Hinduism and Hylotheism: Goddess Mariamman - Goddess of Prosperity is the Vantage to Freedom

Amongst controversial debates I see around me, I better explain a small background to the topic that I intend to contemplate in this blog. It's all about prayers and devotion to Goddess to bless the harvest for the last year and to bring prosperity, fertility, health, and healthy progeny in the year to come.

(C) storytrails

The incarnation of Godess has its own roots in Hindu mythology and to the Sangam literature wherein Kings were blessed of the omnipresence of Goddess chosen places to build her the divine abode. These are the places where the Mariamman festivals are renounced. Some of the popular places of festive for this Goddess who can bless health, wealth, and offspring are Trichy, Tanjore, Madurai, Karur, Chennai, Salem, Virudhunagar, Sivakasi, Vellore, Erode, etc. The Goddess is depicted in two forms: "happy"- red clad beautiful woman in her own austere temperament or "angered" - Spartan Gooddess depicted with fangs and mane signifying the outpour against wrong deeds. She is the Goddess of rain turned ubiquitous and reached smaller corners of villages with its own myth for evolution. Whatever be the reason, her abode once destined turns sacred and multiplies standing for the name, Goddess Mariamman. The word 'Mari' means 'rain' and 'amman' means "resident or citizen or onw who stays in this place for a long time". This is the reason why every village mariamman has her own binding to the native population.

The worship of Mariamman has evolved with time implying more on the welfare and the prosperity of the people and their expression of devotion in need or gratitude. There is a sheer display of extremism many a time in the worship of Goddess Mariamman displaying the desperate man seeking supranatural divine but good blessings of God. Some of these include walking on heated charcoal, carrying pots of charcoal fire, tribulatory blessings of having weapons pierced through the skin, rolling on the floor, carrying pots of charcoal to more subtle prayers like fasting and wearing yellow clothes, carrying margosa and neem leaves, drummers and dancers banging and singing songs. Some people offer or sell their harvests like goats and chickens and feast on them. Some of the foods prepared in the premises of the temple or in worship places are porridge and pongal. The Goddess is adorned with a vareity of flowers. All forms of worship are done with the underlying intention to appease the Goddess to bring rain, heal diseases and bless with good husbands for the unmarried and offsprings to the married.

Having explained the various forms of worhsip of Goddess Mariamman, I will like to question the misconceptions and modern practices. The divine supremacy has been accepted and the concept of worshipping Goddes Mariamman seems to swirl aroound "bringing rain" for the land thrives on the monsoon for agriculture and water for cattles and human-self. This is other words means that people believed nature like a women who is able to give birth to a child and so took the form of Goddess Mariamman, the Goddess of Rains or Monsoon. This equals to fertility. No where I find God forbids the longevity of a womb but only people seemed to worship and pray for fertility, vitality, well-being and life for all. Will anyone pray for the destruction of fertility of another woman? I tried finding out from the mouth of the horse that maybe pulling the rope of axe, illusively as carrot of faith, on its head for others to scapegallows.