Mariyammai

Originally a local goddess in southern
India, whose cult has become a regional
phenomenon. Mariyammai embodies
many of the contradictions and tensions
associated with Hindu conceptions of
the Goddess in general. According to her
charter myth, Mariyammai is originally
a brahmin woman, who is beheaded
because of her husband’s jealousy. She is
brought back to life, but not before her
body has become switched with that of
another woman, this one an untouchable. Mariyammai’s brahmin head and
untouchable body symbolize the imperfect joining of brahminical Hindu and
southern Indian culture, as well as the
nebulous status of brahmins as the
“head” of southern Indian society.