Tutelary Deity — South India’s Ancient Wisdom Demystified
A tutelary is a deity or spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of ‘tutelary’ expresses the concept of safety, and thus of guardianship. (Source: Wikipedia)
Christians attend Sunday Mass services, Muslims do prayers on Fridays at Mosque, Hindus visit temples often or on special festival times. But each Hindu family in India has a temple location tied to their ancestry. I find this tradition unique and interesting. Paternal side tutelary Deity is passed on the next generations while maternal side is also kept as secondary Deity, in some practices.
South Indian tradition on ‘Kula Theivam’ (family deity) has the same temple worshiped by many generations. It’s believed that fore-fathers prayed in those temples and left the good energy for the next generations. Another belief is that souls of fore-fathers (Hindus believe in re-births) stay in these places till they take the next re-birth form. People visit their temple often (or) at least once a year during annual temple festivals. Probably you can connect with previous generations without the need for a ‘medium’. There is also a subtle connection to Hindu philosophy on lineage, where paternal births are connected to the Vedic Rishis. Devotees of the temple take…
