Sri Muthumariamman Temple (Matale)

Sri Muthumariamman Temple or Sri Muthumariamman Kovil (Sinhala: මුතුමාරිඅම්මාන් කෝවිල, මාතලේ; Tamil: முத்து மாரியம்மன் கோவில்) is a popular Hindu shrine located in the middle of Matale town, Sri Lanka. 

The temple is famous among both Hindu and Buddhist people in the area. The Hindu goddess of rain and fertility, Muthumari Amman is venerated here by Hindus while Buddhists venerate this temple as a place dedicated to goddess Pattini, the patron deity of fertility and health (Abeyawardana, 2004).

History

The history of Sri Muthumariamman Temple can be traced back to the 19th century (Abeyawardana, 2004). It is said to have been established during the Kandyan Period by a devotee named Karuppannar (Arumugam, 1991). However, the shrine at the present site was built as a proper Hindu temple during the fifth decade of the 20th century by Suppiah Pillai (Arumugam, 1991).

Festivals

The annual Theru festival of Muthumariamman Temple is said to be one of the biggest Hindu festivals in the country. Decorated chariots are used during the festival time to convey statues of Hindu deities such as Vinayakar, Muthumari Amman, Somasuntheraswarer, Meenadshi, Subramaniar and his consorts around the town. The festival ends with the traditional water cutting ceremony.

Attribution

1) Muthumariamman tempel matale 2017-10-18 (1) by Z thomas is licensed under CC BY SA 4.0

2) This image (Matale Sri Muttumariyammankovil 108 feet tower) has been released into the public domain by its creator, Umapathy.

References

1) Abeyawardana, H.A.P., 2004. Heritage of Kandurata: Major natural, cultural and historic sites. Colombo: The Central Bank of Sri Lanka. pp.147-148.
2) Arumugam, S., 1991. More Hindu temples of Sri Lanka. London. p.65.

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This page was last updated on 5 July 2022