From fierce to domesticated: Mariyamman joins the middle class
The fever goddess Mariyamman, worshipped by Hindus of the southern Deccan of South Asia, is traditionally reputed to be a formidable, demanding and frequently angry goddess who insists upon regular shows of fervent devotion. Without them, she can become vengeful, vindictive and destructive. In her m...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Univ.
2012
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| In: |
Nidān
Year: 2012, Volume: 24, Issue: 1, Pages: 41-65 |
| Further subjects: | B
Melmaruvattur
B Samayapuram B Mariyamman |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | The fever goddess Mariyamman, worshipped by Hindus of the southern Deccan of South Asia, is traditionally reputed to be a formidable, demanding and frequently angry goddess who insists upon regular shows of fervent devotion. Without them, she can become vengeful, vindictive and destructive. In her most frightening guises she will send plagues of fever on those who ignore her. The mythologies associated with her portray her as a 'wronged' woman, seeking rightful recompense for the injustices she has suffered in life. Usually men and the male establishment have been the instruments of these injustices. The most important of her traditional shrines in Tamil Nadu is the temple of Samayapuram, located in the midst of an isolated agricultural tract in a village whose economy is organized today around the worship of this goddess. But a new generation of upwardly-mobile Hindus have left the rural, agricultural context and have moved to the city to find middle-class employment in an economy that has seen remarkable gains in the past 50 years. A new kind of Mariyamman is thus appearing; one portrayed as much more accessible, less foreboding and less intimidating. Her temples have been organized into social service agencies, and the blood sacrifices and physically demanding forms of worship typical of the rural context have been replaced by moderated forms of devotion that focus on meditation, singing and act of charity in the community. |
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| ISSN: | 2414-8636 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Nidān
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.58125/nidan.2012.1 |