LolitasErurf at 23:52, 26 March 2026

2026-03-26T23:52:39Z

New page

{{Short description|Syncretic religion}}
{{Saktism}}
{{Hinduism}}

'''Caribbean Shaktism''', also known as '''Kalimai Dharma''' or '''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 [[syncretic]] [[Shaktism|Shakti]] [[Kali]]/[[Mariamman]] worship that has evolved within the [[Indo-Caribbean]] [[Tamils|Tamil]] community in countries such as Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Guadeloupe, [[Martinique]] and other [[Caribbean]] countries. 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 Bhojpuri Folk Hinduism with communities in [[Trinidad and Tobago]], [[Martinique]], and [[Guadeloupe]] adding on elements from Catholicism.

Similar traditions to this (which also have its origins in [[Mariamman#In the Tamil Diaspora|Tamil Mariamman Worship]]) can be found in the Tamil populations of South Africa, Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore, Fiji and Vietnam.

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

===Origins in India===
Indo-Caribbean Shaktism is a syncretic tradition that has its origins in the [[Mariamman]] following in [[Tamil Nadu]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Madrassis |url=https://www.peepaltreepress.com/discover/people/madrassis |website=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]] 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 Indians from various regions to work on plantations in places like Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica, Martinique, Suriname, French Guiana and with that, the indentured servants carried their religious traditions with them, including their beliefs in the Tamil Goddess Mariamman.

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 ==
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]], [[Murugan]], [[Rama]], [[Saraswati]], [[Shiva]], and [[Sita]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Patrick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XOyYCgAAQBAJ&dq=Caribbean+Shakti&pg=PA954 |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 [[Vedas|Vedic]] origin are worshipped alongside those of Tamil (Madras) origin. [[Murugan]] has a special following in some Caribbean Shakti communities, especially those in the [[French Caribbean]], where he is seen as the embodiment of [[Ardhanarishvara]] in its fullest potent. His following stems from Tamil religion.

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. {{CN|date=March 2026}} Shaktas view the goddess ([[Kali]]/[[Mariamman|Mariamma]]) 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]]. 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" /> physical manifestation of [[deities]], [[libations]], [[firewalking]], [[Ritual|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 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 the body 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" /> and the medium is known as a marlo pujari, who goes into a trance known as "Sami Aduthal". Practitioners use offerings of vegetarian (sadaa) and non-vegetarian (satwik) origin.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Da Costa |first1=Kimberli |title=Dee Baba |url=https://kimberlidacosta.wordpress.com/environmental-folklores/dee-baba/ |website=Wordpress |publisher=Kimberli Da Costa}}</ref> Often, animals can be sacrificed to the "warrior" or "Madras" Gods, which are gods of Tamil origin, and often are black roosters, pigs, goats, and hens.

==Regional variations==
Since Caribbean Shaktism encompasses 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. The regions where the largest amount of Shakti practices can be found is in [[East Berbice-Corentyne]], Guyana and [[Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo]], Trinidad and Tobago with smaller communities of Madras Hindus in bordering areas of Suriname with Guyana, parts of [[French Guiana]], Jamaica, Saint Lucia, [[Cayman Islands]], Guadeloupe, [[Martinique]], and in some parts of Venezuela and Central America where [[Antillean|Tamil Antillean]] settlers brought their religion. (Most notably in [[Colon, Panama|Colon]], [[Maracaibo]], [[El Callao, Venezuela|El Callao]], [[North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region|The northern Caribbean coast of Nicaragua]], and some parts of Caribbean Costa Rica and some parts of the [[Leeward Antilles]]).

===Maldevidan Spiritism===
Maldevidan Spiritism is a syncretic practice originating in the French Caribbean 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 meaning "The holy Coolie Gods", "Coolie" being a slang word to signify East Indian.<ref name="Michael M. Horowitz">{{cite journal |last1=Horowitz |first1=Michael M. |title=The Martiniquan East Indian Cult of Maldevidan |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27853612 |journal=Social and Economic Studies |date=1961 |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=93–100 |publisher=Michael M. Horowitz|jstor=27853612 }}</ref>

The primary deity is "Maldevidan", a local regional name for [[Madurai Veeran]] who is syncretized with Jesus.<ref name="Michael M. Horowitz"/> Another deity, Mari-Eman (a local name for [[Mariamman]]) is also of importance in the practice, being syncretized with the [[Virgin Mary]].<ref name="Michael M. Horowitz"/> Deities like [[Kateri Amman]] (syncretized with [[St. Michael]]), among others are also found in the following.<ref name="Michael M. Horowitz"/>

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 name=":1" />

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|access-date=2023-09-04|archive-date=2011-09-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928154932/http://www.island-search.com/caribbean/martinique/|url-status=dead}}</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>

===Caribbean Tamil Christianity===
Some syncretists in the [[Dutch Caribbean|Dutch]] and [[Commonwealth Caribbean|English Caribbean]] may even be as syncretic where they do Caribbean Shakti practices while outwardly practicing [[Evangelicalism]] or [[Roman Catholicism]], two of the most common Christian practices in the Caribbean. The traditions of spirit possession (Sami Aduthal) may have been syncretized with those of the [[Baptism with the Holy Spirit]] of the [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical Church]] and the traditions of appealing to different saints in the [[Roman Catholicism|Catholic Church]] may have syncretized those of appealing to the different Hindu and Dravidian gods. Other less orthodox traditions may have also been kept to some extent, whether going to the fullest extent of keeping most or all traditions as long as aligning with those of Christianity, or may have kept them to a lesser extent, doing traditions of worshipping by a river or doing a three-day Karagam Puja, creating a sort of Caribbean-Shakti Christianity, or Caribbean Tamil Church, and also resulting in forms of Caribbean Shaktism more syncretic or less syncretic than others.

== 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, in which Catholic or [[New-Age]] Spiritual figures may often be found in Shakti [[Mandir]]s. There are also practices, such as that of Maldevidan Spiritism in [[Martinique]], or Caribbean Tamil Christianity in the [[Commonwealth Caribbean|English Caribbean]] and [[Dutch Caribbean]] that is syncretic.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=Martinique Profile |url=http://www.worldmap.org/uploads/9/3/4/4/9344303/martinique_profile.pdf |website=WorldMap.org}}</ref>

Other practices that are different include the tradition of the physical manifestation of the deity. Although there are some practices in Indian Shaktism that do include trance, the tradition of manifestation 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|Sangani Baba]], [[Mariamman]], [[Kateri Amman|Kateri Maa]], [[Muneeswarar|Muniswaran]], 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.

Indo-Caribbean Shakti [[bhajan]]s and [[Kirtan]]s (devotional music) are often done in [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and [[Caribbean Hindustani]] rather than in Sanskrit (although Sanskrit bhajans are used) and practices such as [[Karagam]] Puja are 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.

== Temples ==

=== Guyana ===

* Supply Jagadamba Devi Temple, [[Triumph, Guyana]]
* Maha Kali Kovil, Guyana
* Shree Bhadra Kali Amman Ashram, Guyana
* Maha Kali Shakti Temple, [[Timehri]], Guyana
* Kali Temple, Guyana
* Mariamman Temple, Whim, [[Berbice]], Guyana

=== Trinidad and Tobago ===

* Arjune Davi Niraj Shakti Temple, [[Marabella]], Trinidad and Tobago
* Skanda Mata Shakti Kovil [[Barrackpore, Trinidad and Tobago]]
* Muneshwarran Mandir, [[Chaguanas]], Trinidad and Tobago
* Sri Kaliamman Kovil, [[Arouca, Trinidad and Tobago]]
* Shri Adi Shakti Para Brahm Swaroopini Mandir, [[Siparia]], Trinidad and Tobago
* Jai Kali Shakti Mandir, [[Saint Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago]]

=== Suriname ===

* Tri Shakti Kali Devi Mandir, Suriname

=== Martinique ===

* Temple Hindou, [[Basse-Pointe]], Martinique

=== Guadeloupe ===

* Shingam's Kovil, [[Le Moule]], Guadeloupe
* Temple Mariamman Lalsingue, [[Les Abymes]], Guadeloupe

=== Venezuela ===

* Sri Caliamman Chakti Poderosas Covil, [[El Callao, Venezuela|El Callao]], [[Bolivar (state)|Bolivar]], [[Venezuela]]

=== North America ===

* Shri Maha Kali Ammaa Mandir, [[Brampton]], Ontario, Canada
* Meenakshi Mariamman Devi Mandir, [[Deland, Florida]], United States
* Jamaica Kali Mandir, [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]], United States
* Shri Mariamman Temple, [[Opa-Locka]], [[Florida]], United States

== 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]]
[[Category:Indo-Caribbean religion]]
[[Category:Hinduism in South America]]
[[Category:Hinduism in Trinidad and Tobago]]
[[Category:Hinduism in Guyana]]
[[Category:Hinduism in Suriname]]
[[Category:Hinduism in Barbados]]

Caribbean Shaktism - Revision history

LolitasErurf at 23:52, 26 March 2026