Introduction

Every year, thousands of devotees gather at the holy site of Kamakhya in the north-east Indian state of Assam to celebrate and pay obeisance on an important ritualistic occasion. The annual celebration of the Goddess’ menstruation at the Kamakhya temple, known by the local term the Ambubashi Mela or Amoti, takes place towards the end of summer during the Asadha month around June every year, and is believed to give life to Earth. This occasion also coincides with the arrival of the monsoon. This symbolic manifestation of the fertility cycle of the goddess remains a vital and culturally pervasive force throughout the caste Assamese Hindu society in the present day. The goddess Kamakhya is believed to menstruate for three days each year, and during this period she is considered impure. The temple remains closed for visitors and popular belief dictates restrictions on tilling of soil, ploughing, or any other auspicious activities. On the fourth day, the temple reopens to priests performing oblation and devotees seeking blessings. Families on this day conduct suddhi (cleaning) in their homes, wash all used clothes and utensils to do away with the impurities of the menstrual period of the goddess. The divinity of this practice is handed down to the mundane world through the ritualistic celebration of menarche and the subsequent observation of purity and pollution in menstrual practices in the society.

In this chapter, I look into the structuring of gender, and its experience and practices around this celebratory practice. Bodies and sexuality are crucial sites where cultural, socio-economic, and political powers are enacted and menstrual practices provide a significant avenue for discussion on the topic. This chapter attempts to go beyond the symbolic celebration of the divine menstruation, and explores the ways in which female sexuality is organized and structured in the multiple discourses around such practices. My primary aim is to explain the construction of sexuality through the discourse of menstruation and explore the relationship between local discourse on menstruation and menstruation as an embodied practice. Ref lections on the ritualistic celebration at Kamakhya also present before us important aspects related to the status of women in the society. In the spiritual realm, both male and the female entities are given equal prominence, the female consort – shakti – is at times even assumed to inhabit greater mystical powers (Kakati 1948/2004: 35–39).