Bloodlines of the Sacred: Menstruation, Myth, and Cultural Memory in South Asian Traditions
Volume 10 Issue 1, January 2026
Special Issue Theme:
Bloodlines of the Sacred: Menstruation, Myth, and Cultural Memory in South Asian Traditions
Guest Associate Editor:
Dr Reshmi DC Das, Associate Professor and Head, Department of English and Communication Skills, Mandsaur University.
Concept Note
Across the vast tapestry of South Asia, menstruation has long held a place not of shame, but of sacred significance. Rooted in ancient philosophies and earth-based wisdom, the menstrual cycle has been ritually observed, celebrated, and embedded into the cultural fabric of diverse communities—from the Goddess Kamakhya’s symbolic bleeding in Assam to the menstrual rest of Mother Earth during Raja Parba in Odisha.
Raja, or Raja Parba, is a vibrant and unique three-day festival in Odisha where the earth herself is believed to menstruate. Agricultural activities are suspended, young girls swing in decorated yards, and festive foods are shared—all symbolising respect for nature's generative force and the restoration of feminine vitality. This ritual is a powerful reminder of how menstruation, when viewed through the lens of indigenous ecology, becomes a metaphor for renewal, fertility, and cosmic equilibrium.
Such cultural practices challenge dominant biomedical and patriarchal interpretations of menstruation. The Ambubachi Mela in Assam venerates the annual cycle of a goddess’s body; the Ritu Kala ceremonies in the South honour a girl’s transition into womanhood with gifts, ritual baths, and blessings. Tribal traditions across the central belt construct menstruation as both a spiritual threshold and a collective rite.
This proposed scholarly volume seeks to reframe menstruation as a locus of cultural knowledge, spiritual agency, and ecological consciousness. Contributors are encouraged to explore cross-disciplinary approaches, ranging from ethnography and ritual studies to environmental humanities, folklore, disability studies, theology, and reproductive rights.
By re-engaging with rituals like Raja, the issue aims to revive and reinterpret the earth-based epistemologies that see menstruation not as pollution but as power, not as silence but as story.
Subthemes / Thrust Areas
Sacred Bloodlines: Menstruating Goddesses, Tantric rituals, and divine metaphysics (Kamakhya Temple in Assam and the worship of the menstruating goddess; Shakta-Tantric frameworks and ritual veneration of feminine cycles; The metaphysics of menstrual blood in spiritual traditions)
Menstruating Earth: Agrarian festivals and ecological cosmologies (Raja Parba in Odisha: The menstruation of Mother Earth, celebrated with food, festivity, and rest; Feminine fertility and agrarian renewal in monsoon-linked rituals; Ritualised rest and environmental consciousness during menstruation)
Menarche Rituals: Coming-of-age ceremonies and puberty rites (Ritu Kala Samskara and first menstruation rituals in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala; Similar traditions among Sinhala, Bhutanese, and tribal communities across Central and East India)
Lunar Cycles and Eco-spirituality: Menstruation as a rhythm of nature (Menstrual cycles and the moon: ritual alignments in Himalayan and tribal belief systems; Earth, water, and body as interlinked cosmological entities in menstrual rites)
Anthropologies of Space: Menstrual Architecture, Exclusion, and Empowerment (Menstrual huts and isolation in tribal cultures: Punishment or protection? Women’s spatial agency and female-centred support systems during menstruation)
Folklore and Oral Memory: Matrilineal songs and menstrual storytelling (Folklore, ballads, and matrilineal storytelling around menstruation; Intergenerational wisdom and cultural scripts in menstrual socialisation)
Theologies of Menstruation: Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, Islamic, and Animistic interpretations (Interpretations across Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Islam, and tribal animism; Caste, purity, and menstrual exclusion within the temple and domestic space
Menstruation in Performing Arts and Visual Culture (Menstrual art, body politics, and reclamation in South Asian visual cultures; Feminist activism, period poverty, and the politics of access)
Contemporary Activism: Digital feminism, queer menstruators, and menstrual justice (Social media campaigns, menstrual art, queer menstruators, disability narratives, and period poverty activism)
Menstrual Taboos in South Asian Literature and Cinema (how literary and cinematic narratives have constructed, challenged, or internalized menstrual taboos)
Diasporic and Transnational Menstrual Narratives (Negotiation, adaptation, and subversion of South Asian menstrual beliefs in diasporic communities)
Colonialism, Hygiene Reforms, and the Modern Gaze (The Victorian moral gaze and its impact on Indian menstrual rituals; Missionary interference, hygiene campaigns, and shifts in indigenous attitudes)
Menstrual Health, Disability, Policy, and Education (Menstrual education across school systems and public discourse; Inclusion, disability, queer menstruators and policy frameworks for menstrual justice)
Note: Contributors are encouraged to explore cross-disciplinary perspectives including ethnography, folklore studies, religious studies, environmental humanities, gender studies, body politics, and reproductive justice.
Central Objectives:
· To explore menstruation as a site of sacred symbolism, ecological consciousness, and cultural memory in South Asian traditions.
· To document and critically engage with diverse menstrual rituals, festivals, myths, and oral traditions across different regional, caste, tribal, and religious contexts.
· To examine how modernity, colonial moral codes, biomedical narratives, and capitalist interventions have reshaped indigenous menstrual practices.
· To include marginalized menstrual narratives — queer, disabled, and diasporic — often overlooked in mainstream cultural and academic discourse.
· To open space for contemporary dialogues around period activism, digital cultures, body politics, and menstrual justice in South Asia.
Submission Guidelines:
We welcome original, unpublished research contributions from academicians, research scholars, social activists, anthropologists and practitioners.
Submission should align with the theme and contribute to scholarly discussions on diverse perspectives on menstruation in South Asian communities.
The chapter should be an original work between 2500-6000 words.
All citations should follow the MLA 9th.
Submissions must be sent in .doc/.docx format with a short bio (100 words) and abstract (150 words).
Submit your paper through the submission portal: https://erothanatos.com/journal/index.php/ojs/login?source=%2Fjournal%2Findex.php%2Fojs%2Fabout%2Fsubmissions
Each submission should be accompanied by the author’s declaration that the submission has not been sent elsewhere nor has it been considered for publication in other journals or by other publishing agencies. The author must also give consent to Erothanatos for online publication and The Alternative for publishing in Book form.
Submission Deadline: November 30, 2025
Copyright and Licensing:
For this special issue, Erothanatos/The Alternative shall retain copyright ownership of all published content. Unless published in book form within two years of the publication of the special issue, copyright in said content shall automatically revert to the respective author without the need for further action or notification.
Editorial Review and Publication:
All submissions will undergo double-blind peer review and Plagiarism Checker (Turnitin). Selected papers will be published in the special issue of Erothanatos, Volume 10 Issue 1, with CrossRef DOIs.
After the publication of the special issue, the authors may make necessary changes in their articles to make them fit for Book Chapters. However, authors are requested to convert their articles to Book Chapters before the publication of the journal issue to quicken the process.
Publication Fees:
1200 INR, excluding the shipping charge for international shipping. Indian residents will not have to bear the shipping expenses.
Publication fees include a DOI charge, Plagiarism Checking, and the Article Processing Charge.
Fees are only to be paid after preliminary selection, and the submissions may be rejected if they are found to be plagiarized. However, Erothanatos will give scope to edit/rephrase/change the submission.
All the authors will be given a complimentary copy of the book.
About Dr Reshmi DC Das:
Dr Reshmi Deb Choudhury Das, a PhD Guide, Associate Professor, and Head, Department of English and Communication Skills, Mandsaur University. She comes with a rich, diverse experience spanning across Technical Institutions, Engineering Colleges and Universities, and has completed fourteen years of teaching experience. Dr Reshmi completed her PhD in English from Bharathiyar University, Coimbatore, and completed 150 hours of International teaching license from Westminster College, London.
Currently, she is actively involved in content development for ESL learners in and around the Malwa region, Madhya Pradesh
She has published 10 research articles in Scopus-indexed and peer-reviewed journals and two books with chapters ISBNs to her credit. Attended more than 30 FDPs, both national and international FDPs, and presented papers in various national & international conferences. Deliver a talk as a resource person on various platforms.
