One of the most popular Goddess particularly in the Southern India, Sri Langka and in the South East Asian region especially amongst the speakers of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam or Tulu. SHE is also one of the most popular village goddess, and just like any other great goddess she is often identified with several other names such as Kalmariyammal, Bhadramariyamma, KaruMariyamma, MuttuMariyamma, Ammae and Marimuthu
There are many other stories about Mariyamman, but all of them tends to fall into two categories
a) Mariyamman as an exemplary human female whose harsh and unjust treatment at the hands of callus, indifferent or negligent males causing great suffering and eventually undeserved death. In Tamil nadu, a premature, valiant and unjust death is often the occasion for apotheosis. In this case Mariyamman the human is transmutted into a goddess.
b) Mariyamman born as divine intercession [ as in the classic case of Parthenogenesis ] and as a woman she suffers indignities and assaults by males - human, demonic and divine, until finally she strike back, devastatingly and definitively, becoming a goddess in the process of potential and poised vengence.
Several themes to these [ found in almost every account of Mariyamman ]
1. Is that she begins her life as a virtuous woman or as an exemplary goddess who, in the transformative cycles of rebirth, happens to be born as human. But no matter in which guise she appears, she is confronted and mistreated by male arrogance, violence, deceit or neglect.
2. In almost many of the stories, there is always an unfortunate woman who will comes to the aid of the mistreated or unfortunate Mariyamman providing comfort and shelter. In this Mariyamman becomes a best example of the plight of unfortunate Indian woman : widows, outcasts etc.
If we were to sum up the mythologies of Mariyamman on the whole, it can be seen that the males are being portrayed as the guilty perpetrators of violent or injustices. Women on the other hand are companions in suffering to the goddess, just as she becomes one of them in the world where men must be defeated, punished and humiliated for their transgressions against female virtue, innocence and goodwill.
