Deep in southern India, in the villages of Tamilnadu and Karnataka, there is this very ancient tradition of Mariamman worship. According to scholars, the cult of Mariamman pre-dates the Vedic Gods, which means that it is probably over 4000 years old. In the pre-Vedic times, when Hinduism was not yet the expansive religion it is today, villagers in south India worshipped very localized Gods. These were the Village Gods. Each village had its own non-transferable, “our-very-own” God that understood local concerns and provided them specific relief. Perhaps, this is how Mariamman worship evolved.

India is rich in monuments, and richer still in mythology. Sometimes the two get mixed up and confound even informed Indians. The Ramayana and Mahabharata are the most famous Indian epics. Over the centuries, these highly popular epics have been narrated, written and rewritten ever so often. The end result is that these epics have spawned many  sequels, prequels, and quaint regional variants. In most Indian villages, you will find locals insisting that some real or apocryphal event from these epics happened right in their village. They are not trying to con you: these epics are  so strong, that they […]