Dotting the coastal landscape are numerous shrines. Facing the sea, these shrines are seen to offer protection, but also serve to mark spaces off as sacred and inviolable.
Savadikuppam
“Savadikuppam, a fisher village forty-six kilometers north of Nagapattinam town, is the custodian of an imposing primary dune to its south. The village is flanked on the south and southwest by a massive shrimp farm belonging to Bismi, a major aquaculture company in the region. The location of the sacred dune, adorned with seemai karuvelam (Prosopsis juliflora) growth, is significant because its presence marks an inviolable boundary that sharply limits the shrimp farm’s own eastern boundary. “
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Deities on the dune
At the top of the dune are the presiding deities, backs turned towards the sloping landward side of the dune, at the bottom of which lies the boundaries of the Bismi shrimp farm.
Syncretism on the beach
Lemons ritually pierced on the tips of the trishul indicate that the shrine was actiuvely being used by fishers. The trishul is a sacred symbol of Hinduism while the green flag with the crescent and star signifies Islam. The site was actively used by fishers going out to sea. In the background we see bags of karuvad packed and ready for sale.
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