It is Hindu (especially in South India) tradition to have a ‘Family Deity’ called ‘Kula Deivam’ for every family. These family deities are considered to be the ancestral gods. It has been worshiped from generation to generation since the time of our ancestors.
It is the unshakable belief of most Hindus that these deities take care of our family and save us from all hardships and obstacles.

Worship of Family Deity
How did Family Deity(Kula Deiva) worship originate from Nature worship?
In the beginning humans worshiped nature which led to the formation of sun worship. Then, they worshiped the fire, air, water, and earth that would help their livelihood. Then some important symbols were worshiped.
After the symbolic worship, they worshiped weapons of war such as spears, knives, and rye, Worshiped those who were guides to protect their clan and uplift the livelihood of their clan. Thus arose the cult of the Guardian Deity and the cult of the family deity.
Worship of Nature
Worship of family deities is mostly practiced only in Southern India today. Although the deity is worshiped in other states in India, it is still worshiped as the main deity in Tamil Nadu & Kerala. The ancient worship of the world was the worship of nature. That is why the Tamils still worship the sun worship on ‘Thaipongal‘ and the animals that support plowing.
After the worship of nature, people established the custom of worshiping the ancestors who lived in their homes and the saints who lived as guides for the development of the community.
‘Clan’ is a group organization that is related to the descendants of a particular ancestor. Blood relatives are considered to belong to the same clan. For the woman who tied the knot, her husband’s deity was the object of worship. They began to worship the gods, who were the best of their ancestors and who sacrificed their lives for the people.
Symbolic Worship
In the early days, tribal deities worshiped symbols such as lamps, scepters, veils, pedestals, trees and stone.
Later, in the rural areas, the festival is held once a year to worship the guardian deities(Kaval Deivam) who protect the people. The guardian deities are worshiped as the deities of the city. Mostly all these deities are the ones who lived before and disappeared as a guide for the progress of our clan because their stories are still kept in the manuscript today.
Blessing or Fortune Telling
Guardian worshipers have often practiced divination. Worshiped guardian deities or clan deities stand on the auspicious and tell the people the benefits. These people often believe in divination rather than looking at horoscopes. It signifies their devotion.
Family deities are often worshiped as guardian deities. Its worship practices and rituals are different from other forms of worship, such as sacrifice and walking on the fire, piercing a spear through cheeks and tongue, wearing slipper made of nails, animal sacrifices are important.
Benefits
- Those who continue to worship the Family Deity(Kula Deivam) will get the boon they need.
- It leads the rural people to live in unity even today irrespective of caste, religion and race.
- Their children will be blessed and will achieve career development.
- No matter how many big temples you go to, you will not get grace without the grace of the family deity. Heritage is so powerful.
Those who do not know the Family Deity
In today’s modern world, people have forgotten traditional worship, those who do not know who their family gods can worship Lord Murugan (Subramaniya Swamy), the Lord of Tiruchendur, Tamil Nadu, as their deity.
Important Notes
The family deity(Kula deivam) is inherited only by males. The female member of the family accepts her husband’s family deity as her own. If a person’s average age is 60, then his paternal, grandfather’s father(Buttan) period would be 13 x 60 = 780 years, even if it is calculated to be 13 generations ago, Do any of us know about the descendants of 780 years ago? Not possible that is why a family deity(Kula Deivam) worship will save us for seven Genmas i.e. 49 Genma period.
Find and go to the family deity (Kula deivam) temple once a year and worship. When worshiping a deity it is best to take all of his relatives and worship him.
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