Introduction Part I: Caste, Community and performance A ritual performance of Kerala, Vayala Vasudevan PillaiThe Patuas of Bengal, Makbul IslamBards and goddesses: The Pombalas in Tirupati, Anand AkundyExplorations in the art forms of the Cindu madigas in Andhra, Y A Sudhakar Reddy and R R HarischandraCaste identity and performance in a

First published in 1992, Wedding Cakes and Cultural History is a unique contribution to the anthropology of food, tracing the fascinating history of wedding cakes, from late medieval feasts and rites, through the Victorian wedding breakfast and into the 1990s. Dr. Charsley maps the intricate creation of the wedding cake and explores its uses and meanings. He shows that the wedding cake provides a vivid illustration of the traditions and traditional values inherent in all foods and demonstrates the part that material culture plays in the process of change. Challenging in its ideas, yet approachable in style and subject matter, this book will be of great interest to students and teachers of anthropology, sociology and cultural studies.

Introduction Part I: Caste, Community and performance A ritual performance of Kerala, Vayala Vasudevan Pillai The Patuas of Bengal, Makbul Islam Bards and goddesses: The Pombalas in Tirupati, Anand Akundy Explorations in the art forms of the Cindu madigas in Andhra, Y A Sudhakar Reddy and R R Harischandra Caste identity and performance in a fisher-village of Assam, Kishore Bhattacharjee Part II: Performance Beyond Caste Telugu pady natakam in Andhra: Performance dynamics, P Subbachary Modernising tradition: The yaksagana in Karnataka, Guru Rao Bapat Kalarippayatt as aesthetics and the politics of invisibility in Kerala, P K Sasidharan India People's Theatre Association in colonial Andhra, V Ramakrishna Gaddar and the politics and pain of singing, D Venkat Rao Reviving moghal tamsa in Orissa, Sachi Mohanty Part III: Classical Dance and its Successors New directions in Indian dance, Sunil Kothari Transpositions in kuchipudi dance, Aruna Bhikshu The impact of commercialization in dance, K Subadra Murthy Art addressing social problems, Ananda Shankar Jayant