Kateri Amman (), also abbreviated to Kateri, is a

Hindu goddess Devī (; Sanskrit: देवी) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The conce ...

. Her worship originates in the Dravidian folk religion, that is classified under

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

. In

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

, she is often regarded as a form of

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

, who acts as a guardian deity of a given town. Some of her adherents also regard her to be a form of Mahadevi, tasked with the responsibility of destroying sicknesses during the Kali Yuga. The goddess is often depicted with her consort, Munishvaran.

Legend

According to Tamil folklore,

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

once spotted his consort, Parvati, leave their bed in the middle of the night, and return only before sunrise. When he questioned her regarding this, his wife was puzzled, and informed him that she had not left his side all night. When Shiva observed this happening once more, he proceeded to follow her from Kailasa to a forest, and witnessed that she had assumed the terrible form of

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tra ...

, digging up corpses, with the intention of consuming them. Determined to stop her, he dug a hole in the forest path. When Kali fell within the hole and saw Shiva, she was filled with remorse for her actions, and promised Shiva that she would end this morbid pursuit. She also told Shiva that she would leave behind her terrible form within the hole, and return to him as a dutiful wife. The

shakti In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and r ...

that was left behind would become her form of Kateri Amman, a benevolent goddess who destroys sicknesses, and shields her adherents. However, the goddess is sometimes also identified with malevolent aspects, according to the folklore of certain communities. According to

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

folklore, for instance, Kateri Amman's origin is traced back to a curse laid upon her by

, which causes her to roam amid the forests, preying on pregnant women if she is not worshipped. Kateri is also portrayed to be violent and witch-like for this reason, associated with rituals that involve blood and spiritual possession. She is portrayed to be an entity who protects children if she is pleased, and strangles them if she is displeased.

Iconography

Kateri is often depicted in many forms. Her skin tone is represented to be either dark blue or black. She is seen either holding a aruval, bowl, trishula, or a staff

Worship

Kateri Amman is worshipped in the villages of

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...

and Sri Lanka by the Dalit community. She is also venerated by the

Tamil diaspora The Tamil diaspora refers to descendants of the Tamil immigrants who emigrated from their native lands (Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Sri Lanka) to other parts of the world. They are found primarily in Malaysia, Arab states of the Persian Gulf, ...

in other places including Trinidad, Guyana, Jamaica, Mauritius and South Africa. Her offerings include

neem ''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus '' Azadirachta'', and is native to the Indian subcontinent and most of the countries in Afr ...

leaves,

limes Limes may refer to: * the plural form of lime (disambiguation) Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a ...

, and red flowers. Animal sacrifices using chickens and pigs are also common amongst her worshippers. She is considered as a kuladaivaṃ.

References

{{reflist Hindu goddesses