Fractured Geometry: Lasting Legacies of Colonialism through the Displacement of Hindu Temples (Part 2)

• Post Date: 4/14/2025
• Author: Illakkia Ranjani, registration assistant
• Reading Time: 12 minute read

• Exhibits tag
• In-Depth tag

This project highlights the religious symbolism behind Hindu temple architecture, which featured designs resembling fractal geometry centuries before the development of fractal theory. Through a collection of six architectural fragments from Hindu temples and chariots, the fracturing effects of colonialism are explored.  

Taming the Unfamiliar

Colonial contortion can evolve into the controlling of unfamiliar cultures and practices. In the context of religion, mysticism and the idea of the mystical are constantly evolving terms used to undermine religions outside of Christianity. These terms were originally very broad, describing any mysterious experience that is religious, supernatural, magical, or occultish in nature. As the term evolved, mysticism was used to establish a binary. In this binary, Western cultures became associated with philosophy, characterized by reasoning and rationality; non-Western cultures became associated with mysticism, characterized by feelings and irrationality. Through this framework, the idea of mysticism became entangled with colonialism, describing non-Western cultures that practice religions outside of Christianity as “less than.” The idea of mysticism was then projected onto religions like Hinduism as a means of controlling, manipulating, and taming cultures that practice them.

This constant evolution of mysticism and its relation to taming mirrors the constant evolution of the yali, a mythical Hindu creature depicted in Spurlock’s temple cornice figures. The yali is a mythical amalgamation of the lion, elephant and horse, believed to be the most powerful animal. The creature’s amalgamated nature is believed to symbolize both man’s struggle over the elemental forces of nature and the transformative behavior of nature itself. When carved in architecture, the yali takes on new identities. In temples, the yali defines spaces; appearing in pillars and entryways, the yali acts as the temple’s protector. Hindu temples sometimes feature carvings of deities sitting atop the yali; here the animal is tamed to be a divine vehicle. Additionally, sculptors are thought to tame yalis when they incorporate the dynamic animal into static architecture. As a protector, a vehicle, and an architectural feature, the yali is a creature whose meanings are constantly evolving. 

The taming of mysticism is vastly different from the taming of the yali. The taming of mysticism is a form of systematic subjugation, as the usage of terms like “taming” and “domestication” in colonial contexts often refers to controlling the unfamiliar. This taming creates an exploitative relationship between the domesticator and domesticated. When the yali is tamed by the sculptor, on the other hand, the creature maintains its purpose as well as its multifaceted identity. This taming creates a harmonious relationship between the domesticator and domesticated. However, the Spurlock’s yali carvings were doubly tamed in the context of colonialism. Removed from their rightful place at a Hindu temple, these creatures are stripped of their divine protector role—creating a fracture of purpose.   

Narrative Transformation; Rewriting the Narrative 

While the fractures of meaning and fractures of purpose associated with our temple chariot carvings and yali figures are culturally damaging, these pieces still maintain aspects of their identity. As the Spurlock Museum has some information on these origins, it is possible to make educated guesses about what they might represent. However, the provenance of two architectural fragments in this series is completely unknown. Thus, the artifacts were broadly catalogued as “bird,” and “dragon” due to lack of information. To research these pieces, we look to the birds and dragons common to Hindu mythology.

The scaled pattern along the bird’s neck and the detailing around its eye suggests that the bird fragment could be a peacock. As the peacock is described as “the [vahana] of Muruga or Subrahmaniah, the supreme god of the Dravidians of Tamil Nadu”, this piece could potentially come from Tamil Nadu. The peacock is also a vehicle of the goddess Saraswati. Temples of Saraswati exist throughout India and Indonesia, which makes this artifact’s origins less clear. Another possibility is that this bird isn’t a peacock at all. Its small frame and curved beak suggests that it could be a parrot, and the parrot is a vahana of the goddess Meenakshi of Tamil Nadu. As Hindu stories and customs differ from region to region, it is difficult or impossible to derive the true meaning of this bird with no information on its origins.

The same goes for the dragon, as several dragons appear in Hindu mythology. Judging from this figure’s fluid body and arms, this may be an aquatic dragon. In Indian Hinduism, nagas are sea serpents who act as “benevolent beings supporting humanity”. Existing research on this artifact concluded that this piece does indeed represent a naga. However, in Indian and Southeast Asian Hinduism, nagas can take the form of half-human, half-serpent beings or cobras with several heads. None of these naga descriptions fit our dragon. There is also a Javanese iteration of the naga, called antaboga. This dragon is a protective serpent god known to wear gold necklaces. Looking closely at this piece, it looks like the dragon is wearing a piece of jewelry around its neck, perhaps a gold necklace. However, the antaboga is said to live “on the seventh layer of the earth’s bottom”, not the sea. The provenance of the bird and the dragon pieces remain unknown. They could be from temples anywhere in India or Indonesia. The unknown origin of these pieces represents a fracture of identity.

Fractured Geometry

As Hindu temples act as hubs for social and religious life, they are important spaces that help mold public opinion and identity. Sometimes, as is the case with the Ratha Yatra Chariot, spiritual objects are disassembled and given to participants of Hindu celebrations, making room for newer and less worn carvings. Dispersing these items into religious communities also helps maintain harmony with living spiritual traditions. However, when dispersed by tourists and art collectors, these objects become estranged from their original contexts. The displacement of Hindu temple and chariot fragments in the context of colonialism can then become a destructive force with the power to incorrectly rewrite narratives of Hindu mythology, rituals, and customs. In fact, by interpreting these artifacts through incomplete or misleading research and personal experiences, we at the Spurlock Museum risk becoming the Western spectator who unknowingly contorts the truth.