நடடர வழபடடல தயவஙகள / Deities in Folk Worship

<p><em><span>The details about the folk deity worship of ancient Tamilakam can be seen from the Sangam Age. The modern day historians call this worship system as Tamil religion that existed before the arrival of the Aryans and so called Dravidian system in Tamilnadu. One of the greatest Tamil scholars Vidyanandan defines the folk deities found in Sangam literature as minor deities. The people of the Sangam Age believed that God resides in rain, water and trees. It is seen in the 199<sup>th</sup> song of “Purananooru”. The Nadukal worship mentioned in Sangam literature is one of the notable forms of folk deity worship in Tamil Nadu. In the Kailai Yaga, Lord Shiva ordered the Devas to create new deities on Mount Kailash. So, the characteristics of the native deities born in the sacrifice are shown ably in the Tamil myths and their appearance is similar to that of a human. There are 186 deities in the Nattar worship of Tamil Nadu. It is also notable that Tamil people express their gratitude to the native deities who removed the sufferings of the people in different ways. It is possible to see that Tamil people believe that the deity Amman can cure diseases such as smallpox and many folk believes like this on certain diseases. Therefore, this research article plans to do a study on the folk deities revered in folk worship.</span></em></p>