Kaliamman (காளியம்மன்) is the most widely worshipped Tamil village goddess across the state. Unlike the Bengali Kali, her Tamil form is typically lighter-skinned, garlanded with lemons or red hibiscus, and propitiated annually through pongal and fire-walking (tīmidi). Tamil kāval deivam (guardian gods) stand outside the Brahminical orthodoxy. They are propitiated through offerings that are explicitly non-Brahminical: animal sacrifice (now declining), arrack, tobacco, and cigars. Their priesthood
Deities
