Anegondi: Architectural Ethnography of a Royal Village

The innovative multidisciplinary study, which draws on anthropology, architecture and ethno-archaeology, focuses on the inhabitants and dwellings of a royal village in central Karnataka, only a short distance away from the ruins of Vijayanagara. The volume presents a detailed survey of over fifty houses, ranging from simple one-roomed dwellings to elaborate mansions inhabited by the descendants of the ruling house of ‘Anegondi’. More than one hundred annotated drawings illustrate room arrangements, showing how domestic space is used by the occupants, as well as architectural details of building exteriors and interiors. The inhabitants believe that Anegondi is located within Kishkindha, the monkey kingdom mentioned in the Ramayana. Many local sites are associated with those mentioned in this epic. Connections with the past empire of Vijayanagara are still preserved at Anegondi: remains of imperial structures are scattered throughout the village. This volume looks at how people use and understand mythic, historical and present day space through the built forms of their homes and village and also through their pilgrimages to nearby shrines and sacred sites.