Karuppuswamy

Karuppannaswamy
Patroller of Boundaries
Idol of Karuppannaswamy
Other names
  • Aandavar
  • Karupparayan
  • Karuppannaswamy
  • Maayandi Karuppa
  • Ayyan
  • Sāngṇī Dī Bābā
Tamil Malayalamகருப்பண்ணசாமி കറുപ്പണ്ണസാമി
AffiliationDravidian folk religion
AbodeNot accurate
WeaponAruval, Spear, Gada, Sword, Silver stick
DayTuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
MountHorse, Elephant

Karuppuswamy or Karupparayan (Tamil: கருப்பசாமி, Malayalam: കറുപ്പണ്ണസാമി; romanization: Karuppusāmi, Bhojpuri,Awadhi: संगानी बाबा, lit.'Black God' or 'Black'), is a guardian deity (kaval daivam) in the Dravidian folk religion, especially among rural and agrarian communities in Tamil Nadu and parts of Sri Lanka. He is revered as a fierce protector, upholder of justice, and divine enforcer of dharma (righteousness).

Among Indians, Karuppuswamy is represented as a village deity (gramadevata) as well as in an ancestral deity (kuladevata) practices. Adherents, especially in Tamil Nadu and the border regions of Kerala, believe that the deity was once a historical figure who fought for the protection of his community and, over time, became deified.

Among Indo-Caribbean communities, Karuppasamy is called Sanganie Baba. In the Indo-Caribbean communities of Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Guadeloupe, and Martinique, Sanganie Baba is worshipped as a powerful deity