Mariamman temples also typically involve Samiyattam wherein through a devotee (usually a female) Goddess Mariamman chooses to talk to help and bless the gathered devotees. ĭuring festivals, it is not unusual to find people doing extreme things to make their bodies suffer as an act of sacrifice including, walking over a red-hot bed of charcoal and holding hot mud-vessel in bare hands. Samayapuram has been used a model to describe rural folklore in a number of research works on sociology and religion. Samayapuram is a significant symbol of the native culture in rural Tamil Nadu and there a number of unique practices concerning the Mariamman temples.
Offerings of raw salt is also made to the Goddess by the rural devotees. ĭevotees also offer mavilakku, (Tamil - மாவிளக்கு) a sweet dish made of jaggery, rice flour and ghee. It is believed by the devotees that the Goddess has enormous powers over curing illnesses Īnd hence, it is a ritual to buy small metallic replicas, made with silver or steel, of various body parts that need to be cured, and these are deposited in the donation box. The main deity, Samayapurathal or Mariamman, a form of supreme mother goddess Durga or Maha Kali or Aadi Shakthi, is made of sand and clay like many of the traditional Mariamman deities is considered as most powerful Goddess, and hence unlike many other Hindu deities there are no abhishekams (sacred bathing) conducted to the main deity, but instead the "abishekam" is done to the small stone statue in front of it. Arulmigu Mariamman Temple, Samayapuram is an ancient Hindu temple in Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, India.