Place · Mariamman temple · India
Samayapuram Māriamman
Also known as Samayapuram, Kannanur, Mariamman
The great Mariamman temple north of Tiruchirappalli, second in revenue among Tamil Nadu's temples after Palani, whose deity is worshipped in raw turmeric rather than in oil and whose festival brings fire-walking and body-piercing vows. The image is said to have been left behind by the Vijayanagara garrison of Kannanur when it withdrew.
- Function
- Sacred site & pilgrimage
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 10.943, 78.746
Worth knowing
Mariamman is a goddess of smallpox and of its cure, and the temple's older function was epidemic: the vows made here were about disease, and the offerings — turmeric, neem, cooling porridge — are the pharmacology of fever. Vaccination removed the disease and the traffic went up, which is not what any theory of religion would predict.
Sources
Wikipedia, “Samayapuram”. Archaeological Survey of India and State Archaeology monument records, and the standard regional literature.
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