ABSTRACT
The Aiyappa cult is a modern South Indian bhakti cult. In this cult we find a close correspondence between the myth about Aiyappa’s theogony (Appendix B) and the rituals carried out by his devotees in preparation for pilgrimage to Sabari Malai in Kerala. This I had the opportunity to observe during fieldwork in Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu from September 1978 to March 1979. I collected a number of songs used by' the bhajan groups, and one of these is printed with this paper (Appendix A). The song is characteristic in that it educates the pilgrim about the journey he is about to undertake. The song mentions the important places on the way to Sabari Malai, where the pil grims make special offerings to commemorate specific episodes in the Aiyappa story. I had not originally planned to study this cult, but since it proved to be so popular and rapidly gaining in popularity I had to pay more attention to it.
