Village deities of South India

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.^[1]

These deities have been linked back to common Indus Valley civilisation imagery, and are hypothesised to represent the prevailing Dravidian folk religion at the time. The worship of these deities at many times do not conform to the common tenets of Vedic traditions, especially in customs of animal sacrifice, the inclusion of the priesthood class, and iconography; yet at the same time it is difficult to completely extricate Vedic traditions from the worship.