Holī og Dīvalī – to hindufester

In this article, I will demonstrate how feasts and festivals serve as effective analytical tools to comprehend the diversity within the Hindu tradition. I will use the two festivals: Holī and Dīvalī as examples. Additionally, I aim to explore whether the historical anchors of a festival, or multiple anchors, have significance for the interpretative potential associated with the festival today. I will particularly focus on whether the festival is strongly or weakly tied to one or more myths and whether it has a tribal/early archaic or archaic origin. I will also investigate if certain festivals within the Hindu tradition seem more adaptable to new contexts outside of India than other.