SAPTA KANNIMAR AS VIEWED BY M K UNIVERSITY MADURAI 1 The South Indian (Iruḷar) tribals enumerate the Ēḻukaṉṉimār as Kaṉṉiammal ‘virgin-mother’,2 Akasakaṉṉi ‘sky-virgin’, 3 Aṇtārakaṉṉi ‘celestial virgin’, 4 Javvatukaṉṉi ‘natural herbal virgin’,5 Allikaṉṉi ‘water-Lilly virgin’,6 Cōṉaikaṉṉi ‘virgin of Spring’, and 7 Mañcaḷkaṉṉi ‘turmeric virgin’, the names are more of natural appeal. The Iruḷar tribes still retain the ancient way of worshipping the Kaṉṉimārs. Away from the residential area of the tribes, at a particular spot, they worship the natural seven stones as Kaṉṉimārs. Though the Iruḷar worship all the grāmadēvatas and kuḷadēvatas, their mainstream worship is centred around the seven Kaṉṉimārs. The Kaṉṉimārs are worshipped through the seven stones, making symbolic images on wooden planks, and terracotta image worship seems to be more popular and surviving [Journal of Human Sciences) from the ancient days. They mainly worship the Kāḷi, Muṉi, Karuppu Rāyaṉ, and also Māriyammaṉ. The Kāḷi and Muṉi are usually worshipped in the forest region, Karuppu Rāyaṉ is Kaval teyvam ‘guardian deity’ and Mariamman is the common goddess (Thurston 1909: 215). In some parts Diṇṭukal region, the Hindus identify Mother Mary with Mariamman (Conversion strategy). To start with the Goddess worship was under the regional specific trees, today survives as hypaethral temples in many places in the south. The regional-specific trees have lost their identity, at least the kaṭavuḷ lives in one or another form. In the recent past many grāmadevatālayas ‘village temples’ have taken a conversion into Agamic tradition, good examples are spread across South India, especially the Diṇṭukal region.
2 The Brahmanical Sapta Matrikas are Brāhmī, Vaiṣṇavī, Maheśvarī, Kaumarī, Vārāhī, Aindrī and Cāmuṇḍā. A set of seven Lingas are installed in the inner pradakṣiṇapātha ‘circumambulatory path’ of the Vīraṭṭēśvara Temple, Vaḻuvūr, which are believed to be worshipped by Sapta Matrikas. In Kaṭappa region, the goddesses are eight in number, known as Peddammā is the greatest, Isodoma, Mārama, Analemma, Nuka Lamma, Vasukōṭa, Ellammā, and Arikammā. In suburban Bengaluru, they are: Annamma is the presiding goddess, and the other sisters are Candeśvarammā, Mārammā, Māyeśvarammā, Udalammā, Kokkalammā and Sukhajammā. In Mysore region, Bisal Mārī, Goonal Mārī, Kel Mārī, Yeeranagere Mārī, Hiridevathi, Chammandamma, and Uttahnahaliamma. Hiridevathi is considered to be the eldest among them in many places, Kāḷi and Mārī are commonly treated as village goddesses. In some places, these goddesses are referred to as six and the junior most is added, the aṟuvark-kiḷaiyanaṅkai ‘junior among the six’ In Tirukkōṇamaḷai at Śrī Laṅka, the Ēḻukaṉṉimār is worshipped with Śiva-Pārvati, Mohinī form of Viṣṇu, Pathiṉi-Dēvi an incarnation of Durgā, with another Indigolite Kiri Amma. The seven Kiriammas are Miriyabadda Kiriamma, Pusmarāga Kiriamma, Unipara Kiriamma, Kosgama Kiriamma, Bōwelagedara Kiriamma, Balagiri Kiriamma, and Ginigal Devatāge Kiriamma. 3 The South Indian village deities are often strongly connected to the mainstream Brahmanical Hindu pantheon, especially with lord Śiva in South Indian mythologies. Multiple layered myths confront the Sapta Matrikas and the Ēḻukaṉṉimār (popularly Kaṉṉimār) tangentially connected to the birth of Skanda in the work, Tamil Temple Myths has dedicated a complete chapter ‘Sixes and Seven: The Mothers of Skanda’ related to the Seven Goddesses cult in Sanskritic and Tamil sources. The six Krittikas together with Pārvati make seven goddesses as Sapta Mātṛkas. The Sapta Mātṛkas means ‘seven mothers’ and the regional Tamil terms of the seven virgins are Ēḻukaṉṉimār, Sapta Kaṉṉikas, Sapta Kaṉṉimār. The seven Kaṉṉikas are fertile virgins, usually unmarried virgins are compared to the Kaṉṉikas. 4 In North India, the Mātṛkas are frequently depicted with their children, while the Tamil Kaṉṉimārs are not so. The unique identity of both the regional Kaṉṉimār and classical Mātṛkas are same; they are known for the purity, while the former are ‘virgin goddesses’ and the later are ‘virgin-mothers’. 5 By way of conclusion, may we suggest the Seven Chaste noted in the Cilappatikāram through the Sapta Kaṉṉikas reach a stage of maturation in the Sapta Mātṛkas However, faint imagery of the Sapta Mātṛkas is traced back to the Indic whereas the Sapta Kaṉṉikas are frozen in the folk cult and worship. We have no material evidence of the seven virtuous women, notified in the Cilappatikāram. In any case, Kannaki talks of seven chaste strīs. The annals of the “seven strīs” are perhaps a deep-rooted cause and effect of worship in Hinduism. K RAJARAM IRS 14 7 23 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to thatha_patty+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZorpcdxv3W0-C2qDpdfPASFha25S1%2B%2BZMtjsv4NWAepQoQ%40mail.gmail.com.
