The Pattini Cult in Sri Lanka

Wedding of Kannaki and Kovalan

On account of its popularity among almost all classes of people, the Pattini cult deserves a somewhat detailed consideration here.

The Pattini cult was incorporated into medieval Sinhalese Buddhism and Pattini has been considered as one of the four guardian deities of Lanka since the fourteenth century. The assimilation of the Pattini cult by the Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions in medieval times presupposes the existence of very close connections and interaction between the Sinhalese and Tamil societies in the island.

The origins of the Pattini cult are obscure and it appears in a developed form in the famous Tamil epic Cilappatikaram. In the days before Ilanko, Pattini was conceded a place in the pantheon of deities and worshipped by the Kuravar, a community confined to the hilly tracts of the Tamil country.

The iconographic representation of Pattini as a deity with a single breast has its analogy in the ardhanari form of Siva. It was presumably on account of this fact that Pattini, who is usually described as amman, the mother-goddess, came to be confused and identified with Uma or Parvati. Images of Pattini were usually made of sandalwood and installed at shrines dedicated for her worship. The rituals associated with the worship of Pattini are not of Agamic origin and are always performed by non-Brahmins.

The traditions concerning the origins and development of the Pattini cult and the details of the rituals conducted at the Pattini temples are incorporated into the Kannaki Valakurai Kaviyam which is of epic proportions and consists of over two thousand verses. This manual on the Pattini cult derives part of its materials from the Cilappatikaram and records the legends pertaining to the Conflicts between rival groups of maritime communities over trading rights and fisheries.

Of particular interest are the legends of Mikaman, Vetiyaracan, Vilanku tevan and Viranarayanan. The numerous and complimentary references to “the supreme king” (atiyacaran: “the ruler of the people of Tevai” (tevaiyarkon and Kankecan, “the king who belonged to the lineage of the Gangas” and to “the king who had come in the lineage of the foremost sage who was the custodian of the sacred scripture” suggest that the compilers of this text had close associations with the Arya cakkaravarttis of Yalppanam. The confused references to the author as found in this text suggest two alternate explanations about its authorship: either the text was composed or rather compiled by a ruler of Yalppanam or the author/compiler had received the patronage and support of that ruler.

Pattini is usually referred to by the Tamils as Kannaki and temples dedicated to her are found all over the Northern and Eastern provinces although the Mattakkalappu and Amparai districts are the strong-holds of Kannaki worship. Among the temples dedicated to Kannaki, those of Ankanamakkatavai, Varrappalai and Karativu are the oldest and most important shrines. In the peninsula of Yalppanam the Kannaki cult which was apparently very popular in pre-colonial times suffered decline during the early colonial period and the traditions associated with this particular cult have become confused and distorted in consequence of their suppression over a long period of time. Furthermore, the condemnation of the worship of Kannaki by the Saivite reformer, Arumuka Navalar, during the nineteenth century had the effect of converting many of the temples of Kannaki into those of Mari Amman.

Generally annual festivals and processions of the images of deities are not conducted at Kannaki temples. In most cases the sanctum of the shrine remains closed except for a specified numbers of days in the month of Vaikaci (May-June), when worship is conducted. The worshippers, especially those who participate in the firewalking ceremony at the conclusion of the week-long activity of prayer and worship, practice austerities and vows. On each day long poems pertaining to the cult are recited in the midst of the devotees gathered together in the temple premises. Kannaki is considered as a guardian deity protecting the people from calamities, especially the epidemics of small pox, chicken pox and measles. In popular imagination the worship of Kannaki is efficacious in promoting fertility, vegetation and securing rains.

From article "The Religious Traditions of the Kingdom of Yalppanam: Hinduism" by Prof. S. Pathmanathan, in Lanka Vol. 5, December 1990 edited by P. Schalk