Heterodox Religions And Social Positioning of Women in The State of Kerala: Demythicising Sabarimala Belief System

Abstract

This article examines the history of Sastha and Malikapurathamma worship in Sabarimala as a by-product of the interactions between various religions by examining the Pattini cult, animistic nature of Malayarayans’ Sastha worship, Buddhist influence and Brahmanical tantric values. This hypothesis may help to evaluate how Dravidian, Buddhist and Hindu cultural aspects like tradition, customs and taboos restrict woman’s right to pray and worship on the basis of biological features and menstruation. A careful attempt has been made in this paper to discern heterodox religions in determining the present day Hindu code of worship and its adverse impacts on women within the Sabarimala belief system.