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It’s three in the morning
and Nandhini is sitting outside an orange tarpaulin tent, applying
make-up under the light of a cell phone torch held up by her friend.



The
18-year-old, dressed in a simple cotton saree, will be getting married in a few
hours. 



The
previous evening, she and her groom, 21-year-old Jayaram, arrived in
Mamallapuram from Bangalamedu (officially known as Cherukkanur Irular Colony)
with their friends and family. This group from Thiruvallur district in Tamil Nadu, is among several hundred Irular
families who are living in small tents they have pitched on the beach south of
Chennai. 



Every March,
as the brief winter of coastal Tamil Nadu gives way to summer, the golden sands
of Mamallapuram (previously known as Mahabalipuram), erupt in a riot of
colours. The beach transforms into a huge maze of enclosures and tents made of
thin sarees and tarpaulin, held in place using freshly cut stalks from nearby
trees.

The usual buzz of local and international
tourists on this popular beach is replaced by people from the Irular community
who have come to celebrate the Maasi
Magam festival from across the state. The Irulars are a particularly
vulnerable tribal group (PVTG)  – with an
estimated population of around 2 lakhs (<a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/library/resource/statistical-profile-of-scheduled-tribes-in-india-2013/">Statistical Profile of Scheduled Tribes in India</a>, 2013). They live in small, isolated pockets
spread across a few districts of Tamil Nadu.

Groups of
Irulars arrive in Mamallapuram in the Tamil month of Maasi (February–March) to offer prayers to goddess Kanniamma – one
of the seven virgin deities revered by the tribe. Magam is the name of a star in Hindu astrology. 



“Our elders
say that amma gets angry and goes
away to the sea,” says V. Saroja, Jayaram’s maternal grandmother. “Then we have
to pray for her to return. Her anger subsides and she comes home,” she
explains. 



During their
short stay of four to five days at most, the Irulars fish in the backwaters and
hunt for snails, rats or birds in nearby bushes, sourcing food for their meals.



Hunting,
searching for edible plants, and gathering firewood and medicinal herbs from
nearby forests are a large part of traditional Irular lifestyle. (Read: <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/digging-up-buried-treasures-in-bangalamedu/">Digging
up buried treasures in Bangalamedu</a>). 



With forest cover giving way to construction and
farms and limited access to forests and lakes around their settlements, the
Irulars now depend mostly on daily wage work, working in farms, construction
sites, brick kilns and <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/library/resource/the-mahatma-gandhi-national-rural-employment-guarantee-act-2005/">MNREGA</a>
sites (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which guarantees
100 days of employment in a year to rural households). Some of them are
licensed to catch and supply snakes for antivenom preparations, but such work
is seasonal and unpredictable.

Alamelu is a
pilgrim from Manapakkam, an upcoming suburb of Chennai where he lives near a kuppa medu (garbage dump). The
45-year-old daily wage worker makes it a point to travel 55 kilometres to the
coast every year to offer prayers to the amman.
“Look around,” she says, pointing to the enclosures, “this is how we have
always lived. On the ground. Even if there are lizards or snakes. That is why
we must place our offerings on the tharai
[floor or ground] for amma.”  



Prayers
begin several hours before sunrise. The early risers navigate the maze of tents
and protruding limbs of those sleeping, and slowly make their way to the beach,
guided by the light of the full moon. Each family prepares a spot on the beach
to place their offerings. 



“We build
seven steps with sand,” says Alamelu. On each step, they place their offering
to the goddess, which includes flowers, coconuts, betel leaves, puffed rice and
rice flour sweetened with jaggery. When the waves come crashing over the
offerings, the Irulars believe that their amma
or amman has truly blessed them. 



“Adhatti kudutha, yethukkuva [If you command
her, she accepts],” says Alamelu. Ordering around a goddess may seem strange,
but this is the unique relationship Irulars share with their deity. “It is like
calling your mother. You can take liberties with her,” explains Manigandan, an
Irular activist.

The Irulars
believe that the goddess possesses certain people during the ritual worship.
Many of the devotees are dressed traditionally in yellow or orange clothes
including those who are believed to be possessed by Kanniamma. Some of the men
dress up in sarees and adorn their heads with flowers. 



Manigandan, from Tiruttani, was an Irular
activist. “We don’t have priests. Anyone who decides to accept the amman’s spirit becomes the priest,” the
late activist who passed away in November, 2023 told PARI. The morning that Nandhini and Jayaram got married (March 7, 2023), it was a quick and
simple ceremony blessed by two women believed to be possessed by the goddess’s
spirit. All along the beach priests are solemnising weddings, naming babies and
blessing them, giving their arulvakku
or the divine word.



The Irulars,
who personify water as their amman,
take her home to worship. They carry the water from the sea in plastic bottles,
which they will sprinkle around their house and give to those who could not
make the journey. 



Braced with the sea breeze and armed with their
deity’s blessings, the Irulars wrap up their tents. Nandhini and Jayaram, the
newlyweds, are flushed with happiness. They plan to return this year (2024) to
relive the memories of the wedding. “They will cook on the beach, bathe in the
sea and happily spend a few days at Mahabalipuram,” says Saroja.

‘Amma gets angry and goes away to the sea’

’امّاں ناراض ہو کر سمندر میں چلی جاتی ہیں‘

'అమ్మకు కోపం వచ్చి సముద్రం వైపుకు వెళ్ళిపోతుంది’

'ਅੰਮਾ ਗੁੱਸੇ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਸਮੁੰਦਰ ਅੰਦਰ ਚਲੀ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਹੈ'

‘ଅମ୍ମା ରାଗିଯାଇ ସମୁଦ୍ରକୁ ଚାଲି ଯାଆନ୍ତି’

‘ദേഷ്യം വന്ന് അമ്മ കടലിലേക്ക് പോവും’

ʼಅಮ್ಮ ಕೋಪ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು ಸಮುದ್ರದ ಕಡೆ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಾಳೆʼ

‘अम्मा क्रोधित होकर समंदर में समा जाती हैं’

‘અમ્મા ગુસ્સે થાય છે અને દરિયામાં ચાલ્યાં જાય છે’

‘अम्मा रिसा जाथे त समंदर मं चले जाथे’

‘माई रुसेली त समुंदर में बिला जाली’

‘আম্মা রাগ করে সাগরে চলে যান’

‘খং উঠিলে আম্মা সাগৰলৈ গুছি যায়’

’அம்மாவுக்கு கோபம் வந்தா, கடலோட போயிடுவா’

Mamallapuram -Chengalpattu District, Tamil Nadu, 603104, India

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‘Amma gets angry and goes away to the sea’

In the Tamil month of Maasi, the Irular community gathers on the beaches of Mamallapuram near Chennai to appease their goddess Kanniamma and bring her home to worship. All along the waterfront, priests are solemnising weddings, naming babies and offering blessings

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