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Outdoor fire ritual under leafy green trees. A bare-chested priest in white dhoti with an orange-and-red border, wearing a pink head wrap and a white shoulder cloth, stands at a wooden altar and tends a small flame with a long stick, with smoke rising around him. Behind him a seated young man in an orange-striped wrap and beaded garland watches, and another man in glasses stands beside him. A golden trident stands at the right edge, and yellow and purple flowers are scattered on the wooden platform. Appearance is insufficient to identify the priest, so he is described by role only.

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A photograph of an outdoor homa fire ceremony. Smoke rises from a wooden altar and a small fire where a bare-chested priest in white dhoti with orange-red border sits and feeds offerings with a long ladle. He wears a white head cloth, and a long mala of flowers and beads hangs on his chest. Beside him, two young men sit in orange and white cloth with beaded garlands, one with arms folded. Yellow and marigold flowers scatter the altar, a brass bowl and offering plates sit near the fire, and a golden trident stands on the right against green foliage. The priest is not visually identifiable as a person from appearance cues, so his role is described as priest performing the homa.2016-09-09September 09 20162016-09-09Outdoor homa at a shrine: a priest with a pink turban and bare chest, wearing a white dhoti with an orange-bordered cloth and multiple beaded garlands, sits behind a low wooden platform holding a ladle over a fire. Smoke rises from a yagna pit decorated with yellow and pink flowers, with a brass bowl beside it. Two seated men in orange and white and a woman stand in the background among banana leaves. A golden trident and a deity murti with floral decoration are at right.2016-09-09Outdoor homa fire ritual under green foliage. A bare-chested priest in white dhoti with pink turban and marigold garlands sits cross-legged behind a yellow wooden platform, holding a ladle over a smoking fire pit with a copper vessel of offerings. Other men in white dhotis and garlands sit nearby, one in orange-red cloth. Yellow and pink flower petals scatter the platform edge; brass vessels, a brass lamp stand and a woman in orange sari stand at the edges.2016-09-09September 09 20162016-09-09September 09 20162016-09-09September 09 20162016-09-09A homa fire ritual under an open-sided pavilion with a tiled roof and palm trees behind. A priest bare-chested except for a sacred thread and a red-and-white turban, wearing white dhoti and multiple beaded garlands, holds a ladle over a flaming fire pit on a wooden platform strewn with yellow marigold petals and kolam designs. A basket of offerings sits in his lap; thick white smoke rises. Several seated men in white dhotis and saffron-coloured shawls and garlands watch, and a standing figure in a white shirt is at the top right. Brass vessels and a lit oil lamp are in the foreground. A crowd of onlookers stands in the background. Approximately ten people are visible.2016-09-09September 09 20162016-09-09A homa or yagna fire rises from a wooden fire pit framed with yellow marigold garlands and white kolam patterns, with thick smoke drifting left. A bare-chested priest in white dhoti wearing a pink turban and beaded garlands sits behind the pit, holding a ladle over the fire and a woven basket of offerings. Beside him a younger man in an orange-saffron shawl and garland sits cross-legged, and other priests in white and bare-chested men in white sit near the fire. Behind them a crowd of devotees sits under a open-sided pavilion with a red-and-white striped roof and palm trees beyond. Brass vessels, a kalasha-style pot and flower offerings lie at the front corners of the pit.2016-09-09September 09 20162016-09-09Outdoor homa ritual under a open-sided canopy with palm trees behind. A shirtless priest in white dhoti and a pink head cloth, wearing multiple garlands and a blue-beaded necklace, holds a ladle over a wooden fire altar where flames and thick smoke rise. He holds a woven basket of offerings. Seated beside him, a man in an orange-saffron cloth and white dhoti wears a garland and watch, and other seated priests in white dhotis watch. Yellow marigold petals decorate the wooden altar edges with white kolam-like patterns. Behind them, a crowd of devotees sits in the smoke. Brass vessels and a lit oil lamp sit on the right.2016-09-09