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The legend of Buchamma is that she was a worthy woman. She was the daughter of a man who belonged to Kamma branch of the Shudra caste. Once, her husband had gone to another village for business. A messenger soon came and informed her that her husband had died. She could not believe so she sent another messenger who gave the same news. She hurried and found that the funeral pyre had been erected. She did not allow burn the body and constructed a fire-pit with a structure above it on which her husband's body was placed and then mounted it herself. She was also cremated along with her husband. Four days later her father was passing the fire-pit and seeing a bit of Buchamma's cloth he had not been burned and he turned it over with the stick in his hand. That night the spirit of Buchamma appeared to her father saying that she had been dishonoured by the touch and needed to be purified. Her father went to the fire-pit and found her jewels and wedding symbol. He purified them and kept them safely in a pot. It was believed that these had magical powers and many began to worship them. The worship expanded; a temple was built; a stone image was made thereby becoming a regular village deity. Lingamma also had a local legend attached to her. In Mupparazuvaripalem there lived a woman called Lingamma. She belonged to the Shudra caste. However she and her husband were poor. They worked in the house of a rich man of the same caste. It so happened that some valuables were missing from the house and Lingamma was suspected. Her employer decided to take legal action against her. She ended the matter by jumping into a well and drowning herself. Troubles began to come to the household few days after her death. Thereafter Lingamma appeared to him in a dream and told him that because of his cruelty he is facing all these troubles now. She threatened him with worse disasters if he did not worship her. As his response did not please him she immediately brought a plague of cholera upon the village. A temple was built that was dedicated to her. Initially she was considered a devil but later on she was included in the Perantalu worship. Usuramma's origin is indefinite. Usuramma was a woman who was known for her good deeds. She died before her husband. After her death there was an epidemic of sickness in the village. She became possessed of a spirit and it spoke to the people through the diviner. As she was not worshipped the village had to face all these troubles. She ordered to build a shrine outside the village where the pounding of the grain and the crowing of the cocks would not bother her. Tota Kuramma is a Shakti. At one time there was a great feast in a Hindu house. They were not Brahmin Hindus and had prepared mutton and pork for the feast. While they were eating, a begging Muhammadan and his wife came to the house asking for alms. The family head invited them to come in and eat. They accepted the invitation. However in the curry that was given to them contained pork. The beggars were very angry and drowned themselves in a well. Since then they have been wandering demons. The origin of the demons at the Nattarayan temple has also been attributed to a local story. Several years ago a Brahman and a Shudra found themselves at this place where there was a shrine that was dedicated to a jungle demoness called Peycchiammon. In this instance there was a woman and because of her infidelity the Brahman determined to become a hermit and die there. As the Shudra was his friend he also decided to do the same thing. The lived the rest of their lives in that small hut. After their death some of their followers built two shrines in their memory. One shrine was dedicated to God Nattarayan in Brahman's honour and one for god Virabhadra in Shudra's honour. Virabhadra also known as Munniyappan, is an incarnation of Lord Shiva's anger. It is evident that the Dravidians adopted this god as one of their local deities as now he is considered as a terrible demon. He and the original Dravidian demoness have the power to cast out evil spirits. The most common story of the origin of Kanaka Durgamma is that she was a woman of the merchant caste living near Bezwada. She fell sick and craved for meat during that time. However meat was not given to her and later she died. The cattle in the village began to die and it was reported that Kanakamma had returned to fulfil her craving for flesh food. She was propitiated with blood and a temple was established for her. The word durgamu means a hill fortress. Kanaka Durgamma is not a very old goddess. |
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