands and sits, with a few in orange and red garments visible at the right. One man in white robes stands barefoot near the pit's far end holding a bundle of straw. At the right edge a drummer with a drum is visible. A lit tower or chariot structure with lamps appears in the background beneath a dark sky and a bright light.2006-12-30Night photograph of a fire-walking ritual pit at a temple ground. Glowing embers and grey ash fill a narrow trench in the foreground, bordered by bamboo poles and rough wooden railings. A crowd of about twenty people in white dhotis, white shirts and white sarees stands behind the barrier, several with hands raised or folded, while one man in a light tan shirt bends near the pit edge. A lit kalasha-like shrine with orange flames and a bright lamp sits in the background beneath a row of strung pennant flags and palm fronds. Smoke rises from the fire.2006-12-30Night photograph of a fire-walking ritual pit. A long trench of glowing red embers and ash smoulders in the foreground, bordered by wooden poles and sticks laid across it. Behind it, a crowd of men in white dhotis and white shirts stands and watches around a raised white platform. On the platform is a lit lantern or oil lamp, a dark deity murti with garlands, and metal pots and vessels. Palm trees and a strip of blue and white bunting stretch across the dark background. The scene reads as a fire-walking ritual with devotees gathered around the altar, but no one is shown walking the coals and no prominent figure is singled out.2006-12-30December 30 20062006-12-30December 30 20062006-12-30December 30 20062006-12-30December 30 20062006-12-30