Thaipusam or Thaipoosam is a Tamil Hindu festival celebrated on the first full moon day of the Tamil month of Thai coinciding with Pusam star. The festival is celebrated to commemorate the victory of Hindu god Murugan over the demon Surapadman. During the battle, Murugan is believed to have wielded a vel, a divine spear granted by his mother, Parvati.
Mariamman, often abbreviated to Amman, is a Hindu goddess of weather, predominantly venerated in the rural areas of South India. Her festivals are held during the late summer/early autumn season of Ādi throughout Tamil Nadu and the Deccan region, the largest being the Ādi Thiruviḻa. Her worship mainly focuses on bringing rains and curing diseases like cholera, smallpox, and chicken pox. Mariamman is worshipped in accordance with local traditions such as Pidari or the Gramadevatai. She is considered as a guardian deity by many South Indian village-dwellers. She is also the regional form of hindu goddess Parvati. Her consort is lord Shiva. At samayapuram, she is the sister of Ranganathaswamy. She is also worshipped in Karnataka as Marikambe, who is a manifestation of Adi-Parashakti or Mahadevi.
Marthandam is a major trade centre in Kuzhithurai municipality across National Highway in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India. Formerly known as Thoduvetty, it was a portion of Kanyakumari district which was added to the state of Tamil Nadu on 1 November 1956.
Madurai Veeran, also known as Veeran, is a Tamil Hindu folk deity popular in southern Tamil Nadu, India. His name literally means, "warrior of Madurai".
Koothu or Therukoothu (jwalith), is an ancient art, where artists play songs with dance and music in storytelling the epics, performed in Tamil; it is a folk art originated from the early Tamil country. More precisely Koothu refers to either Terukuttu or Kattaikkuttu. The terms Terukkuttu and Kattaikkuttu are often used interchangeably in modern times; however, historically, the two terms appear to have distinguished, at least in certain villages, between two different kinds of performance: while Terukkuttu referred to mobile performances in a procession, Kattaikkuttu denotes overnight, narrative performances at a fixed performance space. Koothu as a form of entertainment reached its peak hundreds of years ago in Tamil Nadu, as mentioned in the Sangam texts about the development of iyal (literature), isai (music) and natagam (drama). Going beyond just a means of entertainment, koothu educates the rural people about religion and their history.
Aadi Perukku, also surnamed as the Aadi Monsoon Festival, is a Hindu festival celebrated exclusively among Tamil speaking populations from Southern India, on the 18th day of the Tamil month of Adi. The festival pays tribute to water's life-sustaining properties. For the blessing of mankind with peace, prosperity and happiness, nature worship in the form of Amman deities are organized to shower Nature's bountiful grace on human beings.
The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram, a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Tamil Nadu, to recognise artists in the state for their achievements.
The Nellaiappar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva, located in Tirunelveli, a city in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Shiva is worshipped as Nellaiappar represented by the lingam and his consort Parvati is depicted as Kanthimathi Amman. The deity Vishnu is also worshipped here, having witnessed their wedding according to legend. Hence, this temple is regarded as an abhimana kshetram of Vaishnavism. The temple is located on the northern banks of Thamirabarani River in Tirunelveli district. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanmars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam.
Karnataka has a variety of traditional arts, including folk dance and puppetry.
The village deities of Southern India are the numerous spirits and other beings venerated as part of the Dravidian folk tradition in villages throughout South India. These deities, mainly goddesses, are intimately associated with the well-being of the village, and can have either benevolent or violent tendencies. These deities are presently in various stages of syncretism or assimilation with mainstream Hindu traditions.
The Thimithi or firewalking ceremony is a Hindu festival originating in Tamil Nadu, South India that is celebrated a week before Deepavali, during the month of Aipasi of the Tamil calendar. The fire-walking ceremony is in honour of the goddess Draupati Amman, who is considered the incarnation of goddess Mariamman, and is practiced not only in India, but also in countries with large Tamil populations like Sri Lanka, Fiji, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius, Réunion, South Africa and others.
Karuppusamy, also known as Karuppu or Karuppannaswamy(Tamil: கருப்பண்ணசுவாமி Malayalam: കറുപ്പണ്ണസാമി ),(lit. 'Black God' or 'Black') is a Hindu god in Tamil Nadu, popular among the social groups of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and also Sri Lanka. He is one of 21 guardian deities of Ayyanar, and is one of 21 guardian deities in Dravidian folk religion.
The urumi is a double-headed hourglass drum from the state of Tamil Nadu, South India. Two skin heads are attached to a single hollow, often intricately carved wooden shell. The preferred wood is jackwood, although other woods like rosewood may be used. Both left and right heads are usually made from cow hide that is stretched around a thin metal ring. The outer circumference of each head is perforated with approximately seven to eight holes. The two heads are held in tension by a continuous rope that is woven around the drum in a V-shape pattern. Additional small coils of string or metal are tied around each pair of ropes near the left head. These coils can be slide horizontally along the length of the drum, increasing or decreasing the tension between the heads as necessary. For example, during the monsoon season the drum heads will slacken so much that the instrument becomes unplayable. Using these coils drummers can easily rectify such problems.
Various dance forms are practiced in Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, who speak Tamil language, one of the oldest surviving languages in India. With archaeological evidence pointing to the Tamilakam region being inhabited for more than 3,800 years, Tamil culture has seen multiple influences over the years and has developed diversely. With its diverse culture, many forms of individual and group dances have their origins in the region.
Kondayampalli is a Grem panchayat in Gangavalli taluk, Salem district, Tamil Nadu State, India.
Tirupati Gangamma Jatara is the annual folk festival of Tirupati, India. It is a week long event which falls between the first and second weeks of May every year. This festival is to offer prayers to the Goddess Gangamma, the Gramadevata of Tirupati. The Goddess Gangamma is considered the sister of God Venkateshwara Balaji, the presiding deity of the Venkateshwara Temple, located in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.
Singamadai Ayyanar Temple is an Aiyanar temple in Nalli, at a distance of 18 km from Sattur in Virudhunagar district in Tamil Nadu (India).
Egowriamman Temple is a Hindu temple at Vallam in Thanjavur in the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, South India, India. There is a two-headed statue of Mother Ambika in the temple, sitting on a lotus-shaped Peeta. One face is ferocious, with long and sharp teeth showing her destructive side against the demons. The other face is calm, smiling and graceful, protecting the devotees and righteous from evils. The Mother has different weapons in her eight hands and also a parrot representing Mother Parvathi. The Chakra, being an important form of Shakti worship, is installed under the feet of the Mother.
Caribbean Shaktism, also known as Kalimai Dharma or Madras Religion in Guyana, refers to the syncretic Shakti Kali/Mariamman worship that has evolved within the Indo-Caribbean Tamil community in countries such as Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Jamaica and Suriname. It can be found across the Caribbean and any South American country with an Indo-Caribbean community. It is a syncretic blend of Dravidian folk religion and Hinduism and has also been influenced by other cultural and religious traditions found in the Caribbean such as Catholicism, Trinidad Orisha, Comfa and Obeah. It is considered to be a form of Folk Tamil Hinduism and many attend services of Vedic Origin, more Orthodox Tamil Origin, and Madrasi origin.
