DORFATMOSPHÄREN: Hatti und keri der Badaga in Südindien

According to Hermann Schmitz and Gernot Böhme, both representatives of the New Phenomenology in Germany, atmospheres are omnipresent and powerful entities. An atmosphere appears as a half-thing (or semi-object), transmits emotions, and is perceived by the felt body (the Leib, according to Schmitz). It is co-created by actors and environments (or objects) and exists in-between both (Böhme). This approach is used to investigate the emotional conjunction between the Badaga, South Indian peasants, and their villages. I use three central terms of Schmitz’s: ‘Bewegungssuggestion’ anticipates a movement and its potential meaning; for example, it adds meaning to a gesture. ‘Synästhethische Charaktere’ are inter-modular qualities of sensation; the quality of ‘dark’ or ‘bright’ refers to more than light rays, also appearing in other contexts. ‘Einleibung’ describes a kind of embodiment connecting persons with each other and with objects. Based on participant observation, interviews and visual representations, I shall argue that these concepts are a fruitful basis with which to discuss other ontologies of atmosphere. In Badaga villages persons and environments are inter-connected by specific forms of intimacy. The sound of the word ‘hatti’ (hamlet) evokes familiarity, dress-codes create contexts of social proximity, and architectural forms, especially keri (common verandas), refer to every-day cooperation and ritual fraternization.