Sound-tracking Mysore

This ethnographic project examines the Jumbo Savari Procession during the Dasara Festival in the city of Mysore in India with a particular interest in spatial organisation and social dynamics. The procession, which marks the culmination of the festival, involves the worship of the local goddess Chamundeshwari whose figure is paraded on an elephant through the streets of Mysore. Building on original fieldwork, this research explores spatiality and social interaction within the procession. By examining musical representations and spatial indicators, this study investigates the intersection of space and social activity in light of musical performances. While the entire procession is analysed, the main focus is on the Mysore Police Band, a key participant identified through fieldwork. Victor Turner's concepts of liminality, liminoid phenomena and communitas serve as a theoretical framework for analysing ritualistic and performative elements of the Jumbo Savari Procession.