From where the Village Gods & Family Gods Originate?
A male devotee (Name hidden) asked like this:
“It’s been a while that,I have a question in my mind about some Kula Deivam. In my family we have a familial temple, since my grandfather and grandmother. There are now Surya Narayana, Ganesh, Mariamman, Kali, Madurai Veeran, Pussai Muni and ancestors.
I don’t have a lot of information about them, particulary, Madurai Veeran and Muni. In prayer, it seems that Mariamman is like another form of Parvati. Madurai veeran seems to be related to Madurai Minakshi. Can you tell me who they are? How are they related to Krishna? Can you give me some information please?
If one day you post this question on your website, i prefer to stay anonymous.”
REPLY:
Good Question as we can share some new details with the devotees.
Village Gods are the deities that protect the village.
Every village may have a village God.
In general, these Village Gods are Violent in most cases and the villagers choose such deities purposefully because they install these Village deities to protect their village from the thieves and bad spirits.
(Is Kuladevatha (Family God) worship for Krishna devotees necessary? READ HERE!)
That is why, most of these Village gods appear threatening with
(i) Long mustache looking like a knife,
(ii) Long tongue hanging downwards,
(iii) Holding a long Billhook (Strong knife),
(iv) Holding the cut head with blood, etc.
These Village Gods may cause a fear in the mind of new entrants to the village as if that deity is protecting that village.
There is a popular belief that the village god may kill the person with the billhook if anyone enters into the village with wrong motive.
Particularly, during late nighthours, the thieves themselves may fear to enter into the village because seeing the big statues/deities of these Violent Village Gods in those late night odd hours may definitely create fear.
In most cases, the village god of the village where a male person lives happen to be his Family God.
If a girl marries a boy, her family god changes. She accepts the family god of the husband’s family as her god too.
In some cases, the village god and family god may be different when there are two or more village gods are there.
(Who need not perform the Rituals for ancestors and family God? READ HERE!)
There are two types of Village Gods:
(i) Any Girl or boy who led a well disciplined life in that village and died in the young age are believed to live there permanently and they build a temple for that girl/ boy.
Some children would have lived for a short period and died inthe childhood or adolescent age itself. Such children whom the people believe as Pure souls, are made village gods in some cases.
(ii) The traditional main deities such as Kaal Bhairav, Lord Shiva, Parvati/ Durga are installed in new names changing their appearance as more violent.
Such Village gods are worshipped in all the states of India, particularly abundantly in South Indian states.
The Village god or family god is very close to every person and those village gods are believed to be closely watching the lives of the persons who worship them.
Let us see some examples of Village Gods and their sources:
Village gods concept is not new. They were existing even since the Indus Valley Civilization.
(Can a Krishna devotee get full mercy of Krishna if he worships other gods? READ HERE!)
These Village gods are believed to be trusted by the people for overseeing and getting sufficient rain, good harvest, etc.
(1) MARIAMMAN:
She is the Local Village Archa avatar of Durga/ Parvati. She is worshipped for good fertility (Progeny) and, in many places, protection against smallpox and other deadly diseases.
(2) AYYANAR:
Guardian male deity in Tamilnadu.
(3) KARUPPUSAMY (Meaning: Black Swami):
Another Guardian male deity in tamilnadu.
(4) SHASTHA:
Ayyanar is called SHASTHA in South Tamilnadu.
These male village gods are depicted as if killing the demons and drinking their blood.
(5) POCCHAMMA: Female deity in Andhra Pradesh.
(6) YELLAMMA: Female deity in Karnataka.
(7) SAPTHAMATRIKAS (SEVEN SISTERS)
(8) MUNEESVARAR (MUNI): Male fiery deity who is claimed to come from Adhi Shakti, but it is not a verified detail. The devotees of these munis praise that Muni or muneesvarar existed even before the origin of Shiva. But, that claim seems to be just emotional. Muni seems to be the localized form of Lord Shiva.
(9) MADURAI VEERAN & KATTHAVARAYAN: Both are the heroic persons who were made gods after their death. They are not related to Madurai Meenatchi (Parvati).
(10) KANNAKI AMMAN – A literature heroine was made a god.
(11) MACHANI AMMAN: An young girl who was killed by a king for stealing and eating the mangoes from his garden, was later made a god.
(12) DRAUPATI AMMAN: Wife of Pandavas PANCHALI or DRAUPATI is also worshipped as Village God.
(13) KUNTI DEVI is also worshipped as a village God.
(14) GANDHARI is also worshipped as a village God.
(15) KALI: Yes, Kali or Kali Amma is both Pan India Goddess as well as Village God. When Parvati takes avatar to kill the demons, she becomes Kali. This Kali worship is very popular in West Bengal state, India.
(Is Kuladevatha (Family God) worship for Krishna devotees necessary? READ HERE!)
Ganesh or Ganapati is not a village God as said by you. He is a Universally Popular God who is the son of Lord Shiva and who never takes avatars as village gods. But, Ganesh is worshipped by all the grades of people. He is the Pet of Indians. So, Ganesh is not a Village God, but he is a powerful and merciful demigod. He does not accept meat offering. If he is a Village God, will Vyasadeva call him to write Mahabharatha when he dictates it?
In most of these Village God worships, animal sacrifice plays a major role.
Some Village gods are kindly, and will shower blessings on those who worship them. Others are vengeful and angry, and will unleash terror on the village unless they are propitiated.
There are Village Gods for every caste also in some places.
For example, Yellamma is worshipped by two dalit communities.
Thus, India has different systems of worship.
The people worship the Gods according to their level of awareness and their dominating mode (Guna).
It is very difficult for the preachers and others to separate these people from their Village gods and family Gods because they feel a close bond with them and they also fear for consequences from those village gods due to vengeance.
Our Sanatana dharma approves such worship of Village gods.
Hope you are clear about Village Gods and family Gods.
NOTE:
Though the devotees who worship Krishna need not worship these Gods, they are still worshipped as if one of the members of their family.
(Are Demigods subject to attachments and bad times? READ HERE!)