Elephants In Kerala Culture
This article covers the role of elephants (Indian Elephant, Elephas maximus indicus) in the culture of Kerala state, southern India.
Elephants found in Kerala, the Indian Elephants, are one of three recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant. Since 1986, Asian Elephant has been listed as endangered by IUCN as the population has declined by at least 50% over the last three generations, estimated to be 60–75 years. The species is pre-eminently threatened by habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation. Along with a large population of wild elephants, Kerala has more than seven hundred elephants in captivity. Most of them are owned by temples and individuals. They are used for religious ceremonies in and around the temples, and a few elephants work at timber yards.
Elephants in Kerala are often referred to as the "sons of the sahya". As the State Animal, the elephant is featured on the emblem of the Government of Kerala state, taken from the Royal Arms of both Travancore and Cochin.
Read more about Elephants In Kerala Culture: Elephants in Festivals, Elephants in History and Legends of Kerala, Caring For Elephants, Cruelty Against Elephants, Elephant Attacks, Famous Captive Elephants, Ornaments Used For Elephants, Devices Used To Control Elephants in Kerala, Auspicious and Inauspicious Signs To Determine The Quality of An Elephant
Famous quotes containing the words elephants and/or culture:
“Be wary of passing the judgment: obscure. To find something obscure poses no difficulty: elephants and poodles find many things obscure.”
—G.C. (Georg Christoph)
“The anorexic prefigures this culture in rather a poetic fashion by trying to keep it at bay. He refuses lack. He says: I lack nothing, therefore I shall not eat. With the overweight person, it is the opposite: he refuses fullness, repletion. He says, I lack everything, so I will eat anything at all. The anorexic staves off lack by emptiness, the overweight person staves off fullness by excess. Both are homeopathic final solutions, solutions by extermination.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)