Title: Transforming Multidisciplinary Research Through Artificial Intelligence
Chief Editors: Dr. Nagasudha R and Dr. Geetha V
Associate Editors: Dr. Aarti Sharma and Ms. P. Nithyashankari
Co-Editors: Dr. Madhumathi Reddim and Dr. Shishira Srinivasa
ISBN: 978-93-7183-019-5
Chapter: 15
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59646/804/15
Authors: Dr. Saumya Raj S.R, and Ms. Ruba. K
Abstract
Velan Veriyaattam is an important ritual tradition associated with Murugan worship in the early Tamil cultural world. The practice is particularly significant for understanding the relationship between religion, rural society, sacred space, performance and collective belief. The term Velan refers to the ritual specialist associated with the worship of Murugan, while Veriyaattam denotes a ritual performance connected with an ecstatic or divinatory state. Early Tamil literary sources provide valuable evidence concerning the Velan, the ritual ground, the spear, offerings, music, dance and the community’s understanding of divine intervention. This paper examines the ritual significance of Velan Veriyaattam through selected Sangam literary sources and secondary scholarship on Murugan worship and Tamil religious traditions. It focuses on the ritual environment, the role of the Velan, symbolic objects, performance, belief, healing and divination, and the participation of the wider community. The paper also considers the relationship between the early literary representation of Veriyaattam and the continuing importance of ritual traditions in rural religious life. Rather than assuming an uninterrupted survival of the Sangam practice, the study argues that the tradition is better understood through the concepts of continuity, adaptation and transformation. Velan Veriyaattam therefore provides an important framework for studying the cultural memory and ritual heritage of Tamil rural communities.
Keywords: Velan, Veriyaattam, Murugan, Sangam Literature, Rural Religion, Ritual, Folk Tradition.