WOODEN THATCHED HOUSE RENDERED IN STONE.

Jainism and Buddhism which have a deep respect for life, seem to have evolved out of the primal cultures of the forest peoples. The very term ‘Palli’ which is applied to the sacred place, goes back to the early tribal republics of the South. It was this primal faith system that was displaced by the Brahmanic religion that was associated with the three Lords of the Adiyar creation story, who came to visit the king Mavalli (Maha balli), and stole from him the land. These three kings, or Lords, who appear again in the legend of the Vani tribe, have been associated with a Trinitarian figure which later came to be understood as the three deities of the Brahmanic tradition: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. It is significant that this ancient shrine of Peri-Velliyamba is now being converted into a temple dedicated to Shiva.