Please join us for an exhibition of photographs – Invoking the Goddess: Pattini Kannaki Devotion in Sri Lanka
University of Chicago: Opening Talk by Malathi de Alwis Trance/Trans-Gendered Incorporation Tues. Oct. 28 @ 4:30 pm Social Sciences Tea Room Reception to follow Exhibition Tues. Oct. 28th - Fri. Oct. 31 All day North Reading Room (also known as Stuart Reading Room) in Cathey Learning Center (Harper Library, 3rd Floor) Devotion to Pattini/Kannaki is an inspiring example of Hindu-Buddhist syncretism in Sri Lanka. The goddess is revered by both Sinhala Buddhist and Tamil Hindu Sri Lankans, though rituals and practices of veneration vary between the two religions and regionally. Ironically, most Sri Lankans are unaware that she is a shared deity an indication perhaps of the extent of the alienation between the two main ethnic communities in this small island nation. Sinhala Buddhists know her as Pattini and Tamil Hindus as Kannaki. The photos on exhibit document the shared history and divergent traditions of Pattini/Kannaki worship across different regions, ethnic communities, classes and genders in Sri Lanka. For more information, please contact Deanna Ramsay at dramsay@uchicago.edu.