Gowda Gomathi and Babu Lenin G - Memorial Stones as Social Identity in the Past

Memorial Stones as Social Identity in the Past
With special reference to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Gowda Gomathi & Babu Lenin G Woxsen University School of Arts and Design, Hyderabad, Telangana
The paper discusses various levels of engagement and identity formation for memorial stones that are specific to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The installation of statues and monuments to the dead is a centuries-old and global phenomenon that takes various forms. This millennia-old tradition of memorial stelae is still alive in India and continues to serve in an original cultural setting. The eternalized hero and local legends that enhance the ordinary-looking slabs of stone as culturally significant pieces of history serve as the source that establishes the authenticity and the continuation of the act of reverence translated into an intangible culture. The structure, semantics, and function of memorial stones will be discussed from an art-historical perspective. The whole symbolism of the hero-stones reproduces the concept of a fallen hero ascending to heaven to enjoy posthumous bliss in the company of the gods. Their design might be very simple, sometimes consisting only of a figure of a hero holding his weapons or a scene depicting combat with an enemy. Complex, multi-panelled compositions, on the other hand, are more prevalent. The paper discusses various levels of engagement and identity formation for memorial stones that are specific to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Keywords: Memorial stones, semantics, history, tradition, intangible culture

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Nice talk !