Originally a local deity in southern India, Mariyammai devotion's has grown into a regional phenomenon.
Mariyammai encompasses many of the inconsistencies and conflicts seen in Hindu Goddess concepts in general.
Mariyammai was initially
a brahmin lady who was decapitated due to her husband's jealousy, according to
her founding story.
She is resurrected, but
only after her body has been replaced with that of another woman, this one
untouchable.
Mariyammai's untouchable
body and brahmin head represent the perfect fusion of brahminical Hindu and
southern Indian culture, as well as the hazy role of brahmins as the
"head" of southern Indian society.
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