News and pics: RK Durga Digitals
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (RD/CN)

Udupi, Jul 31: The ‘Aati Mari Puja Mahotsav’ celebrated with pomp and gaiety at the Kaup Marigudi temple, concluded on Wednesday, July 30. The temple is one of the seven holy shrines in Tulu Nadu. 
 
Thousands of devotees from undivided Dakshina Kannada, Kasargod, and Uttara Kannada districts, attended the Aaati Mari Puja Mahotsav at Kaup Halemarigudi, Hosamarigudi, and Moornemarigudi. The month of ‘aati’ is when the coastal people seek the intercession of Goddess Mariamma to protect them from deadly, and contagious, diseases that are common during the monsoon season. 

Religious celebrations began on Tuesday night with the ‘Mari puja’. Local traditions are followed in the Mari Puja Mahotsav rather than Vedic rites. People of the ‘raanya’ community offer worship to the Goddess to chase away evil, and this custom has been followed for ages.

They chase away the evil spirits to the sea shore and then roosters are sacrificed in the wee hours of the next day. This year, the devotees also sought divine interference to rid the region of the menace of chikungunya.