In several parts of North India, smallpox is usually identified with the goddess Sitala (literally ``the cool one''). Sitala was also referred to as mata (mother). There are several temples and shrines to Sitala all over North India. The main priests who attended to the worship of Sitala were women and a class of people called mali, who were mainly of the laborer and gardener classes. The annual festival for the goddess, Sitala is held in the month of march (chitra). The onset of smallpox is considered to be a manifestation of the goddess and not an essential characteristic. The disease was her khel (sport or play), and hence had to be tolerated giving due respect and honor. The patient is the abode of Sitala when the disease occurs. The patient and the goddess are fed cooling foods such as cold rice, plantains, and yoghurt. During festivities for Sitala, heating foods are banned, sexual activity is minimized, and all other heating activities are abstained from. Cooling drinks are offered to the patient, and his body is rubbed with neem pattha (leaf of the cooling neem tree). If the disease progressed, a Mali is called. The skin of the patient is rubbed with neem leaves, and a cooling mixture of tumeric and flour. Finally, when the boils of smallpox ripen, a small thorn is used to prick them and give relief to the patient. When the fever had subsided, prayers were offered to the Goddess, along with cooling offerings of coconut, rice, and flowers. Thus smallpox was treated as a case of being possessed by Sitala. The The best a physician could do was to prescribe cooling drafts, use purgatives to relieve the body of its poisons, and to proscribe items that could prolong the pittam imbalance in the body. The rest was under the control of the Sitala. The one other practice that a special vaidya (who later came to be called tikadars (men who apply a mark)) could use was varolation, a procedure where a small amount of smallpox pistule matter was injected into the person's body such that the disease could be attained in a controlled and attenuated way. The practice of varolation was largely taken over by vaccination. In an analysis of the practice of varolation, [Arnold] argues how the practice was locally understood as a way of invoking the protective power of the Goddess Situla's rights over the body of the patient/possessed, instead of violating it. This allowed the practice to be be viewed as a celebration of the Goddess compared to vaccination, which was initially viewed as a violation. Next: Sophisticated urbanites or Up: Using The Theory Previous: Hot and Cold snarayan@ICSI.Berkeley.EDU Tue Jun 27 16:41:34 PDT 1995 Arnold DAVID ARNOLD, 1993. Colonizing the Body UC Press, CA 1993. Moreno M. MORENO AND MCKIM MARRIOTT, 1989. Humoral Transactions in two Tamil Cults: Murukan and Mariamman Contributions to Indian Sociology Volume 23 No. 1, 1989, pp. 149-169. The last confirmed case of smallpox was reported in 1979, at which point scientists worldwide declared the once-deadly disease to have been eradicated from the planet. The sacrifices in the second video yesterday were at best disturbing, but my brain was apparently working under my immediate revulsion. What interests me is that while the deity being worshipped is female and the worshipers we previously saw were primarily female, the people performing the sacrifice were all men. In the first video, a woman asked why women were suited to the worship of the Goddess said that women were able to be patient and constant because of the practice of their daily lives as wives and mothers, whereas men had to make many sacrifices in order to approach the Goddess. While this doesn¼t seem to be the sole reason for the proportionately rater number of women involved in the worship of the Goddess, the idea that women are somehow either close enough to the Goddess by association or else ARE themselves sacrifices and therefore may skip the intermediate steps of approach fascinates me. If it¼s simply a case of the Goddess playing favorites, then do women have to perform grater rituals than men in order to approach male deities? In contrast to the western religious practices of condemning the woman as intrinsically impure and unable to achieve direct communion with the Judeo-Christian God, the Goddess privileges women because she feels a kind of kinship with them? Does this imply that the relationship of woman to Goddess is truly gender-based? Or is it actually a more complex relationship of symbolic gender and the accompanying sacrifices that Indian womanhood demands?

Is the woman¼s life as devoted and Sita-like wifehood and protective, self-sacrificing motherhood an actual and ritual self-sacrifice? Would this not be the equivalent to the model of the holy ascetic? If the woman¼s entire life is devoted to her husband and her home, as encouraged by traditional Indian society, is the devotion really only to benefit her husband, or is there another layer of meaning in which the woman¼s sacrifice of her life and her self allows her to enter a higher state of devotion and consciousness than the man? And if this is the case, is the appropriate counterpart of the ascetic a devoted housewife? Among the artifacts on display are statues of Sitala Mata and Sopona, two of the gods held responsible for smallpox, which illustrate the many myths and superstitions which grew up around this dreaded disease. Also featured is an original example of the bifurcated needle which played such a vital role in the eradication campaign. The bifurcated needle, which was developed by Wyeth Laboratories which waived all royalties for needles manufactured under contract with WHO, is credited as one of the major factors which made eradication possible. Another significant element in the success of the eradication programme was the ability of vaccine manufacturers, such as MÈrieux and Wyeth, to produce large quantities of freeze-dried vaccine. Together, the needle with its container and a freeze-dried heat stable vaccine produced successful results even when used by vaccinators with little training. he last case of naturally acquired smallpox was reported from Somalia in 1977, and in 1980, WHO declared the world free from the scourge. In its 1996 session, the World Health Assembly recommended that the last smallpox stocks would be destroyed in 1999. Next: Sophisticated urbanites or Up: Using The Theory Previous: Hot and Cold ...the Goddess Sitala (the "Cool One") controls infectious diseases such as smallpox. She is frequently the "mother" goddess of an entire village. Villagers who have moved into the industrial-residential Calcutta suburb of Salkia (where the film was made) continue to support numerous neighborhood Sitala temples. On the first day of the Spring festival, the Sitala images in the many Salkia temples are decorated and joyously carried in separate processions to the Hooghly river for bathing. Domina

Domina: The Goddess in the BDSM Scene


BDSM graphic
There is a Kali temple in California that has put forth the theory that Kali is reasserting herself in our time and culture by manifesting in human women who display the desire to sexually dominate men. This temple sells a variety of manuscripts and materials via their web site, and include both links to "British style discipline" sites and a warning that Kali deals harshly with dillentantes who venture into her temple without the proper seriousness. As I ventured further into their site, I found a glut of information about the church's theology and philosophy, which led to a more general enquiry into the presence, or lack thereof, of the Goddess in the BDSM (bondage & discipline, domination & submission and sadism & masochism) scene.

The Essemian Church
The church/temple in question calls itself alternately "The Essemian Sanctuary of the Darkside Goddess " and the "SM/Essemian Church" and is based in California (where else). In addition to descriptions of the rituals of domination practiced in the Sanctuary, the website provides a rather detailed desctiption of the group's purpose and theology:
We are interested in historical research of many ancient Goddess-based, matriarchal cultures to the extent of simulating the existence of such a society in our present time....We are not afraid to explore a societal simulation where women become the oppressors and men the oppressed, even to the extent where men assume roles as slaves in a female dominant environment. The Goddess & the Dominatrix
The Goddess & the Fringe
THE SERVICE OF MANKIND CHURCH, SANCTUARY OF THE DARKSIDE GODDESS (also known as SMC, SM or Essemian Church) is a modern Natural Religion; committed to the restoration of some of the ancient women's religions worshipping the Great Goddess. We are interested in historical research of many ancient Goddess-based, matriarchal cultures to the extent of simulating the existence of such a society in our present time. The simulation could be extended to include a Goddess-based, Amazonian-like society, in which present day assumptions of the active and passive gender roles respective to male and female are reversed, and women have assumed extraordinary powers. We are not afraid to explore a societal simulation where women become the oppressors and men the oppressed, even to the extent where men assume roles as slaves in a female dominant environment. To explain what this has to do with Goddess worship - we offer the following. Since we believe that the worship of a male gender God has resulted in a rationalization for the legitimacy of a male dominant society, it then becomes apparent that the practice of Goddess worship could also have a similar effect upon gender dominance presumptions. If such an effect were to result in an inversion of the present societal paradigm (whereby the female becomes the dominant gender rather than the male), it may be concluded that such an inversion of gender dominance is an essential element of Goddess worship. SMC believes that the ideal Goddess worship environment indicates the necessity for a female dominant societal paradigm, and thus retains as one of its principle religious objectives the acquisition of resources for the eventual creation of an isolated private communal living arrangement, where a Goddess-based, female-dominant, disciplined lifestyle can be fully effected. Insofar as we believe that the realization of our unique communal lifestyle objective is a 'Goddess-directed religious mission', SMC seeks special women and men who are prepared to experience the full consequences of living in such a communal situation, and are able to help bring such a commune into existence. Q: WHAT DOES THE SMC TEACH ABOUT GOD? SMC has no unique theological teachings about God, except for the rejection of the odd notion that a "spiritual" God should require a biological gender. We are suspicious of those religious traditions which seem to have an extraordinary need to describe God as a 'He'; their image of an all-powerful, super-human, spiritual being is always shown as being male in gender. We believe this to be more the result of (male dominated) 'societal assumptions', rather than being based on logical or theological reasoning. We offer a unique opposing alternative by recognizing and emphasizing the female aspect of the (same) all-powerful 'God'. Q: WHAT DOES THE SMC TEACH ABOUT THE GODDESS? A: SMC's theological beliefs involve more the 'QUEST' (i.e., study) of ancient Goddess Religion history and mythology, rather than teachings of any set orthodoxical beliefs. Rather than seek for "believers", we prefer instead to invite others to share in our Quest for increasing our knowledge of the Goddess, to study the ways of the ancient Goddess-based societies, and to explore practical applications of ancient traditions to develop new rituals for our present time. Q: IS THE SMC REALLY INVOLVED WITH RELIGION? The word 'religion' really means "re-link ing". And the basic commitment of SMC involves re-linking some parts of present-day (male-dominated) technocratic society, with a distant past where 'Goddesses' (rather than any 'Gods') were natural to the collective consciousness of all rational beings. Yes, SMC is really involved with religion. Some SMC Rituals originate from the mythology of the "darkside" (Mahavidya) goddesses of ancient India. Herein one finds the paradigm of the powerful, awesome, and sometimes cruel feminine deity who demands male surrender and obeisance. It is from this source that SMC's 'Sanctuary of the Goddess' derives its ritual traditions, based upon acts of surrender and subjugation of the male principle, as being a sincere spiritual expression of the religious devotional practices of Tantric Shaktism. Q: IS SEX A PART OF THE ESSEMIAN CHURCH OF THE GODDESS? Even though few admit it, sex is a part of 'every' religion. See how prevailing religious influences can affect strict laws to control not only sex but sexuality itself. SMC believes that it is better to involve the use of eroticism in religious 'celebration' rather than religious litigation to have one group's sexual preferences prevail over another. Moreover, SMC's devotion to the practice of 'Shaktism' (a unique form of worship of the Mahavidya Goddesses) is rooted in Tantrism. And Tantrism is based upon the use and control of eroticism as being an essential element of religious practice. Q: HOW CAN A CHURCH INVOLVE SENSUALITY WITH RELIGION? From the earliest times known, religions traditionally have made sensuality a natural and normal part of their religious experience. Nearly all of these earlier religious traditions were Goddess-oriented. It was not until after the patriarchal suppression of matriarchal religions that sensuality become an "immoral pagan" practice to be condemned by patriarchal churches. However, the practice of Tantric Shaktism requires that we confront and experience our sensuality as an expression of the necessary surrender to the 'Goddess who dwells within'. Therefore, the subject of sensuality must be included as a regular aspect of our religious devotional exercises and rituals. Q: DOES THE SMC ADVOCATE FREE LOVE? No, but here we can see the confusion over the term of "free", which to most people implies "irresponsible". Since total freedom and total responsibility is something few people are willing to accept, people seek to escape from freedom and responsibility by hiding behind cloaks of "respectability" while criticizing those who dare to take responsibility for acts of investigating 'alternative sexuality'. SMC's most controversial position on sexuality is the notion that full control of a sex act be reserved for the female instead of the male. Such a notion is extremely antithetical to a patriarchal society. SMC advocates: (1)since the woman is the 'child bearer', it should be only the 'woman' who initiates and controls all sexual activity; and (2) all sexual activity should be "Life Affirming" (i.e., safe sex practices, and taking responsibility to exclude unplanned pregnancy). Q: WHY IS THE SMC ORGANIZED AS A CHURCH? As there is a certain communal benefit that can result from the coordinated efforts of individuals who share the same interests (i.e., 'religious Common Belief'), SMC's purpose is to provide the community coordination and legal organizational structure necessary to best socially and economically share the benefits and costs of our Quest. As our Quest is a "religious purpose" activity, by being organized as a church we can far better provide for the transfer and sharing of resources in the same privileged situation that exists for other tax-exempt, nonprofit, religious corporations. Moreover, as the practice of some Essemian Rituals may be considered controversial, by being organized as a church we can invoke U.S. Constitutional protection for the freedom to practice our religion as we interpret it to be, and offer 'Sanctuary' to all who share in the same desire to practice our Common Belief. Q: IS THE "SM" CHURCH INVOLVED WITH "S/M"? If you take "S/M" to mean "sado-masochistic" sexual deviation, involving senseless cruelty to cause injury or harm to another, the answer is "No!" Make no mistake about this! As a caring, humanistic church, SMC opposes cruel, senseless violence in any form. But if you take "S/M" to mean, as it was intended, "Shakti Mysticism", then the answer would be a qualified "Yes". Our involvement with this form of "S/M" actually describes a situation where one may experience a deep, psychically intense spiritual fulfillment by participating in orchestrated rituals of surrender to iconographic forms of the darkside Mahavidya Goddesses. We see this as the most sincere expression of devotion to 'Shakti Mysticism', and it is the only kind of "S/M" that the SMC invokes in its religious practices. Q: WHAT IS AN "ESSEMIAN EXPIATION RITUAL"? Demonstrating our interests and respect for antiquity, we make anthropological note of the use of "expiation" or "atonement" rites from the oldest primitive, to even a few of the modern religions. Such rites, where a consensual sacrifice or suffering was freely given as an offering to a deity to grant pardon for a past wrong, or to ask for some future favor, was a natural and common occurrence and thus is also recognized by our church as the physical manifestation of a 'devine petition'. The sincerity of the petition defines the severity of the expiation or atonement. This Rite is conducted by an Essemian Priestess and her 'Dakini Initiates' (women trained in assisting a Priestess in rituals). Here devotees may present their petition to the Goddess through a Priestess by consenting to endure mild to severe forms of restraint, mortification, and/or corporal-based correction. We believe that a deeply sincere commitment to this Rite, which of course is purely optional, improves one's chances of a petition being granted by the Goddess, as well as better preparing one to deal with the reality of everyday life. Q: WHAT BENEFITS CAN THE SMC OFFER TO MEMBERS? Membership benefits can vary considerably according to the degrees of commitment a member is willing to make. Whether one is satisfied by: (1) opt for minimal involvement by receiving SMC regular publications and a membership card as a (Level 1) General Member; (2) take steps to become more actively involved as a (Level 2) Special Member, (by becoming a regular and active participant in SMC's local Volunteer Group) and helping SMC to achieve its objectives; or (3) advance through Level 2 to become an (Level 3) Initiate in one of SMC's special religious orders for women and men is up to the individual member. The greater the commitment, the greater is the involvement and thus, perchance, the greater the potential for personal fulfillment. The more active member is far more likely to meet, talk and possibly share experiences with other members of the Essemian Community. But most of all we believe that the greatest benefit that SMC can offer any of its members (as members of a "Religious Community Who Share a Quest"), is the opportunity for a 'respectful association' with others with whom you may share very special benefits. Q: HOW MAY SMC MEMBERS BE DISCREETLY RECOGNIZED BY OTHERS? Borrowing heavily upon those "secret recognition systems" of the ancient Goddess-based (Women-Kraft) religions, SMC members have special means to allow themselves be recognized only by 'other members', even though they may might never have met before. It's possible that someone you may see every day may be displaying one of several SMC recognition signs. These recognition signs may consist of wearing medallions with special symbols, or there may be more subtle signs, such as displaying buttons picturing some of the various ancient forms of 'male dominating Goddess' images that can be found in our publications. If you were not a member, you would not know how to recognize this or respond to it. Thus recognition and communication shall always remain the option of the individual member. Q: HOW DOES ONE BECOME MORE INVOLVED WITH THE SMC? One begins by first becoming a Subscribing Member (just fill out and return the Membership Application form provided with this Q&A pamphlet). At this point you become a Level 1 Subscribing Member, and will receive regular publications from SMC. This is more than just a way to get new subscribers. On the contrary. We are aware that SMC's unique religious beliefs are a factor which attracts many whose interests may be limited to only a 'prurient pursuit', and thus may have little or no potential or intention in developing an understanding of, or appreciation for, the spiritual aspects of our unique philosophy. We also encounter some people who already have the appropriate background and disposition to quickly grasp our philosophy and are ready to advance. We prefer a gradual process for mutual acquaintance; you learn more about SMC simply by reading our publications. SMC learns more about you through your letters expressing interest or questions. This is especially the case for the greater majority of members who live outside the state of California, or Californians living distant from the San Francisco Bay Area. Q: WHAT ELSE SHOULD I KNOW ABOUT SMC PLANS? SMC was originally set up to serve a small number (less than 300). Since late 1989, interest in the form of inquiries, and the potential for membership growth, has been increasing to the point of overwhelming our present organizational structure. To respond to these increasing growth needs, several special growth- response objectives have been decided upon and identified accordingly for the potential new member: (1) Permanent Facility: Heretofore, SMC has relied upon the occasional use of member's homes or rented space to carry out its programs. SMC has grown to the point that it must now acquire a permanent membership facility (Darkside Goddess Temple) in the San Francisco Bay Area, in order to expand its services and programs, and provide greater access to its membership. (2) Volunteers: SMC needs an increase in the number of volunteers who can commit time on a regular basis to helping SMC in a number of tasks to meet its goals. Therefore, for those who live locally in the S.F. Bay Area who are interested, SMC will hold a General Membership & Orientation Meeting once a month for the purpose of recruiting people to join SMC's Volunteer Group. (3) National Membership Organization: SMC has long been considering ways in which to export not only its philosophy, but also to replicate some form of its structure and activity to other areas in other parts of the country. These efforts are now just beginning to take form with our first 'Essemian Center' outside of California with the Northeast Region Essemian Sanctuary in East Hartford, Connecticut, under the direction of Priestess Laura Goodwin. Q: WHAT ARE THE COSTS TO JOIN SMC? First you should know that SMC was once plagued by a disproportionate ratio of male to female in its membership gender balance. We have managed to deal with this problem by instituting a sliding scale that favors couples and single women. The basic rate at this time (assumes single male) is $45 a year. Sliding scale for couples ($35) or single women ($20) is effected only when the Membership Application is accompanied with a letter from a woman that: (1) identifies herself as a single female, or female half of a couple; and (2) states in her letter her interest in SMC's philosophy from a feminine perspective. A male who, even as part of a couple, joins without the knowledge, consent, and/or expressed co-interest of his spouse or female partner, does not qualify as a couple and must join as a Single Male (Pre-op TS's and "TV personas" must also join as a Single Male). But, you cannot join SMC simply by sending money. Please note that joining is by application only where signature stating legal age a disclaimer about receiving mature material. Since the application requires a signature, we prefer to send you an application together with a sample of our printed material, and that you read this material before appying for membership. Q: CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION ON SMC BEFORE JOINING? Yes! We invite you to send for a sample copy of: 1. "THE ESSEMIAN WAY" - $15.00* The official SMC quarterly "Newsletter/Zine" 2. "THE ESSEMIAN MANIFESTO" - $15.00* What is important about the Essemian Manifesto, and why should you get it? Because there was a reason you are reading this now. What is that reason? What is the religious basis of the philosopy of the "Darkside Goddess," and why is it that leather clad women with whips are perceived as "goddesses?" Is there a spiritual reason why more and more women are beginning to believe it is their destiny to control men? Is there a spiritual reason why more and more men are surrendering themselves to these women? You can find some of these answers in the Essemian Manifesto, 61 pages with illustrations and photos. Photos include the showing of an actual ritual performed in San Francisco where an Essemian Priestess punishes a man (naked) in chains. She makes him crawl on the floor in his chains to the foot of her throne where she has him whipped. These photographs were not contrived or staged for any media production, but are scenes from a real S M Church, Sanctuary of the Darkside Goddess ritual, and performed by real people (not actors or models) who have a sincere belief they were practicing their faith by sacrificing to obtain Her Divine Grace by making such an offering to the Darkside Goddess, --Kali. You can order your copy of the ESSEMIAN MANIFESTO by sending $15* and requesting the "MANIFESTO" by writing to: SMC Sanctuary P.O. Box 1335 El Cerrito, CA 94530 * Please add $2.00 extra for postage/handling. If you have downloaded this pamphlet from a computer Bulletin Board System or the Internet, you may also write us and request a Membership Application form. We will be happy to send you one. Don't forget to give us your e-mail address. SMC's E-Mail address: essemian@best.com World Wide Web: (Page Under Construction--Completion Expected by 12/31/95) When our WEB page gets up, we will have pictures of the Essemian Manifesto. There will also be pictures of other things happening at the Sanctuary. So, watch for it. We can be found under such key words as: DARKSIDE GODDESS, SHAKTI, FEMALE DOMINATION, BDSM. Copyright 1995 Service of Mankind Church, Sanctuary of the Darkside Goddess.  http://members.aol.com/smchurch/