The Goddess and the Demon. A local South Indian Festival and its wider context

Abstract

Māriyammaṉ of Kaṉṉapuram, the goddess of a very old revenue village in the Coimbatore District, can be linked to both Kālī and Durgā through her placement in local iconographic, ritual and mythic traditions. The key event of her annual festival involves her marriage to a mystery male. His tree-trunk image generates a number of symbolic overtones. Among these are hints about his being Śiva on the one hand, and a local demon or social outcaste on the other. Worshippers of the goddess, and in particular her festival priests, seem to share a partial identity with this peculiar lover. Towards the end of the festival, the symbolic tree is uprooted at a moment of animal sacrifice. During the preceding eight days many types of negative or inverted behaviour occur. But with the severing of this marriage tie a return to normal social conduct ensues. The first eight days of the festival are further associated with heat, the danger of drought, possession, illness, blindness, and (by association with these) sexual desire. After breaking the goddess’ marital tie, however, there is a new emphasis on an impersonal, spatially distant goddess. Mankind’s role as her selfless servant is stressed, and, in return, renewed agricultural prosperity is anticipated. This transformation is marked by a cooling ritual. In sum, the Māriyammaṉ festival in Kaṉṉapuram symbolically interweaves a number of separate traditions about Kālī and Durgā. Yet the same rituals defy a full interpretation in terms of any single mythological figure or local story.

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