Ertüchtigung series - Chapter IV: Kumbha Mela 2013

Statement: The translation of the German word “Ertüchtigung” is “strengthening”. The “modes of strengthening” that emerged over the centuries are based on belief or science, culture, crisis or development of thought…the list is endless. Chapter four “Kumbha Mela 2013” investigates bathers going to and coming from their holly dip during the early morning hours. The Kumbha Mela, during which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred river, has been described as the greatest pilgrimage in the world. It is celebrated in a 12-year cycle by rotating at four sacred places in India, on the banks of the Godavari river in Nashik (Maharastra), the Shipra river in Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh), the Ganges river in Haridwar (Uttarakhand), and convergence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers in Allahabad/Prayag (Uttar Pradesh). The Kumbha (pitcher) is a symbol of fertility and expresses several values, mostly related to the generative and purifying power of water. Hindus believe that submerging themselves in the sacred waters on the most auspicious day of the new moon will absolve them and their ancestors of sin, thus ending the cycle of rebirth.