Deities
Mariamman
Hindu Deities
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Mariamman is the most widely worshipped village goddess of Tamil Nadu and the wider Tamil speaking world, including the Tamil diaspora of Southeast Asia, South Africa and the Caribbean. She is invoked above all against rain and epidemic disease, historically smallpox and other pox-bearing illnesses, and her worship is carried by non-Brahmin priesthoods distinct from the Brahmanical temple establishment, with possession, fire walking and animal offerings a common part of her festivals rather than an exception to ordinary Hindu practice.
Facts
Belief
TheologyPolytheistic: many gods 1 Cult
Worship and PracticeWorship centers on non-Brahmin village priesthoods rather than Brahmanical temple ritual, and her festivals commonly involve possession by devotees, fire walking, and offerings that can include animal sacrifice in some regional traditions, practices Henry Whitehead documented as characteristic of South Indian village goddess cults generally. 1 Attributions
Mythic AssociationOne widely told origin myth for Mariamman identifies her with Renuka, wife of the sage Jamadagni, whose head was severed by her own son Parashurama and later restored by joining it to the body of a woman of a different caste, an origin recorded across Tamil and Telugu tradition. 1 Function
Domain / Function Origins
Origin of the NameAmman, the second element of Mariamman's name, is the standard Tamil title for a mother goddess and appears across dozens of village deities, Angalamman among them, marking her as one of a large family of Amman goddesses rather than a solitary figure. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Southeast Asia directly: "world, including the Tamil diaspora of Southeast Asia, South Africa and the Caribbean."
This source names Tamil Nadu directly: "widely worshipped village goddess of Tamil Nadu and the wider Tamil speaking world, including the Tamil diaspora of Southeast Asia, South Africa and the Caribbean."
This source names Tamils directly: "Mariamman is the most widely worshipped village goddess of Tamil Nadu and the wider Tamil speaking world, including the Tamil diaspora of Southeast Asia, South Africa and the Caribbean."
This source names The Caribbean directly: "of Southeast Asia, South Africa and the Caribbean."
This source names Mariamman directly: "the cults of goddesses such as Mariamman and Ellamma and guardian gods such as Aiyanar across Tamil and Telugu districts, describing their shrines, priesthoods, possession and festival practice as a..."
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