This large, Bhuta, cast bronze boar, Panjurli, is from Coastal Karnataka. Panjurli is the divine spirit of a wild boar worshipped as a part of the Bhuta Kola. Metal boars such as this are used as part of annual ceremonies (still practiced today) called Kola to invoke demigods and spirits in the Tulu region of Karnataka in Southern India. These last several evenings and involves the use of ritual objects such as a headdress, as well as a face mask, ornaments, and offerings. Panjurli in Tulu means a wild boar offspring and is worshipped because many wild boars used to destroy crops and so farmers started worshipping the spirits of wild boars to protect them.
