mata

plural matas · alternative mātā

1. IndiaA respectful title for a female spiritual leader or for a wife, mother, or grandmother of a male spiritual leader.
2. IndiaA Hindu goddess.

   1 more example

   While possession is usually limited to Bhilala men, the mata entered women too, endowing them with the power of clairvoyance, enabling them to identify the evil spirits or daakans in their midst. The mata spoke through the possessed, forecasting the future, directing people and events for her proper propitiation.

   1995, Amita Baviskar, In the Belly of the River: Tribal Conflicts Over Development in the Narmada Valley, Bombay; […]: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 98

3. IndiaA mother (also used as a term of address for a woman).