B1 Non-refereed article in a scientific journal
Gottes-Mutter-Göttin [book review]
Authors: Martikainen, Tuomas
Publisher: Finnish Society for the Study of Religion
Publication year: 2005
Journal: Temenos
Journal name in source: Temenos : studies in comparative religion presented by scholars in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden
Volume: 41
Issue: 1
First page : 143
Last page: 144
ISSN: 0497-1817
Velankanni and Villiyanur are small towns in coastal South-East India. Both are also Catholic centres for the veneration of Mary. The Church of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni (Vailankanni) is an international pilgrimage site, often called the Lourdes of the East. The Church of Notre Dame de Lourdes in Villiyanur is a regional site of attraction. Catholic monks and priests established Christianity in the region in the sixteenth century, which has otherwise remained a mainly Hindu environment.
The title of the book, Gottes-Mutter-Göttin, reveals the central field of interest. As both Christians and Hindus make use of the local churches and festivals related to them, there are a number of different interpretations on the role of Mary. Is Mary the (Catholic / Christian) Mother of God or is she the (Hindu) Mother God? The fact that well-established religious centres are places of different understandings has been the starting point for Matthias Frenz in his dissertation. With background in indology, ethnology and Religionswissenschaft he has created a historically founded and ethnographically spiced picture of the cult of Mary in the Tamil Nadu State.
Book review: Matthias Frenz: Gottes-Mutter-Göttin. Marienverehrung im Spannungsfeld religiöser Traditionen in Südindien. Beiträge zur Südasienforschung, Süd-Asien Institut, Universität Heidelberg, Band 195. Würzburg: Ergon, 2004. 223 pp.