Dravidian Gods in Modern Hinduism 19 



top is placed a flat stone. Within the shrine will be found one 

 small plain stone, of no particular form, set upright in the ground. 

 This is the image of Poleramma. Very rarely Poleramma will 

 have a temple built after the pattern of those Siva temples which 

 are found in the fields. 



Poleramma is the goddess of smallpox in the Telugu country, as 

 Mariammam is in the Tamil country. She is also considered to be 

 responsible to some extent for all other troubles in the village, such 

 as cattle disease, drought, and sickness among the people. The 

 name Poleramma, however, is the common expression among the 

 people for smallpox.^ 



When smallpox breaks out in a village, the people say that Pol- 

 eramma has come to them. She is supposed to be angry, and ex- 

 presses her anger by the disease. Before a general jatara, or 

 the offering of bloody sacrifices to appease the goddess, takes 

 place, the afflicted person performs certain propitiatory ceremonies. 



The first thing done is to place some cactus leaves on the wall 

 near the gate. Sometimes the cactus is placed over the door.* 

 The intention in this is that Poleramma, seeing the cactus, will 

 think the place uninhabited and pass on, since cactus would not 

 be allowed to grow on the wall of an inhabited house. Then a 

 sheep or small buffalo is tied to the leg of the cot on which the 

 sick man is lying. If the people are very poor, a chicken will be 

 substituted. This animal is a votive offering, and it is hoped that 

 with this promise Poleramma will be satisfied and leave the house. 



Whether the smallpox disappears or not, within a few days the 

 devoted animal is taken outside the village boundaries and sacri- 

 ficed. Two pots of food are prepared. Some of the food is 

 placed on the decapitated head of the buffalo, or other animal sac- 

 rificed, and the head with the food on it is left outside the bound- 

 aries, with the hope that Poleramma also will be pleased to remain 



^ Ammavaru, a respectful title for a woman, is a name also given to 

 smallpox. In some places Peddamma meaning a great woman, is used for 

 smallpox, and Chinnamma meaning a lesser woman, is used for chicken- 

 pox. In every case the underlying meaning is the same, that of a female 

 deity bringing the disease. See Brown's English-Telugu Dictionary, 

 Madras, 1903, p. 1187. Here ammavaru is translated "our lady." 



* This is done also for cholera, and at times for other diseases. 



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