She is often called Panchavankattu Neeli, linking her to the forest where she established her dominion. In Pazhayannur, she is remembered for deceiving villagers and slaying her reincarnated husband, giving rise to the name Neeli of Pazhayannur.

She is a cultural mirror that reflects shifting attitudes toward gender, justice, and power. Once depicted as a cautionary figure whose rage and defiance were painted as monstrous, she is now increasingly understood as a woman wronged, whose vengeance carried deeper social meaning. Modern interpretations see her not as a demonic presence but as a... See more

The main teaching in cultures where spirits visit frequently and the world itself is a bridge—such as those of Haiti, West Africa, Melanesia, and the circumpolar peoples we group together as Eskimos—focuses upon knowing the distinct nature and name of the different visitors, their rank, their powers, their spheres of action. These cultures have

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