Altar of Fire

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Documentary

Overview

This film records a 12 day ritual performed by Mambudiri Brahmins in Kerala, southwest India, in April 1975. This event was possibly the last performance of the Agnicayana, a Vedic ritual of sacrifice dating back 3,000 years and probably the oldest surviving human ritual. Long considered extinct and never witnessed by outsiders, the ceremonies require the participation of seventeen priests, involve libations of Soma juice and oblations of other substances, all preceded by several months of preparation and rehearsals. They include the construction, from a thousand bricks, of a fire altar in the shape of a bird.

Details

Status: Released
Release date: January 1, 1976
Original language: English
Spoken languages: English
Countries: India, United States of America
Director: Robert Gardner
Budget: Not recorded
Revenue: Not recorded
IMDb: tt0074124