Dewi Sri is the Indonesian Rice goddess, equivalent of the Indian Goddess Lakshmi.
Sri is the goddess of the earth, the Rice Bride, and the Mother of the Javanese people.
In the Javanese wayang cycle, Dewi Sri is reborn as the Goddess Sinta to marry her Wisnu in his incarnation as Rama.
Dewi Sri is believed to have dominion over the underworld and the Moon. Thus, Dewi Sri encompasses the whole spectrum of the Mother Goddess- having dominion over birth and Life: she controls rice: the staple food of Indonesians; hence life and wealth or prosperity; most especially rice surpluses for the wealth of kingdoms in Java such as Mataram, Majapahit and Pajajaran; and their inverse: poverty, famine, hunger, disease (to a certain extent) and Death.
Dewi Sri is, as in this Balinese example, usually presented as a young, beautiful, slim yet curvaceous woman with stylized facial features idiosyncratic to the respective locale.
In Bali she is almost always depicted as a narrow-waisted woman at the height of her femininity and fertility, wearing what is essentially a typical dance costume with a finely detailed and elaborate headdress...
Reborn as Rukmini, she marries him in his new form as Kresna. Reborn as Subadra, she once again marries him as Arjuna, son of King Pandu...
Dewi Sri is often associated with the rice paddy snake...
Another power held in high esteem by the Sundanese is Dewi Sri. This is clearly shown by the important role that Dewi Sri holds in the Sundanese ceremonies.
The function of Tali Paranti is to organize the life cycle of the Sundanese. The life cycle's ceremonies start before one is born and continue until t
he thousandth day after one's death. Out of all the life cycle ceremonies, the most important is circumcision for men and marriage for women. Circumcision is ranked first, followed by marriage.
In these ceremonies, Dewi Sri holds a vital position.
More:
See Gaia:
See Cybele:
See the Elder Mother:
See Amaterasu:
See Shapash:
See Ra:
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