Manifestation of Mariamman: images of a fiery Hindu goddess in Singapore

Abstract

The goddess Mariamman is part of a sizeable pantheon of tutelary deities worshipped in the villages of the Southern tip all the way up to the western peninsular region of India. This deity who is related to epidemics is also worshipped as a rain god. Finding herself a home in the countries where early Tamil migrants brought her along in the early nineteenth century, she continues to be actively worshipped by many diasporic Tamils today. The Sri Mariamman temple, a national monument since 1973, is not only the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore but a temple dedicated to Mariamman as the presiding deity. Starting with this temple, this thesis studies the images of Mariamman found in every other Hindu temples, informal shrines, and several home altars in Singapore. By looking into the South Indian Hindu traditions of goddess worship in Singapore, this thesis aims to unravel the complexities behind the goddess Mariamman’s identities, through an art-historical lens. Although Mariamman worship finds a place in Southeast Asia and the wider realm of Indian Ocean countries, in-depth research dedicated solely to this goddess and her temples are minimal. Rather, she appears as a secondary topic in a wider body of research, thus making this research an important contribution to the domain of Hindu goddess worship in Singapore. Focusing especially on iconographic analysis, I seek to decipher the symbols and narratives which the images of Mariamman encapsulate. In addition to studying the iconography of this deity, the concept of alangkaram (ornamentation) will also be analysed in light of the aesthetics in the ritual worship of Mariamman. This reveals how various adornments seen on the icons of Mariamman, further transform the visual presentation and meaning of the altered forms of this goddess. 2 To study the role and evolution of Mariamman’s imagery and worship within the sphere of Singaporean Hinduism, I will be deploying visual and contextual analysis as methods tied together in an auto-ethnographic lens of study. Considering the frameworks utilised in existing scholarship on the worship of village and folk deities, I have adopted fieldwork as a key method in my study of the images of Mariamman in Singapore. This thesis will locate, identify and analyse the images of Mariamman based on her multifarious visual and spatial identities, often delving into comparative analysis with other deities whom she is housed with. While this study is focused on breaking down the under-studied iconographies of Mariamman, it will also contribute to correlated subject matters regarding Mariamman, such as the folk rituals coexisting with the Sanskritic agama system of worship, as observed in the realm of Shakti veneration in Singapore.