Goddess Mariammam

The black granite statue of the goddess Mariamman was brought from Madurai in Southern India and was installed at the temple in a ceremony known as vigraha in the presence of hundreds of South Indian people

ARARE sculptured statue of an Indian goddess was installed at a special ceremony at the Lovu temple, in Lautoka on Thursday, January 15, 1976.

The black granite statue of the goddess Mariamman was brought from Madurai in Southern India and was installed at the temple in a ceremony known as vigraha in the presence of hundreds of South Indian people. According to the spokesperson for Lovu Sangam Temple, Mr Naneetha Naidu who spoke to The Fiji Times, the goddess, the Divine Mother, was worshiped in different forms such as Kali, Amba, Meenakshi and Gangamma.

The statue was specially sculptured by an Indian expert and was ordered by a temple authority in Fiji, Mrs Sarada Krishnamurthi.

It arrived in Fiji in December, 1975. He told this newspaper that "it was an exquisite piece of art".

The day (Thursday) it was installed was considered appropriate for the installation ceremony because it was also the day on which millions of South Indians celebrate their annual thanksgiving festival, known as "Pongal".

The multi-day Hindu harvest festival is observed at the start of the month according to the Tamil solar calendar. It is dedicated to the Hindu sun god, the Surya, and corresponds to Makar Sankranti, the harvest festival under many regional names celebrated throughout India. The festival is named after the ceremonial "Pongal", which means "to boil, overflow" and refers to the traditional dish prepared from the new harvest of rice boiled in milk with jaggery (raw sugar). To mark the festival, the pongal sweet dish is prepared, first offered to the gods and goddesses (goddess Pongal), followed sometimes with an offering to cows, and then shared by the family. Festive celebrations include decorating cows and their horns, ritual bathing and processions.

Mr Naidu said that in rural India the celebrations fell on the day when all the harvests were completed and the countrymen gathered to thank the land.

Picture: FILE The statue of the Hindu goddess Mariamman, made of solid black granite, installed at the Then Indian Valibhar Lovu Sangam temple near Lautoka, at a ceremony attended by hundreds of South Indians.