Sri or Devi Sri means goddess. She is also called Shridevi. She is believed to be the goddess of rice and fertility as a pre-Islam goddess and pre-Hindu goddess in the Java and Bali islands, where she is worshipped even today.
Origins of Sri as a rice goddess are seen in the prehistoric propagation, development and domestication and cultivation of rice in Asia. Austronesian or Austroasiatic people are believed to have possibly brought the cultivation in Asia after migrating and settling in the archipelago. In Indonesian ethnicity and countries nearby there have been various mythologies about rice spirits.
Sri is equated with Shri Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess and considered to be one of her manifestations or incarnations. Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Sri are both associated with family prosperity and wealth. Accordingly, aesthetics, style and attributes of a Hindu goddess were adopted by in Sri’s depictions and iconography. Sri is depicted as a curvaceous, slim, youthful woman having stylized facial features distinct to the respective locale.
The belief is that the goddess has dominion over the staple food, rice of the Indonesian people and hence she is called the goddess of prosperity, wealth and life. The deity is believed to have dominance especially on the wealth of various Java kingdoms like Pajajaran, Majapahit and Mataram and to a certain extent on disease, poverty, hunger and famine prevailing there. Sri Goddess is very often associated with Ular Sawah – the rice paddy snake.
The deity is considered the most important goddess and highest deity of the agricultural society, in ancient Sunda Kingdom.
