Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
image/svg+xml art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos Open Access logo, converted into svg, designed by PLoS. This version with transparent background. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Open_Access_logo_PLoS_white.svg art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos http://www.plos.org/ ZENODOarrow_drop_down
image/svg+xml art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos Open Access logo, converted into svg, designed by PLoS. This version with transparent background. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Open_Access_logo_PLoS_white.svg art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos http://www.plos.org/
ZENODO
Article . 2025
License: CC BY
Data sources: ZENODO
ZENODO
Article . 2025
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Article . 2025
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
versions View all 2 versions
addClaim

BHUTA KOLA THROUGH CAMPBELL'S LENS: AN INDIGENOUS HEROIC JOURNEY

Authors: Mrs. N. Nagapushpam; Dr. T. Sathya Kala;

BHUTA KOLA THROUGH CAMPBELL'S LENS: AN INDIGENOUS HEROIC JOURNEY

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper examines Bhuta Kola, a ritualistic performance tradition from coastal Karnataka, through the perspective of Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth or Hero’s Journey framework. The study contends that Bhuta Kola represents a living mythic process where ritual, performance, and spirituality merge to re-enact the archetypal journey of transformation, mediation, and transcendence. By casting the Bhuta (spirit or deity) as a liminal hero bridging the human and the divine, the research interprets Bhuta Kola as a performative representation of the universal mythic structure outlined in The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Campbell 1949). Drawing from performance studies, anthropology of religion, and comparative mythology, the paper emphasizes how indigenous oral traditions maintain mythic consciousness in embodied forms that resist Western narrative rigidity. The methodology combines ethnographic accounts, textual analysis, and symbolic interpretation to explore ritual gestures, costume, trance, and orality as elements of mythic signification. Ultimately, this research redefines the heroic paradigm from a cosmic journey of the individual to a collective spiritual performance, highlighting how Bhuta Kola serves as both cultural preservation and mythic renewal. The study concludes that indigenous rituals like Bhuta Kola are not peripheral but central to understanding how myth continues to shape the spiritual imagination of communities over time.

Keywords

Bhuta Kola, Monomyth, Joseph Campbell, Indigenous Ritual, Performance Studies, Spiritual Anthropology, Mythic Structure

  • BIP!
    Impact byBIP!
    selected citations
    These citations are derived from selected sources.
    This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    0
    popularity
    This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
    Average
    influence
    This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    Average
    impulse
    This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
    Average
Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
Green