The most followed Folk Deity of South India Sudalai Madan
also Sudaleswaran or Madasamy is a regional Tamil male deity who is popular
amongst the least Sanskritized social groups of South
India, particularly Tamil Nadu. Aliases · Sudalai Maadan · Sudalai
Mada Sami · Sudaleshwaran · Madasamy · Maasana Muthhu · Mundan Sami · Irulappa
Sami · Mayandi God of the disposed He is usually considered to be the caste
deity of Konar, Thevar, Paraiyar, Nadar and other castes found in the extreme
south of Tamil Nadu. He is very popular in the Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari
districts. Shree Sudalai Madan swamy is also called Maasanamuthu or Mundan.
Esakkiyamman The Esakkiyamman worship is followed where the Madan temples are
predominant. Esakki Amman is worshipped for good causes, such as for child
birth, for good character in children, for a better society, etc. Story of
Arichandran Harichandran is revered by all communities for his honesty and his
adherence to only the truth at all stages of his life. Maasana Muthu Harichandran
is also worshipped as Masanamuthu in the Thiruchendur and Thirunelveli
districts. Katterum Perumal The son of Harichandran, revives after regaining
his life from his own funeral pyre, and is worshipped as Katterum Perumal in
the Kanyakumari and Thirunelveli districts. Rituals and priests Most Sudalai
Madan (also referred as Irulappa samy or Mayandi samy) temples are officiated
by non-Brahmin priests. Amongst Paraiyar, the priests are called Valluvar. His
name suggests an association with death and cemeteries. Sudalai Madan in
offered (or sacrificed) birds and goats by his devotees, unlike in the
Sanskritized Hindu temples. Sudalai Maadan, is one among the 21 sub-folk deity
of the Ayyanar-Sastha clan of worship and is considered as the god of the
graveyard. In the Sastha-Ayyanar temples and shrines, the god (Ayyanar) is
surrounded by at least 21 other deities, among which the important sub-deities
are the Karuppa samy (Karuppanar, being the oracle or the Kodangi or the Shamam
who resolves the community problems), Sudalai Mada samy and other subordinates,
who help him carry out his duties to protect the local community and the
village. The village folk believe in these Gods for solving the local community
and locality problems and do not believe the astrological timing or the ominous
signs or in heaven and hell. Mayana Pujai is offered as a special ritual for
the Sudalai Maadan God. Vijayalakshmi Navaneethakrishnan, a professor in the
Department of Folk Arts at the Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) says The traditions
and ethics set by our forefathers have positive values like humaneness, love,
brotherhood and discipline. "Every aspect of our ancient culture has its
own objective. Each custom has been carefully codified. Apart from spiritual
aspect, even personal habits have been welldesigned." She lists out
various the nomenclatures of the `Karuppannasamy' (Ondi Karuppu, Nochi
Karuppu,....the list seems to be endless), the art of `kolam', the benefits of
regional-specific patterns of prayers and worship. All testify her in-depth
knowledge of the overall spiritual, cultural and traditional systems that
prevailed in the various parts of Tamil Nadu. Her performances on stage thus
are not just mere entertainment shows, but an attempt to trace the rich
cultural heritage of the folk scenario. She relates the symbolic significance
behind each custom and helps the audience to understand it. She describes with
vigour and expressiveness, the way the `Sudalayandi', the God of the Ashes as
he walks in the darkness holding a torch, from his fort to the crematorium to
cleanse the place of ashes and impurities. The faith in Sudaliyandi was
symbolic of the concern that the ancient population had for the environment-
she clarifies. Sudalai Maadan, also finds a reference in the Saivite literature
(Sudalai podi poosiya, yen ullam kavar kalvan). In the folk tradition, the
deities converse with the oracle and send across their messages to the
devotees.Sudalai Maadan relishes meat and arrack and hence He is an
irredeemable carnivorous god. However, in the Kanyakumari district,
Sanskritisation is going on at a feverish pace in almost every village,
especially in the trading Nadar community. The temples of folk deities are fast
changing and replicas of Sanskritised temples with the traditional Gopuram and
the Vimanam over the sanctum sanctorum are coming up everywhere. “This is
totally against folk tradition". Women deities like Mutharamman and
Santhana Mariamman have temples but they will not fall into the category of the
regular temples that we see for the 'bigger' Hindu gods. Actually these temples
would look more like the humble dwellings you see in our villages. As far as
Sudalai Maadan is concerned, he never had a roof over his head,” explains Prof.
A.K.Perumal, an authority on folk culture. Another aspect of Sanskritisation is
the act of dispensing with animal sacrifice. “Animal sacrifice was common in
all Mutharamman temples. But today it has been stopped. It is still being
practised only in Sudalai Maadan temples” points out A.K. Perumal. The images
or the idols of the village deities are also changing. “We used the paste of
lime and sand to make these idols. Now granite idols are installed so that
Abishekams (bathing the idol in water, milk &/ or sandal paste) can be
performed on them,” points out A.K. Perumal. Due to this Sanskritisation
process in the Kanyakumari district, folk gods are being fast replaced by Vedic
gods. Vedic and folk gods are poles apart. Except for the Brahmins, every other
community has temples dedicated to their favourite folk gods and goddesses.
Madan is a generic name and there are a whole lot of Maadans, like Sudalai
Madan, Pula Madan and Esaki Madan. Goddesses include Mutharamman, Sandhana Mari
Amman, Muppidaari, Kali and Durgai. The priest of the temple is usually from
the community that owns the temple. These deities are different from the vedic
ones. They are gruesome and evoke fear in the minds of their devotees; not
love. They have to be propitiated at regular intervals. Festivals are organised
twice a year and animal sacrifices are an integral part of these celebrations.
The sacrifices are known as Muppali (i.e., killing of three animals, generally
goats, fowls and pigs). The idols are made of sand and lime. Even the temples
that house such deities look quite ordinary, a simple structure under tiled
roofs, with nothing to distinguish them from the devotees or the village
residents. In many Sudalai Madan temples even the roofs are a luxury. There is
no such thing as a Sanctum sanctorum in these temples, clearly differentiating
them from the Brahminical concept of ritual purity. But all this is changing
now. Sudalai Madan, his fraternal deities and their temples are undergoing a
dramatic transformation, signalling the arrival of the Brahminical culture. The
irony is that today concrete miniatures of vedic temples, with gopuram and a
vimana above the sanctum, are coming up everywhere. Granite images of gods and
goddess are replacing the structures erected from sand and lime. The purpose of
installing a granite structure is to perform abishekam (ritual pouring of
liquids) as done in vedic temples Once the construction of a new temple is
over, Kumbabhisekam or a consecration ceremony, is done by the vedic scholars,
totally alien to the folk gods and those that worship them. The gods and
goddesses who once evoked so much fear are now referred with a prefix Arul migu
(or merciful), a misnomer. In Folk culture, Kapalika means "bearer of the
skull-bowl", and has reference to Lord Bhairava’s vow to take the Kapala
vow. As penance for cutting off one of the heads of Brahma, Lord Bhairava
became an outcast and a beggar. In this guise, Bhairava frequents waste places
and cremation grounds, wearing nothing but a garland of skulls and ash from the
pyre, and unable to remove the skull of Lord Brahma fastened to his hand. The
skull hence becomes his begging-bowl, and the Kapalikas (as well as the Aghoris
of Varanasi) supposedly use skulls as begging bowls and as drinking and eating
vessels, in imitation of Shiva. Although information on the Kapalikas is
primarily to be gleaned from classical Sanskrit sources, where Kapalika
ascetics are often depicted as depraved villains in drama, it appears that this
group worshipped Lord Shiva in his extreme form, Bhairava, the ferocious. For
the outsiders, They are also often falsely accused of having practiced ritual
human sacrifices due to the system getting into the hands of vested greedy
persons behind wealth. Ujjain
is alleged to have been a prominent centre of this sect. The Kapalikas may also
have been related to the Kalamukhas (”black faces”) of medieval South India). Moreover, in modern Tamilnadu, certain
Shaivite cults associated with the goddess Ankalaparameshwari, Irulappa sami,
and Sudalai Madan, are known to practice or have practiced ritual cannibalism,
which is not exactly ture, and to center their secretive rituals around an
object known as a Kapparai (Tamil: “skull-bowl,” derived from the Sanskrit
"kapaala"), a votive device garlanded with flowers and sometimes adorned
with faces, which is understood to represent the begging-bowl of Shiva. Ankaala
parameshwari : a goddess of Tamilnadu, her myths and cult need to be studied as
parallel to Sudalai Madan worship. To understand that it is connencted with
Cannibalism, the reality of Sudalai Madan worship need to realised through the
group worship where they consider as family deity for several generations in South Tamilnadu. Outside India
The deity is also popular amongst certain segments of the Tamil diaspora in Sri Lanka, Malaysia,
Réunion and the French overseas territories in the Caribbean
sea. External links · Sudalai Madan temple and animal sacrifice ·
Sudalai Madan amongst Indian origin Tamils · South Indian Deities And Their
Relative Following in Tamil Nadu · Secularism and Religious Violence in
Contemporary India · Madurai Veeran · 1. Village gods and heroes - worship of
Hero Stones in Tamil Nadu, India UNESCO Courier, March, 1984 by R. Nagaswamy
Village gods and heroes - worship of Hero Stones in Tamil Nadu, India UNESCO Courier,
March, 1984 by R. Nagaswamy Potters enjoy a special status in Tamil Nadu.
Unlike potters in other parts of India they wear the “sacred thread”
of the “twice-born” (see caption page 13), which elsewhere is reserved for
higher castes, and they frequently act as unofficial guardians of the smaller
village temples. This hereditary task enhances their standing in the community
and gives them the material advantage of a share in the offerings made to the
gods of meat, fruit and money. Although their main activity is the making of
pots and similar domestic utensils, Tamil potters are famed for making the
largest terra-cotta statues in the world. Figures of horses, which can be as
much as seven metres in height, are much in demand as offerings, especially to the
god Ayanar. They are believed to serve as chargers for his warriors when they
make their nocturnal patrols to keep demons away from the villages. Terra-cotta
images of popular deities (wise men or heroes) are also sometimes of monumental
size, although in recent years these have tended to be made of brick and
cement. Traditional methods are still used, however, for small or medium-sized
ex voto objects or statues offered to a deity–a statue of a child in thanks for
its birth or recovery from sickness; models of feet, hands or other limbs or
parts of the body, for recovery from injury or illness; even of animals (usualy
cows and more rarely dogs and cats). The presentation of a statue to a temple
often involves the performance of quite complicated rites, but, even for the
most humble votive offering, the critical moments is the placing in position by
the potter of the eyes, the final, essential, life-giving gesture before
installation in the temples. Although it is the monumental architecture of India’s classical
temples which usually overwhelms the visitor, it is the country’s folk temples,
several times greater in number, that reflect the living faith of the people. India’s village
temples owe their origin to a belief in the various manifestatiions–malevolent
and benevolent–of the spirit of nature, and to a conviction that God dwells in
all animate and inanimate phenomena–trees, rivers, mountains, water-tanks, the
sea, lightning and the wind. They are also connected to the fertility cult so
widely prevalent throughout the ancient world. Faith in the Mother Goddess led
to the personification of every village settlement in a grama devata, a village
Goddess who protects the villagers, decides their fate and guides them like a
fond mother. Another concept that has made an important contribution to the
development of village Gods is the worship of heroes who laid down their lives
for the sake of their country or community. These heroes were commemorated and
worshipped by the erection of Hero Stones or Memorial Stones, thousands of
which are found in Tamil Nadu and other parts of India. The erection of Hero Stones
and the adoration of the dead hero as the saviour spirit of the community may
be considered as an extension of the prehistoric cult of erecting megalithic tombs.
The Hero-Stones are in the form of a dolmen with three upright slabs erected in
the form of a small chamber on the back slab, facing the front. The
representation of the hero on the slab takes various forms. The simplest shows
him in the act of fighting with a spear, or bnow and arrow. In a number of
cases the event relating to the death of the hero, the period and the people
who erected the stone are recorded in the local language. In Tamil Nadu over
600 inscribed memorials dating from the fourth century A.D. almost until the
present day have recently been found. It is necessary to know something about
Hero Stones in order to understand the social background of the village
temples. Often the Stones stand beneath shady trees in simple surroundings. Long
swords, spears, or tridents are placed in front of them, as well as terra-cotta
horses painted in folk style. It was believed that the spirit of a hero resided
forever in each monument, bestowing benefactions on the community. The spirit
was dreaded, loved, adored and worshipped and was considered the saviour of the
community. Some regional as opposed to village deities found in Tamil Nadu
arose from the cult of a hero’s death. One of them, Maduraiviran, who is
worshipped in central Tamil Nadu, was a seventeenth-century hero who defended
the country valiantly and was later put to death by its ruler after a love
affair. The romantic element and the hero’s tragic end at the hands of the very
ruler he had fought for created such an aura around him that soon his spirit
was recognized as a most powerful divinity and his temple was found in every
village. The most important feature of his temple is the huge figure of a horse
placed either in front of him or carrying him. People believe that his spirit
ascends the horse after dusk, and goes around the village protecting the people
at night. Another factor in the development of village temples was the
veneration of women who died in heroic circumstances. One such death that was
popular was that of the chaste wife who committed sati, that is, she died
voluntarily on her husband’s funeral pyre. Recorded evidence for such customs
is available from the beginning of the Christian era. The spirits of women who
die in such circumstances are said to be very powerful, protecting the
community and also severely punishing wrongdoers. In all these instances of the
worship of the dead as the village gods, the offering consists of all types of
food and other things that had pleased the dead person while he was alive.
Offerings of animal flesh and liquor are quite common models of worship.
Animals sacrifice is often misunderstood and blown up out of proportion. It
arises out of the eating habits of the people. The simple concept behind this
offering is that whatever one eats is first ceremoniously offered to the deity.
The cock, chicken and goat are offered in the presence of the deity, cooked and
then consumed by the worshipper. There are some temples where even specially
prepared cigars are offered. Festivals are conducted annually for the village
gods or are specially arranged either to ward off natural calamities, epidemics
or threats to the community which are of human origin. They are celebrated with
great pomp and show. The presence of the deity is felt so powerfully that to utter
a lie in its presence, it is believed, brings calamity to the teller. Many
disputes, such as proof of adultery, repudiation of loans received and other
such matters are settled even to this day in the village temple. In many
villages in the interior there is no need for civil or criminal courts to
decide the nature of punishments. The temple of the village god, the impersonal
spirit that permeates and rules the society is sufficient to take care of
evildoers. The village deity wards off all diseases. If a person is affected in
any part of his body, or the whole, he prays to the deity for a cure and offers
a replica of the afflicted member made of terra-cotta, wood or metal. Or a full
terra-cotta figurine representing a human form is made and placed with devotion
in front of the deity. For happy child birth, a terra-cotta figure of a child
in a cradle is offered. To ward off cattle diseases, large or small clay
figures are likewise placed in the temple. Several hundred such terra-cotta
figurines can be seen in front of many village temples. And on all such
occasions the folk artist (mainly the village potter) is honoured with new
cloth, garlands of flowers, special food and money. In fact the cult of the
village god was mainly responsible for sustaining and fostering folk arts. The
cult of the village gods has also been a fount of inspiration for folk music
and dance. Several hundred folk ballads and songs are connected with the
adoration of village heroes, and during festivals they are sung by village minstrels
for hours–sometimes throughout the night. So spirited are these folk songs that
even people who are in their houses rush towards the sound of the music in a
trance and sometimes thousands of people can be seen on these occasions,
marching, singing and dancing. This expression of devotion often takes the form
of walking barefoot over fire, piercing one’s body with decorated needles or
lances, or carrying firepots in one’s arms. Both men and women take part in
such devotions. The conservatism of the village folk is revealed in their forms
of dress, ornamentation and mode of singing, which can be traced back several
centuries. For example, in the Alagar festival held in Madurai during March and April, several
thousand villagers dress themselves in colourful costumes, and wear dresses and
ornaments similar to those that can be seen in sixteenth-century paintings and
sculptures. Another festival in Farur attracts several thousand men, who dress
as women and move through the streets singing and dancing. In another
interesting festival, held in a suburb of Madras,
several men and women clad in neem leaves circumambulate the temple of the
village goddess several times. The fact that such customs–referred to in
literature at the beginning of the Christian era–have survived to this day,
very near the capital of the State, shows the powerful hold these faiths have
over the people. Sometimes such folk beliefs and customs are superimposed on
the classical temple. There is a celebrated temple at Alagar Koil near Madurai where worship is
performed by orthodox Vishnavite Brahmins according to classical rites. In the
entrance tower of the temple is the figure of a folk god, “Karuppan of the
steps”. The Karuppan, the spirit of the hero who guarded the temple and lost
his life when defending it from robbers, is held in greater veneration by the
village people than the main classical deity, Vishnu. When the annual festival
for Vishnu is celebrated, several million people assemble to adore both Vishnu
and the Karappan. Such a superimposition of folk customs, music and dance on
classical temples can be observed in many places and seems, at least for the
casual spectator, to abolish the dividing line between the folk temple and the
classical temple. However, there is one essential difference between the
classical temple and the folk temple. In the former there is a trained family
of worshippers, the priests, who perform the daily acts of worship and the
rites of periodical festivals as prescribed. In other words, there is an intermediary
between the devotee and the divine. The priest’s presence is accepted as a
necessity; he can perform acts of worship while the rest of the community
pursues its daily tasks and goes to the temple only when in need. In the
village temples communication between the devotee and the deity is direct and
so the feeling of attachment is more intimate. The divine spirit is always
present in the village temple and anyone can go and worship directly. Whatever
the offering, or whatever the form in which it is made, the village god is
pleased. This is why the village temples remain so popular. COPYRIGHT 1984
UNESCO COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group Historical Tradition Generally all the 21
sub-deities of Ayyanar (ancient Tamil name: Sathanar) are called as Kaval
Deivangal. Most of the Ayyanar shrines come under this by categorizing under
specific local variants of Kaval deivams and the important fact is that Ayyanar
himself should be considered as the central focal point of all Kaval deivams.
But due to the change in times, even Kaval deivams such as Sudalai, Sonai,
Pechhi, etc located in different locations are wrongly referred to as an
individual temples; which are, in fact, an attachment to some of the nearby
local Peripheral Folk-Deity namely, the Ayyanar. Worship of the village Ayyanar
or Sathanar deities with clay horse system is very popular in Tamil Nadu and is
much more ancient than Vedic worship. It dates back to the Sangam age and
represents the oldest Dravidian way of worship. A Typical Shrine Most of these
village deities have their shrines on the periphery (border or outskirts) of
the village as a representation of their Village Guardian position. Hence they
are referred as "Peripheral Folk Deity". 21 associate deities and 61
servant deities are located in either the same premises or located in different
places of the locality, for e.g.: Amman deities may be installed in the centre
of the village but the Sonai, Sudalai or the Formless Nadukkal deities may be
installed close to grave-yards (cemeteries or burial and sometimes, also near
memorial centres). These Village deities are either represented in the form of
a huge, fierce statue or as a simple stone. Most of these temples are not
closed premises but are simple and small worship areas. Weapons such as a trident
or a lance or sickles are also associated with these shrines. We also see lots
of terracotta horses, elephants, clay dolls & birds and bells. Most
officiating priests are non-Brahmins or any local community people or Velars
and derive from the local ancestral lineages that had initiated the cult
centers generations ago. The worship pattern is non-vedic through Folk tale,
Folk Song and Folk arts (Villupattu, Karagam, Koothhu, etc). The local priest
might offer flowers or Veeputhi (holy ash) or Holy flowers to the worshippers
and may play the oracle role for shamanism. Categories & Folk-Lores The
village deities in Tamil Nadu have interesting stories behind them. Mainly
these village gods come under one of the three categories: Stones with
possession of Natural Forces/ Natural Energies passed on it by creative
collective transcendental form Karuppanaar swamy (“Karuppu” means black in
Tamil and is associated with dark, night, etc) Kaateri amman (“Kaateri” means
vampire) Sudalai Maadan swamy (“Sudalai” means burial ground/ pyre and “Sudalai
maadan” means guardian of burial ground) Kali or Kali Amman was considered as
the causative force for cholera Maari or Maari Amman was considered as a
causative force for smallpox, chicken pox, mumps and measles (Maari in Tamil
means rain. Since the rainfall cooled the otherwise hot area and protected
people from summer sicknesses like viral infections, people started worshiping
the rain goddess as Maari Amman) Ellai amman or Ellai Maari Amman worshipped in
many villages is actually a mile stone which demarcated the boundaries of two
villages. In olden days, people when they travel from one village to another
village started relaxing near these stones and in due course started praying to
them for safe journey. Thus, slowly these milestones attained the position of
village gods and goddesses. There are other various Natural energy worship in
the form of Muthaaramman, Muthalamman, Pachai Thanni Amman, Pachaiyamman, Pal
Pazhakkari amman
etc. Hero Stones and Sati Stones Hero stones (Nadukkal or Veerakkal) are the
stones provided for the males who sacrifice their life for good causes. Sati
stones are the stones provided for females who sacrificied their life for
certain specific purpose, especially for chastity and purity. This category
includes people who lived and lost their lives for their community and hence
their community members still remembered them and worship them. This group also
includes persons who were killed by injustice and hence were worshipped in
order to save the village from their wrath. The worship for the fallen brave
warriors is one of the popular forms of worship. The early Tamil poetry
'Tolkappiyam' gives an elaborate description in six stages in the planting of
such a stone: beginning with looking for a suitable stone, until the
institution of formal worship. The portrait of the hero is often decorated with
peacock feathers. Some poems refer to spears and shields erected around the
planted stones. Offering of Naravam (toddy = alcohol) to the spirit of the fallen
hero, represented in the planted stone, is mentioned in some verses. During
latter period these “nadukals” became Ayyanar shrines. Other warrior gods
include Madurai Veeran (who lived near Madurai),
Kaathavarayan (who lived near Tanjavore) and Annammar swamigal (who lived near Coimbatore). The
"Thee paanch ammman" temples in northern part of TN were basically
built to worship widows who were burnt alongwith their husbands' funeral pyre
as part of the "Sathi" or "Saathi" or "Sati". The
“Maachani amman”
temple at Polaachi was built to worship a young girl who was killed by a
“Kongu” king since she unknowingly ate a mango from his garden. The “Palayanoor
Neeli” was a girl who was betrayed and cunningly killed by her husband and who
took revenge by killing him in her next birth. Further, several love pairs who
have lost their lives due to caste animosity are also being worshipped as
village deities in several villages. Seelakari amman
in various parts of South Tamilnadu and
Kannagi worship are considered as a part of Sati stone worship system. These
goddess are most revered Female deities for their purity and chastity as they
are considered as the prime focus of the way of Tamil women. In general, Sati
stones have not become part of the 21 sub-dieties of Ayynar but at some places
Seelakari amman
is considered as part of 21 sub deities. A more detailed research is required
to identify clear clarity on various sub-dieties including Isakki Amman, Sonai
and others. Stones to tame Evil and Devil Forces and converting to good powers
There were Forces or elements which the people were scared of. Munishswaran or
Muniappan in olden days was associated with killing people, drinking blood,
doing mischievous things, bringing in ill-effect, etc. Peichi amman
(“Pei” means
devil) also covered under this form. Legends from Disastrous Social Events
These legends include social suppression stories such as Kannagi, Nallathangal
- out of which various worships were created to remind the people not to commit
or repeat the same social mistakes of the past. Purity and Chastity of women
were given more reverence and prominence. Chitra Pournami is celebrated grandly
in memory of Sati women and Kannagi. Nallathangal and similar stories represent
the poor familial support leading to the suicide of womenfolk & children.
These emphasize moral stories and not to repeat such mistakes again. Genesis of
Vedic Connections The third category contains certain less spoken characters in
the great epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata. Like, you see lots of temples for
Draupathi (Panchali) and Darmaraja (Yudhistran) in the Northern parts of TN,
you also see temples for Ganthari (mother of the Kauravas), Kunthi (mother of
Pancha Pandavas) and Aravan (the son of Arjuna and the Manipuri princess
Chitrankatha) in TN. Sanskritization of the village deities: During the bakthi
movement in TN (mainly due to Adishankara’s Advaitha philosophy), many of these
village deities slowly got enfolded into the main stream Hindu religion and
thus gained the status of demi-gods. Thus, the various forms of Muniswaras were
incarnated as the vedic Saptharishis and their successors (“Muni” in Sanskrit
means sage and since sages were very popular during Vedic period it was easy to
incarnate munishswarans as the fierceful form of sages who accompanied goddess
Durga, in the form of Pachai amman, during her fight with a demon king). The
Kerala Sastha became Hariharaputra and the TN village deity Ayyanars have been
transformed into several local incarnation of Sastha or Ayyapan. In the same way,
Karuppu, Sudalai, Mari, Kali etc and every other local folk god were connected
to the Vedic Gods, and new evolutionary and imaginary stories came into wide
acceptance by the entire folk group. Later this imaginary Vedic connection had
to be in effect in order to prevent the large-scale conversion to foreign
religions which mercilessly campaigned to eliminate the local cultures and
practices so that their propagating religious philosophy can become dominant.
The incarnation of Sudalai maadan as Siva’s son is not very popular or is not a
convincing story as it is narrated. The connection of Isakki to Sudalai is
highly mischievous in Vedic stories. It was easier for the Village goddesses to
get enfolded into the main stream since all of them were considered as various
manifestations of goddess “Sakthi”. Thus the original right centre natural
Saktha - Tantric worship got embroiled into Dattatreya’s Thirupura Rahasyam to
become the widely followed Vedic - Sakthi worship of recent times. Thus the
various forms of Kali and Maariammans were considered as the various
incarnations of goddess Parvathi. It was much difficult for the male
counterparts to enter the mainstream since it means establishing an association
with a Vedic male god. Since there were only two main Vedic gods namely Siva
and Vishnu, it was difficult to choose between them. For example, there is no
story what so ever with respect to “Periyandavar” who is a popular family deity
in north TN, or “Periyasamy” who is his equivalent in south TN. Typical Temples
for "Kaval Deivangal" or Guardian Angels These deities are always
found in the outskirts of the Village. The maintenance of the temple of these
deities is taken care by the whole of the village. It is believed that these
Gods shoo away all evils and devils from entering the village. These temples
are usually in the open space and will not have traditional Gopurams like any
other temples. You can see big statues of Gods with weapons like bow and arrow,
swords, knives and other protective weapons. There also will be statues of
Goddesses, and animals in these temples. Festivals During the Tamil Months of
Karthikai (Sokka Paanai during Karthigai Dheepam); Thai (Thai poosam, Makar
Jyothi of Ayyappan); Masi (Masi Kalari - Shivarathiri); Panguni (Panguni Uthiram
considered as the auspicious birthday of Ayyanar); Aadi (Aadi Perukku) and
Vaigasi (Vaigasi Visakam), festivals will be conducted in these temples.
Generally, a mass convention assembly of large number of related family member
gathering is organized during the spring season for a period of 2 to 3 days.
For the annual mass convention festival, the tradition is that the commencement
of the festival will be with that of a hoisting of the flag and tying
"Kappu." After this time, villagers neither can go out of the village
to different village or come into the village from a different village. Of
special mention is that of the traditional "Theru Koothu" and “Villu
Pattu”; it is a dance-drama (Koothu) enacted on the street (Theru). The Koothu
performers dance and recite songs/ narrations which often end with moral
quotes. Through these kind of performances, the villagers are told what is good
and what is bad; also the do's and don'ts. Since the earlier days, these were
the only means of media that took messages to the people. People who always had
greater belief in God agreed with the decisions that was taken by the committee
members. More importantly, it is the belief of the village people that the
Karuppu samy God is being disguised in the form of the man who predicts the
future. This belief system about Karuppu samy is called the "Arul
vaaku" in several parts of Tamil Nadu. The social issues will be discussed
through the temple fore-tellers (Kodangi) whom the people usually consider as
the voice of the Karuppa sami deity. When Lord Karuppa sami addresses the
people in different villages through Kodangi, different issues and dimensions
on social, cultural and psychological aspects of people and society are
reviewed for possible solutions. But in the later days, the bureaucratic
society exploited the innocence of the people, which led to blind faiths that
are being followed even these days without any real effort to address the
problem for resolutions.
