Ritual

Porfiria Mijangos explains the elements of a traditional ofrenda for Day of the Dead in her region of Oaxaca, Mexico. Interview and footage are from the Day of the Dead celebration at Orleans YMCA, Medina, New York, November 1 2019. Members of her extended family built the large ofrenda seen here for the annual community-wide event.

Photo of Jim Gallman, Angelica’s (self-proclaimed) winningest player at Roque, an American derivative of croquet.

This notion that “all Jains are Gujaratis” is overshadowing the true representation of who Jains are and the religion Jainism. As part of Brooklyn Arts Council's Citizen Folklife initiative, Smrita Jain does fieldwork in order clear up this misconception. 

Aarti also spelled arti, arati, arathi, aarthi (In Devanagari: आरती ārtī) is a Hindu religious ritual of worship, a part of puja, in which light from wicks soaked in ghee (purified butter) or camphor is offered to one or more deities. Aartis also refer to the songs sung in praise of the deity, when lamps are being offered.