 The art form is practiced principally by a few families of hereditary performers, called "araiyar".An araiyar is attached to a temple as a priest and conducts certain prayers throughout the year but only performs the araiyar sevai during the ' festivals instituted by Nathamuni.Araiyars are male and must spend several years studying the hymns of the Divya Prabandham and the traditional commentaries on the hymns, particularly the commentary known as ' by , in addition to studying the art form itself.