also: うっがん
noun
patron god; deified ancestor
Shinto term used in Kyushu dialect for a protective deity or an ancestor worshipped as a kami. Not widely used in standard Japanese.
九州の一部では、家を守る内神を祀る習慣がある。
In parts of Kyushu, there is a custom of enshrining a patron god (uchigami) that protects the household.
その集落では、先祖を内神として祭っている。
In that village, they worship their ancestors as deified kami (uchigami).
氏神 is a standard term for a tutelary deity of a clan or community, while 内神 is a dialectal Kyushu term for a household patron god or deified ancestor.
Compound of 内 (uchi, 'inside, home') and 神 (kami, 'god, deity'). The reading うっがん is a dialectal contraction of うちがみ.