The concept of Maari has evolved considerably to represent Goddess of rain and fertility with passage of time. However, originally the Maari represented the spread of epidemic diseases from which medieval societies sought psychosomatic relief.
The ‘Maari deruni’ festivity described earlier is one indication of the original Maari concept. The other practice is the symbolic extradition of Maari, the epidemics, still prevalent in many villages along the Western Ghats.
The image above shows rural custom of leaving the idol of Maari at the outer boundary of the village after due worship. The photo was captured on a rural roadside near Kudur village on the way to Kollur. The villagers of the next village carry on the Maari into their village and after conducting Poojas extradite the idol to the outskirts of their village. And this chain continues along the villages.
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