She may be represented with two demeanours-one displaying her pleasant nature, and the other her terrifying aspect, with fangs and a wild mane of hair. One of her hands may display a mudra, usually the abhaya mudra, to ward off fear. Mariamman is generally portrayed in the sitting or standing position, often holding a trident ( trisula) in one hand and a bowl ( kapala) in the other. Sometimes she is portrayed with many arms-representing her many powers-but in most representations she has only two or four. Mariamman is usually pictured as a beautiful young woman with a red-hued face, wearing a red dress. In Sangam literature, there is an elaborate description of the rites performed by the Kurava priestess in the shrine Palamutircholai. The temples of the Sangam days, mainly of Madurai, seem to have had priestesses to the deity, which also appear predominantly as goddesses. The cult of the mother goddess is treated as an indication of a society which venerated femininity. She was worshipped by the ancient Tamils as the bringer of rain and thus also the bringer of prosperity, since the abundance of their crops was dependent largely upon adequate rainfall. The word Mari (pronunciation: /mɒri/) has the Sangam Tamil origin meaning "Rain", and the Dravidian root term Amman means "Mother".
Mariamman has since been associated with Hindu goddesses like Parvati, Kali, Durga, Rukmini, Sita, Draupadi, as well as with her northern Indian counterpart Shitala, her eastern Indian counterpart, Olai Chandi, and her western Indian counterpart of Mogal mata. She is the main Tamil mother goddess, predominantly venerated in the rural areas of South India. Mariamman's worship originated in the traditions of Dravidian folk religion, the faith practised by the inhabitants of the south before its syncretism with Vedic Hinduism. Mariamman embedded in a trident, 1st century, Chola period, Tamil Nadu, India
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