Research Analysis & Research Validity: Celebrating the Divine Female

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Dear Student,
Hello. Studying the problem you have provided, I decided to give you a truly ethnographic article I have previously used and encountered in my studies on Female Divinity because it is a 'field article' where Indian journalist Janet Chawla spent immersive time doing interviews and observation of a particular group of people doing a very specific form of worship. This kind of work is truly qualitative and I believe that it will fit your needs well. I hope this helps.

Sincerely,
OTA 105878/Xenia Jones
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Part 1:

Qualitative Article Review

? Article Title - 'Celebrating the Divine Female'
? Author - Janet Chawla
? Publication - September 16, 2002
? Publisher - 'Women's Feature Service', http://www.wfsnews.org/
? Online Re-publisher of the Full Article: http://www.boloji.com/wfs/wfs082.htm

Chawla's article is a semi-ethnographic narrative on the Shakti annual worship known as Ambubachi Mela. The Shakti is the worship of the 'primordial divine' - the Shakti for the Hindus being the personification of the creative and reproductive power of the feminine. The 'Shakti' as a divine concept is not only limited in women but is manifested in men too as it is the universal agent of creation and change according to the Hindus. The Ambabuchi Mela is held in the city of Gauhati in the province of Assam, India. The article describes the annual worship as the celebration of the female Divine manifested in a particular ritual. At the center of the ceremony in the holy Hindu temple is a yoni - a kind of bowl symbolising the female genitalia. It is situated above a natural spring from which water flows - symbolising life. In coordination with the 'Monsoon' which is seen as the 'menses' of Mother Earth, the celebration of female menstruation happens as the 'flows of life' from the Shakti becomes accessible to the devotees. The article summarizes the varied practices and rituals performed in the ceremony in relation to their relevance in the worship of the Shakti - the Hindu Female Divine. It also relates the importance of the Shakti to the Hindus as annually, up to 300,000 converge ...