Consider the Festival a good time. The senses delight in the food, music, craft and dance that come from India, Louisiana and from several other of the world's vibrant traditional cultures. But broaden the view and you can see also that the Festival is a living demonstration of how context can be so very important in understanding cultural artifacts and practices.

The Indian program at this year's Festival, for example, presents singers, acrobats, dancers and other performers in a context in which they often perform -a holiday fair, or meta. The economic and religious activities that encompass the performances allow us to see the artistic ...