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{{Saktism}}
{{Hinduism}}
[[File:Karagam Puja.jpg|thumb|Preparations for Karagam Puja, a traditional procession in Caribbean Shaktism honouring Karunai Kamakshi and Madurai Meenakshi]]

'''Caribbean Shaktism''', also known as '''Madras Religion''' in [[Guyana]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Kali/Mariamma Worship in Guyana: A Brief Overview |url=http://colour.ics.ulisboa.pt/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Mello-2020-AGTF-Magazine_compressed.pdf |publisher=Dr. Marcelo Moura Mello}}</ref> refers to the [[Shakti]] worship that has evolved within the [[Indo-Caribbean]] [[Tamils|Tamil]] community in countries such as [[Trinidad and Tobago]], [[Guyana]], and [[Suriname]]. It can be found across the Caribbean and any South American country with an Indo-Caribbean community. It is a syncretic blend of [[Dravidian folk religion]] and [[Hinduism]] and has also been influenced by other cultural and religious traditions found in the [[Caribbean]] such as [[Roman Catholicism|Catholicism]].

== History ==
Indo-Caribbean Shaktism has emerged within the Indo-Caribbean community residing in countries such as [[Trinidad and Tobago]], [[Guyana]], [[Suriname]], and others in the [[Caribbean]] region.

===Origins in India===
Indo-Caribbean Shaktism is a syncretic tradition that has its origins in the [[Mariamman]] cults of [[Tamil Nadu]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Madrassis |url=https://www.peepaltreepress.com/discover/people/madrassis |website=Peepal Tree Press |publisher=Peepal Tree Press}}</ref> Mariamman was syncretized with [[Kali]] while also keeping the individual identity of Mariamman as a manifestation of Kali who is perceived to be the embodiment of [[Shakti]] in this tradition. Along this, deities from both [[Dravidian folk religion|Dravidian Folk Religion]] and [[Hinduism]] were worshipped, some perceived as a [[avatar|manifestation]] of another God while others were syncretized. <ref>{{cite web |title=Kali/Mariamma Worship in Guyana: A Brief Overview |url=http://colour.ics.ulisboa.pt/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Mello-2020-AGTF-Magazine_compressed.pdf |publisher=Dr. Marcelo Moura Mello}}</ref>

===Arrival to the Caribbean and South America===
Indo-Caribbean Shaktism emerged as a result of the migration of the [[Tamils|Tamil Indians]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Girmitiya System-Indentured Labour |url=https://vajiramandravi.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/media/2021/4/29/21/16/13/History_modern_India_Handout_2.pdf |publisher=Vajiram & Ravi}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=C. Madrasi Sangam - Caribbean Hindustani |url=https://caribbeanhindustani.org/madrasi-sangam/#:~:text=Tamils%20are%20the%20majority%20of,sugarcane%20and%20other%20agricultural%20estates. |website=caribbeanhindustani.org}}</ref> to the Caribbean during the 19th century. The British colonial policies led to the introduction of [[indentured servitude]], bringing [[India|Indians]] from various regions to work on plantations in places like [[Guyana]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], and [[Jamaica]], and with that, the indentured servants carried their religious traditions with them, including their Tamil Mariamman-trance cults.

The migration of Indians as indentured servants introduced new religious and social dynamics to the British colonies in the [[Caribbean]] and [[South America]]. These migrants came from oppressed castes and lower socioeconomic backgrounds, creating a distinct class of people who were neither Black nor White.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://religionsmn.carleton.edu/exhibits/show/minnesota-hindu-milan-mandir/history-indo-caribbean-hind|title=History of Indo-Caribbean Hinduism · Minnesota Hindu Milan Mandir · Religions in Minnesota|website=religionsmn.carleton.edu}}</ref>

===Double diaspora in the United States===
Indo-Caribbean communities have also established temples in countries like the [[United States]]. These communities experience a "double diaspora," connecting their traditions to both India and their respective Caribbean or South American countries. <ref name="auto1"/>

== Beliefs and practices ==
[[File:Woman in Trance during a Shakti Puja.jpg|thumb|Woman "takes oath" during a Shakti puja (ceremony)]]
Indo-Caribbean Shaktism is primarily [[Shaktism#Kalikula:_family_of_Kali|Kalikula]], meaning that the primary deity worshipped is [[Kali]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Madrassis |url=https://www.peepaltreepress.com/discover/people/madrassis}}</ref>

===Beliefs===
Indo-Caribbean Shaktism combines their [[Shaktism|Shakti]] beliefs of Tamil origin with cultural influences from the Caribbean context. Devotees engage in rituals and practices like puja, mantra recitation, and devotional singing to connect with Shakti. Other Hindu deities may appear in temples and iconography alongside Kali and Tamil gods/goddesses, including [[Durga]], [[Ganesha|Ganesh]], [[Hanuman]], [[Krishna]], [[Lakshmi]], [[Radha]], [[Rama]], [[Saraswati]], [[Shiva]], and [[Sita]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=Patrick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XOyYCgAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA954&dq=Caribbean+Shakti&hl=en |title=The Encyclopedia of Caribbean Religions: Volume 1: A - L; Volume 2: M - Z |last2=Case |first2=Frederick I. |date=2013-04-30 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |isbn=978-0-252-09433-0 |pages=954 |language=en}}</ref> These gods of Hindu origin are worshipped alongside those of Tamil (Madras) origin.

Indo-Caribbean Shaktism, like most Hindu sects and regional variations, is described differently by different individuals, with some considering it pantheistic, polytheistic, or even monotheistic.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hinduism |url=https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-introductiontosociology/chapter/hinduism/ |website=Lumen}}</ref> Shaktas view the goddess ([[Kali]]/[[Mariamman|Mari Amma]]) as the supreme, ultimate, and eternal reality, embodying creation and its governing energy.

===Practices and syncretism===
Indo-Caribbean Shaktism encompasses various religious practices that have evolved among the Indo-Caribbean community, influenced by Hindu traditions, and [[Dravidian folk religion|Dravidian Folk Religion]]. Due to adaptations to the Caribbean region, some practices differ from those found in the Indian Subcontinent (most of all in [[Tamil Nadu]]). Common practices include [[animal sacrifice]] (now contentious and abandoned by some groups),<ref name=":3" /> [[possession]] by [[deities]], [[libations]], [[rites]], [[drumming]], and singing devotional songs ([[bhajans]]) to invoke the presence of God.<ref name=":0" /> Hindu practices like deity meditation, [[puja (Hinduism)|pujas]], and religious ceremonies are also observed, along with unique elements from Dravidian Folk Religion such as trance possession and physical manifestations during rituals.<ref name="auto">{{Cite journal|url=https://journals.openedition.org/civilisations/4822?lang=en|title=Invoking the supernatural and the supranational: Tappu, trance and Tamil recordings in Indo-Guyanese 'Madras Religion' and the politics of sonic presence|first=Stephanie Lou|last=George|date=August 12, 2018|journal=Civilisations. Revue internationale d'anthropologie et de sciences humaines|issue=67|pages=41–56|via=journals.openedition.org|doi=10.4000/civilisations.4822|s2cid=201339190 }}</ref>

Ceremonies called Pujas often include the drumming of three to five [[Parai|tappu]] to invoke the deity to the space.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2">{{cite web |title=Invoking the supernatural and the supranational: Tappu, trance and Tamil recordings in Indo-Guyanese ’Madras Religion’ and the politics of sonic presence |url=https://journals.openedition.org/civilisations/4822?lang=en}}</ref> Then, the head pujari receives the God or Goddess into their body, acting as a medium. A mixture of water, [[turmeric]] powder, and [[Azadirachta indica|neem]] leaves are poured onto the medium, as it is believed that the God's energy heats up the body while the water and turmeric with the neem leaves cools it down again.<ref>{{cite web |title=Un Karagam Perantha Amma |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqZEecfr6bE&t |publisher=Shri Maha Kali Ammaa Mandir}}</ref> Puja services are often held once a week.<ref name=":3" />

==Regional variations==
Since Caribbean Shaktism encompases a wide range of similar traditions from across the Caribbean and South America, there are some regional variations which may differ from one another. It may be due to more or less influence of Tamil culture, or other aspects.

===Maldevidan Spiritism===
Maldevidan Spiritism is a syncretic practice originating in [[Martinique]] that has its origins in Caribbean Shaktism and [[Roman Catholicism]]. They worship [[hindu gods]] represented as Catholic [[saints]]. They refer to these gods as "les bons dieux coolies" in [[French language|French]] meaning "The holy coolie gods", "coolie" being a slang word to signify East Indian. <ref>{{cite web |last1=Horowitz |first1=Michael M. |title=The Martiniquan East Indian Cult of Maldevidan |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27853612 |website=JSTOR |publisher=Michael M. Horowitz}}</ref>

The primary deity is "Maldevidan", a local regional name for [[Madurai Veeran]] who is syncretized with [[Jesus]]. <ref>{{cite web |last1=Horowitz |first1=Michael M. |title=The Martiniquan East Indian Cult of Maldevidan |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27853612 |website=JSTOR |publisher=Michael M. Horowitz}}</ref>. Another deity, Mari-Eman (a local name for [[Mariamman]]) is also of importance in the practice, being syncretized with the [[Virgin Mary]]. <ref>{{cite web |last1=Horowitz |first1=Michael M. |title=The Martiniquan East Indian Cult of Maldevidan |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27853612 |website=JSTOR |publisher=Michael M. Horowitz}}</ref> Deities like [[Kateri Amman|Katarai]] (syncretized with [[St. Michael]]), among others are also found in the cult. <ref>{{cite web |last1=Horowitz |first1=Michael M. |title=The Martiniquan East Indian Cult of Maldevidan |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27853612 |website=JSTOR |publisher=Michael M. Horowitz}}</ref>

This is practice is common in the northern regions of the island with many shrines and gathering places throughout the region. Rituals include playing drums, dancing on sharpened machetes, and sacrificing animals such as roosters and sheep.<ref>http://www.worldmap.org/uploads/9/3/4/4/9344303/martinique_profile.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>

There is a historic Hindu temple in [[Basse-Pointe]] in Martinique built in the 19th century, which is still in use.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.island-search.com/caribbean/martinique/|title = Martinique}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fodors.com/world/caribbean/martinique/things-to-do/sights/reviews/basse-pointe-121523|title = Basse-Pointe Review - Martinique Caribbean - Sights | Fodor's Travel}}</ref>

== Differences from mainland Indian Shaktism ==
There are many differences in Indo-Caribbean Shaktism that are different from the form of Shaktism practiced in Mainland India and Nepal. One such feature is that of syncretism, where you may often find Catholic or New-Age Spiritual figures in Shakti Mandhirs. There are also practices, such as that of Maldevidan Spiritism in [[Martinique]], that is syncretic.<ref>{{cite web |title=Martinique Profile|url=http://www.worldmap.org/uploads/9/3/4/4/9344303/martinique_profile.pdf}}</ref>

Other practices that are different include the tradition of trance possession. Although there are some practices in Indian Shaktism that do include possession or trance, the tradition of trance possession by Hindu gods is most certainly from Dravidian Folk Religion.<ref name="auto"/>

Another practice that is different is that of the deities worshipped. While Vedic Hindu deities are worshipped, deities referred to as "Madrasi" Gods (meaning Dravidian or Tamil Gods) come from Dravidian Folk Religion. Such Gods are [[Karuppu Sami|Sanganie]], [[Mariamman|Mari Amma]], [[Kateri Amman|Kateri Maa]], [[Muneeswarar|Muneshwara]], among others. Different names may also be used for Vedic deities and some practices may be of regional origin rather than general origin.<ref name=":2" /> Some deities may even be new deities created by the indentured servants for a specific purpose. Deities may also have different names such as Agori Baba for [[Varaha]], Permeshwari for [[Varahi]], Kal Bhairo for [[Kaal Bhairav]] and Dee Mata for [[Brahmacharini]].

Indo-Caribbean Shakti Bhajans and [[Kirtan|Kirtans]] (devotional music) is often done in [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and [[Caribbean Hindustani]] rather than in Sanskrit (although Sanskrit bhajans are used) and practices such as Karagam Puja is not found in Indian Shaktism.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hindu Temple |url=https://www.maevebassett.com/other-ethnobotany/hindu-temple}}</ref> Most devotees of Indo-Caribbean Shaktism also practice Hinduism, going to both services of Vedic origin and services of Madrasi origin.

== See also ==

*[[Hinduism in Trinidad and Tobago]]
*[[Hinduism in Guyana]]
*[[Hinduism in Martinique]]
*[[Hinduism in Suriname]]
*[[Hinduism in Jamaica]]
*[[Indo-Caribbean]]
*[[Shaktism]]

== References ==

{{reflist}}

{{Shaktism}}

[[Category:Shaktism]]
[[Category:Hinduism in the Caribbean]]

Caribbean Shaktism - Revision history

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