Tamil Hindu
Tamil Hindus () are the Tamil-speaking people who follows Hinduism. Hinduism was the first religion to reach the ancient Tamil kingdoms. Tamil Nadu is home to one of the largest functioning Hindu temples in the world. Tamil influence was one of the contributing factors in survival of Hinduism in Sri Lanka and its spreading in South East Asia. Before the Vedic period, many of them followed ancient Dravidian folk religion. The Hinduism practiced by Tamils today is a fusion of Vedic and Dravidian traditions. There are notable population of Tamil Hindus in Sri Lanka and in Indian states  of Tamil Nadu, with small population in Kerala and Karnataka. Though they are present in many countries as diaspora. During the Sri Lankan Civil War, many Tamils emigrated and Hindu temples were built abroad by the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora to maintain their religion, tradition and culture. God. Murugan is often known as the Tamil god and is considered to be the patron god of Tamil language and Tamil people. There are a lot of temples dedicated to Murugan in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. The Six Abodes of Murugan in Tamil Nadu are considered to be the most sacred  abodes of Murugan and was mentioned in ancient Sangam literature. Most of the Tamil Hindus are followers of Shaiva Siddhanta branch of Shaivism and worship Shiva as the supreme deity, with a small portion as the follower of Vaishnavism and Shaktism. Many of Tamils have their village deities and earlier had been follower of Dravidian folk religion. Culture. Festivals. Thaipusam or Thaipoosam is the festival of the Tamil Hindus which falls on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai. The festival is celebrated by Tamil Hindus in various countries. Cuisine. Most of the Tamil cuisine is directly influenced  by the Hindu culture, though there is a mixture of both Vegetarian and non-vegetarian diet. Most of it has its influence of South India and Sri Lanka. On special occasions, traditional Tamil dishes are served in a traditional manner, using banana leaves in place of utensils. After eating, the banana leaves are then used as a secondary food for cattle. A typical breakfast meal consists of idli or dosa with chutney. Lunch includes rice, sambar, Curd, kuzhambu, and rasam. Iyengar and Tamil Brahmin often have very authentic cuisine with many customs and rituals. Though many of them consume non -vegetarian, but not Beef due to religious prohibition.