I
ndia
has always been a land of villages and in the context of village life the most
important and powerful divine presence is the gramadevata, a deity identified
with the village. A village may have several gramadevatas, each with its own
function. Village deities are more numerous than Indian villages, though some
are known throughout a region and one of these is the goddess Mariamman (Also
called Mari, Mariamma, Maryamman. In the Puranas she is known as Marika.) who
has devotees all over South India. The village belongs to the goddess. Theologically
she was there before the village and in fact she created it. Sometimes she is
represented only by a head on the soil, indicating her body is the village and
she is rooted in the soil of the village. The villagers live inside or upon
the body of the goddess. The goddess protects the village and is the guardian
of the village boundaries. Outside the village there is no protection from the
goddess. The village is a complete cosmos and the central divine power of the
village is the goddess. The relationship between the village and the goddess
is primarily for the village as a whole and not for individuals. Mari can mean
sakti, power, and amman is mother, so she is the mother-power of the village.
However, this relationship is not a simple one. In some places, Mariamman is
invoked three times a year to regenerate village soil and protect the community
against disease and death. Other places may have an important Mariamman festival.
Mariamman is not a peaceful and benign goddess. She can be vindictive, inexorable,
and difficult to propitiate. Essentially she is a personification of the world's
natural forces, but specifically she is a goddess of smallpox, chickenpox, and
other diseases. Her role is ambivalent for she both inflicts the diseases and
protects the village from them. The onset of disease or disaster causes special
worship or a festival of the goddess, for they are caused by demons let in because
the goddess's defences have broken down or because the goddess is angry at being
neglected. Mariamman reminds people that their ordered world can be shattered
at any time and worshipping her makes one's view of reality less fragile. When
the villagers are afflicted, so is the goddess invaded by demons. The villagers
and the goddess are suffering the invasion of the village together and that
is why one can say that the goddess causes the epidemic. The goddess suffers
most but cannot contain it all and spreads it to the villagers, who help her
deal with it. Mariamman is especially favourable at this time to those suffering
from the disease, for they are helping her bear the burden of the demonic attack.
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