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The Hindu Varahi And Opening Mouth Ceremony

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The Hindu deity Varahi and Opening Mouth Ceremony from the Book of the Dead are figurative, using human bodies with the head of an animal to represent the deity and god, respectively. Varahi is a female body in a relaxed position with the face of a bull. Although bulls can be seen as aggressive, a viewer does not get this sense when looking at the statue. Instead, there is peace represented by the held up hand and leg positioning. The content of this figure could be that females have the potential to be as frightening as a bull, but also serene when she is not threatened. This may have to do with fertility as well, a mother can be protective over its baby (the bull) and loving and nurturing (the human body). Contrastingly, in the painting,

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