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Tamils

January 12, 2023

The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar (Tamil: தமிழர், romanized: Tamiḻar, pronounced [t̪amiɻaɾ] in the singular or தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, [t̪amiɻaɾɣaɭ] in the plural), or simply Tamils (/ˈtæmɪls/), are a Dravidian ethno-linguistic group who trace their ancestry mainly to India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu, union territory of Puducherry and to Sri Lanka. Tamils who speak the Tamil Language and are born in Tamil clans are considered Tamilians.[8] Tamils constitute 5.9% of the population in India (concentrated mainly in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry), 15% in Sri Lanka (excluding Sri Lankan Moors),[note 3] 7% in Malaysia, 6% in Mauritius,[13] and 5% in Singapore.

Tamils
தமிழர்
Tamil bride and groom performing the ritual of metti anidal
Total population
c. 76 million[1]
Regions with significant populations
 India69,026,881 (2011)[2]
 Sri Lanka3,135,770 (2012)[3]
 Malaysia1,800,000[1]
 United States238,699+[4]
 Canada237,890 (2021)[5][note 1]
 Singapore192,665+ (2015)[6][7][note 2]
OtherSee Tamil diaspora
Languages
Tamil
Religion
Majority:
Hinduism
Minority:
Related ethnic groups

From the 4th century BCE,[14] urbanisation and mercantile activity along the western and eastern coasts of what is today Kerala and Tamil Nadu led to the development of four large Tamil empires, the Cheras, Cholas, Pandyas, and Pallavas and a number of smaller states, all of whom were warring amongst themselves for dominance. The Jaffna Kingdom, inhabited by Sri Lankan Tamils, was once one of the strongest kingdoms of Sri Lanka and controlled much of the north of the island.

Tamils were noted for their influence on regional trade throughout the Indian Ocean. Artefacts marking the presence of Roman traders demonstrate that direct trade was active between Ancient Rome and Southern India, and the Pandyas were recorded as having sent at least two embassies directly to the Roman Emperor Augustus in Rome. The Pandyas and Cholas were historically active in Sri Lanka. The Chola dynasty successfully invaded several areas in southeast Asia, including the powerful Srivijaya and the city-state of Kedah.[15] Medieval Tamil guilds and trading organizations like the Ayyavole and Manigramam played an important role in Southeast Asian trading networks.[16] Pallava traders and religious leaders travelled to Southeast Asia and played an important role in the cultural Indianisation of the region. Scripts brought by Tamil traders to Southeast Asia, like the Grantha and Pallava scripts, induced the development of many Southeast Asian scripts such as Khmer, Javanese, Kawi, Baybayin, and Thai.

The Tamil language is one of the world's longest-surviving classical languages,[17][18] with a history dating back to 300 BCE. Tamil literature is dominated by poetry, especially Sangam literature, which is composed of poems composed between 300 BCE and 300 CE. The most important Tamil author was the poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar, who wrote the Tirukkuṛaḷ, a group of treatises on ethics, politics, love and morality widely considered the greatest work of Tamil literature.[19] Tamil visual art is dominated by stylized Temple architecture in major centres and the productions of images of deities in stone and bronze. Chola bronzes, especially the Nataraja sculptures of the Chola period, have become notable symbols of Hinduism. A major part of Tamil performing arts is its classical form of dance, the Bharatanatyam, whereas the popular forms are known as Koothu. Classical Tamil music is dominated by the Carnatic genre, while gaana and dappan koothu are also popular genres. Tamil is an official language in Sri Lanka and Singapore. In 2004, Tamil was the first of six to be designated as a classical language of India.[20]

Although most Tamil people are Hindus (Shaivism), many follow a particular way of religious practice that is considered to be the Ancient Tamil religion, venerating a plethora of village deities and Ancient Tamil Gods.[21][22] A smaller number are Christians and Muslims, and a small Jain community survives from the classical period as well. Tamil cuisine is informed by varied vegetarian and non-vegetarian items, usually spiced with locally available spices. The music, the temple architecture, and the stylized sculptures favoured by the Tamil people as in their ancient nation are still being learnt and practised. English historian and broadcaster Michael Wood called the Tamils the last surviving classical civilization on Earth, because the Tamils have preserved substantial elements of their past regarding belief, culture, music, and literature despite the influence of globalization.[23]

Etymology

It is unknown whether the term Tamiḻar and its equivalents in Prakrit such as Damela, Dameda, Dhamila, and Damila was a self designation or a term denoted by outsiders. Epigraphic evidence of an ethnicity termed as such is found in ancient Sri Lanka, where a number of inscriptions have come to light dating from the 2nd century BCE mentioning Damela or Dameda persons. The well-known Hathigumpha inscription of the Kalinga ruler Kharavela refers to a T(ra)mira samghata (Confederacy of Tamil rulers) dated to 150 BCE. It also mentions that the league of Tamil kingdoms had been in existence 113 years before then. In Amaravati (located in present-day Andhra Pradesh) there is an inscription referring to a Dhamila-vaniya (Tamil trader) datable to the 3rd century CE.[24]

In the Buddhist Jataka story known as Akiti Jataka there is a mention of a Damila-rattha (Tamil dynasty). There were trade relationship between the Roman Empire and Pandyan Empire. As recorded by the Hellenistic Greek historian and geographer Strabo, the Roman Emperor Augustus of Rome received at Antioch an ambassador from a king called Pandyan of Dramira.[citation needed] Hence, it is clear that by at least 300 BCE, the ethnic identity of Tamils was formed as a distinct group.[24] Tamiḻar is etymologically related to Tamil, the language spoken by Tamil people. Southworth suggests that the name comes from tam-miz > tam-iz - "self-speak", or "our own speech".[25] Zvelebil suggests an etymology of tam-iz, with tam meaning "self" or "one's self", and "-iz" having the connotation of "unfolding sound". Alternatively, he suggests a derivation of tamiz < tam-iz < *tav-iz < *tak-iz, meaning in origin "the proper process (of speaking)".[26]

History

See also: History of Tamil Nadu and Sources of ancient Tamil history

In India

Pre-historic period

Possible evidence indicating the earliest presence of Tamil people in modern-day Tamil Nadu are the megalithic urn burials, dating from around 1500 BCE and onwards, which have been discovered at various locations in Tamil Nadu, notably in Adichanallur in Thoothukudi District[27][28][full citation needed] which conform to the descriptions of funerals in classical Tamil literature.[29]

Various legends became prevalent after the 10th century CE regarding the antiquity of the Tamil people. According to Iraiyanar Agapporul, a 10th/11th century annotation on the Sangam literature, the Tamil country extended southwards beyond the natural boundaries of the Indian peninsula comprising 49 ancient nadus (divisions). The land was supposed to have been destroyed by a deluge. The Sangam legends also alluded to the antiquity of the Tamil people by claiming tens of thousands of years of continuous literary activity during three Sangams.[30]

Classical period

 
Grey pottery with engravings, Arikamedu, 1st century CE

Ancient Tamils had three monarchical states, headed by kings called "Vendhar" and several tribal chieftainships, headed by the chiefs called by the general denomination "Vel" or "Velir".[31] Still lower at the local level there were clan chiefs called "kizhar" or "mannar".[32] The Tamil kings and chiefs were always in conflict with each other, mostly over territorial hegemony and property. The royal courts were mostly places of social gathering rather than places of dispensation of authority; they were centres for distribution of resources. Ancient Tamil Sangam literature and grammatical works, Tolkappiyam; the ten anthologies, Pattuppāṭṭu; and the eight anthologies, Eṭṭuttokai also shed light on ancient Tamil people.[33][page needed] The kings and chieftains were patrons of the arts, and a significant volume of literature exists from this period. The literature shows that many of the cultural practices that are considered peculiarly Tamil date back to the classical period.[34]

Agriculture was important during this period, and there is evidence that networks of irrigation channels were built as early as the 3rd century BCE.[35] Internal and external trade flourished, and evidence of significant contact with Ancient Rome exists. Large quantities of Roman coins and signs of the presence of Roman traders have been discovered at Karur and Arikamedu.[36] There is evidence that at least two embassies were sent to the Roman Emperor Augustus by Pandya kings.[37] Potsherds with Tamil writing have also been found in excavations on the Red Sea, suggesting the presence of Tamil merchants there.[38][full citation needed] An anonymous 1st century traveller's account written in Greek, Periplus Maris Erytraei, describes the ports of the Pandya and Chera kingdoms in Damirica and their commercial activity in great detail. Periplus also indicates that the chief exports of the ancient Tamils were pepper, malabathrum, pearls, ivory, silk, spikenard, diamonds, sapphires, and tortoiseshell.[39]

The classical period ended around the 4th century CE with invasions by the Kalabhra, referred to as the kalappirar in Tamil literature and inscriptions.[40][41] These invaders are described as 'evil kings' and 'barbarians' coming from lands to the north of the Tamil country, but modern historians think they could have been hill tribes who lived north of Tamil country.[42] This period, commonly referred to as the Dark Age of the Tamil country, ended with the rise of the Pallava dynasty.[43][page needed][44]

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    Megalithic sarcophagus burial from Tamil Nadu

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    Virampatnam jewelry from funerary burial, 2nd century BCE, Tamil Nadu

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    Souttoukeny jewelry, 2nd century BCE, Tamil Nadu

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    Map of ancient oceanic trade, and ports of Tamilakam

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    Tamiḻakam during Sangam Period

Economy, trade and maritime

Main article: Economy of ancient Tamil country

The Tamil country is strategically located in the Indian Ocean and had access to a sea trade route.

Imperial and post-imperial periods

 
The Varaha cave bas relief at Mahabalipuram from 7th century CE

The names of the three dynasties, Cholas, Pandyas, and Cheras, are mentioned in Tamil Sangam literature and grammatical works like Tolkappiyar refers to them as the "Three Glorified by Heaven", (Tamil: வாண்புகழ் மூவர், Vāṉpukaḻ Mūvar).[45] Later, they are mentioned in the Mauryan Empire's Pillars of Ashoka (inscribed 273–232 BCE) inscriptions, among the kingdoms, which though not subject to Ashoka, were on friendly and allied terms with him.[46] The king of Kalinga, Kharavela, who ruled around 150 BCE, is mentioned in the Hathigumpha inscription of the confederacy of the Tamil kingdoms that had existed for over 100 years.[47] The Cholas, Pandyas, Cheras, and Pallavas were followers of Hinduism, though for a short while some of them seem to have embraced Jainism and later converted to Hinduism.[43][page needed] After the fall of the Mauryan Empire, the Tamil kingdoms were allied with the Satavahana Dynasty.

 
Tiruvannamalai city and Annamalaiyar temple, Tamil architecture and culture influenced much of Southeast Asia between the 8th to 13th century CE.

These early kingdoms sponsored the growth of some of the oldest extant literature in Tamil. The classical Tamil literature, referred to as Sangam literature, is attributed to the period between 300 BCE and 300 CE.[48][30] The poems of Sangam literature, which deal with emotional and material topics, were categorised and collected into various anthologies during the medieval period. These Sangam poems paint the picture of a fertile land and of a people who were organised into various occupational groups. The governance of the land was through hereditary monarchies, although the sphere of the state's activities and the extent of the ruler's powers were limited through the adherence to the established order ("dharma"). Although the Pallava records can be traced from the 2nd century CE, they did not rise to prominence as an imperial dynasty until the 6th century.[citation needed] They transformed the institution of the kingship into an imperial one, and sought to bring vast amounts of territory under their direct rule. The Bhakti movement in Hinduism was founded at this time, and rose along with the growing influence of Jainism and Buddhism.[49] The Pallavas pioneered the building of large, ornate temples in stone which formed the basis of the Dravidian temple architecture. They came into conflict with the Kannada Chalukyas of Badami. During this period, the great Badami Chalukya King Pulakeshin II extended the Chalukya Empire up to the northern extents of the Pallava kingdom and defeated the Pallavas in several battles.[50][page needed] Pallava Narasimhavarman however reversed this victory in 642 by attacking and occupying Badami temporarily.[51] However a later Chalukya King Vikramaditya II took revenge by repeated invasions of the territory of Tondaimandalam and his subsequent victories over Pallava Nandivarman II and the annexation of Kanchipuram.[52] The Pallava dynasty was overthrown in the 9th century by the imperial Kannada Rashtrakutas who ruled from Gulbarga. Krishna III, the last great Rashtrakuta king, consolidated the empire so that it stretched from the Narmada River to the Kaveri River and included the northern Tamil country (Tondaimandalam) while levying tribute on the king of Ceylon.[53]

 
The Tamil Chola Empire at its height, 1030 CE

Under Rajaraja Chola and his son Rajendra Chola, the Cholas became dominant in the 10th century and established an empire covering most of South India and Sri Lanka.[citation needed] The empire had strong trading links with the Chinese Song Dynasty and southeast Asia.[54][55] The Cholas defeated the Eastern Chalukya and expanded their empire to the Ganges. They conquered the coastal areas around the Bay of Bengal and turned it into a Chola lake. Rajendra Chola improved his father's fleet and created the first notable marine of the Indian subcontinent. The Chola navy conquered the dominant Southeast Asian power, the Srivijaya Empire, and secured the sea trade route to China.[56] Cholas exacted tribute from Thailand and the Khmer Empire. The latter half of the 11th century saw the union of Chola and Vengi kingdoms under Kulottunga I.[57][full citation needed] The Chola emperor decisively repulsed an invasion by the Western Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI, who had tried to interfere in Chola politics by installing his puppet, and their defeat of him led to their annexation of Gangavadi and Konkan regions. Vikramaditya VI was confined to his own dominions north of the Tungabhadra.[58] The Chola empire remained formidable during the reign of Kulottunga and maintained its influence over the various kingdoms of Southeast Asia like the Sri Vijaya empire.[59][full citation needed][60] According to historian Nilakanta Sastri, Kulottunga avoided unnecessary wars and had a long and prosperous reign characterized by unparalleled success that laid the foundation for the well being of the empire for the next 150 years.[61]

The eventual decline of Chola power in South India began towards the end of Kulottunga III's reign. It was accentuated by the resurgence of Pandyas under Maravarman Sundara Pandya (1216-1238 CE)[56] The waning Chola fortunes resulted in a three-way fight for the Tamil regions between the Pandyas, the Hoysalas and the Kakatiyas. Even the Kadava chief, Kopperunjinga, rebelled against his Chola overlord, Rajaraja III, and asserted his independence.[citation needed] The Hoysalas played a divisive role in the politics of the Tamil country during this period. They thoroughly exploited the lack of unity among the Tamil kingdoms and alternately supported one Tamil kingdom against the other thereby preventing both the Cholas and Pandyas from rising to their full potential. During the period of Rajaraja III, the Hoysalas sided with the Cholas and defeated the Kadava chieftain Kopperunjinga and the Pandyas and established a presence in the Tamil country. Rajendra Chola III who succeeded Rajaraja III was a much better ruler who took bold steps to revive the Chola fortunes. He led successful expeditions to the north as attested by his epigraphs found as far as Cuddappah.[62] He also defeated two Pandya princes one of whom was Maravarman Sundara Pandya II and briefly made the Pandyas submit to the Chola overlordship. The Hoysalas, under Vira Someswara, were quick to intervene and this time they sided with the Pandyas and repulsed the Cholas in order to counter the latter's revival.[63]

Tamil history turned a new leaf with the advent of the warrior prince, Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I. In the ensuing wars for supremacy, he emerged as the single most victorious ruler and the Pandya kingdom reached its zenith in the 13th century during his reign. Jatavarman Sundara Pandya first put an end to Hoysala interference by expelling them from the Kaveri delta and subsequently killed their king Vira Someswara in 1262 AD near Srirangam. He then defeated Kopperunjinga, the Kadava chieftain, and turned him into a vassal. The Pandya then turned his attention to the north and annexed Kanchi by killing the Telugu chief Vijaya Gandagopala. He then marched up to Nellore and celebrated his victories there by doing the virabisheka(anointment of heroes) after defeating the Kakatiya ruler, Ganapati. Meanwhile, his lieutenant Vira Pandya defeated the king of Lanka and obtained the submission of the island nation.[64] In the 14th century, the Pandyan empire was engulfed in a civil war and also had to face repeated invasions by the Delhi Sultanate. In 1335, Madurai, the Pandyan capital, was conquered by Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan and a short-lived Madurai Sultanate was established, but was captured in 1378 by the Vijayanagara Empire.

Throughout the 15th century, the Vijayanagara Empire was the dominant power of South India.In the early 16th century (about 1520 CE), Virasekhara Chola, king of Tanjore rose out of obscurity and plundered the dominions of the then Pandya prince in south. The Pandya who was under the protection of the Vijayanagara appealed to the emperor and the Raya accordingly directed his agent (Karyakartta) Nagama Nayaka who was stationed in the south to put down the Chola. Nagama Nayaka then defeated the Chola but to everyone's surprise the once loyal officer of Krishnadeva Raya defied the emperor for some reason and decided to keep Madurai for himself.[65] Krishnadeva Raya is then said to have dispatched Nagama's son, Viswanatha who defeated his father and restored Madurai to Vijayanagara.[66] The fate of Virasekhara Chola, the last of the line of Cholas is not known. It is speculated that he either fell in battle or was put to death along with his heirs during his encounter with Vijayanagara.[67] Later when the Vijayanagara empire crumbled and fell after the Battle of Talikota in 1565 CE, the Nayaks who had once been viceroys asserted their independence and ruled independently from Madurai and Thanjavur.[68]

The area west of the Western Ghats became increasingly politically distinct from the Eastern parts ruled by Chola and Pandya Dynasties[69] Kerala was until 9th century, culturally and linguistically part of Tamilakam, with the local Koduntamil evolving to Malayalam.[70] This socio-culturally transformation was altered through Sanskrit-speaking Indo-Aryan migration from Northern India in the 8th century.[71]

In Sri Lanka

Main article: Sri Lankan Tamils
 
Megalithic burial urns or jar found in Pomparippu, North Western, Sri Lanka dated to at least five to two centuries before the Common Era. These are similar to Megalithic burial jars found in South India and the Deccan during a similar time frame.[72]

There is little scholarly consensus over the presence of Tamil people in Sri Lanka.[73] One theory is that cultural diffusion well before Sinhalese arrival in Sri Lanka led to Tamil replacing a previous language of an indigenous Mesolithic population that became the Sri Lankan Tamils.[74]

According to their tradition, Sri Lankan Tamils are lineal descendants of the aboriginal Naga and Yaksha people of Sri Lanka. The "Nakar" used the cobra totem known as "Nakam" in the Tamil language, which is still part of the Hindu Tamil tradition in Sri Lanka today as a subordinate deity.[75]

Pre-Anuradhapura period

Settlements of people culturally similar to those of present-day Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu in modern India were excavated at megalithic burial sites at Pomparippu on the west coast and in Kathiraveli on the east coast of the island, with villages established between the 5th century BCE and 2nd century CE.[76][77] Cultural similarities in burial practices in South India and Sri Lanka were dated by archeologists to the 10th century BCE. However, Indian history and archaeology have pushed the date back to the 15th century BCE, and in Sri Lanka, there is radiometric evidence from Anuradhapura that the non-Brahmi symbol-bearing black and red ware occurs at least around the 9th or 10th century BCE.[78]

Anuradhapura period

Early South Indian type black and red ware potsherds found in Sri Lanka, indicate that both region were bound by similar culture and identity.[79] The many Brahmic inscriptions found in Sri Lanka, with Tamil clan names such as Parumakal, Ay, Vel, Uti (Utiyan), Tissa (Ticaiyan), Cuda/Cula/Cola, Naka etc., point out to early close affinity between Sri Lanka and South India.[80] Potsherds with early Tamil writing from the 2nd century BCE have been found in excavations in north of the Sri Lanka in Poonagari, bearing several inscriptions including a clan name – vela, a name related to velir from ancient Tamil country.[81] Tamil Brahmi inscribed potsherds have also been excavated in the south of the island in Tissamaharama. There is epigraphic evidence of people identifying themselves as Damelas or Damedas (the Prakrit word for Tamil people) in Anuradhapura, the capital city of Rajarata, and other areas of Sri Lanka as early as the 2nd century BCE.[82] Historical records establish that Tamil kingdoms in modern India were closely involved in the island's affairs from about the 2nd century BCE.[83][84] In Mahavamsa, a historical poem, ethnic Tamil adventurers such as Elara invaded the island around 145 BCE.[85] Tamil soldiers from what is now South India were brought to Anuradhapura between the 7th and 11th centuries CE in such large numbers that local chiefs and kings trying to establish legitimacy came to rely on them.[86] By the 8th century CE there were Tamil villages collectively known as Demel-kaballa (Tamil allotment), Demelat-valademin (Tamil villages), and Demel-gam-bim (Tamil villages and lands).[87]

Polonnaruwa period to the Kandyan period

In the 9th and 10th centuries CE, Pandya and Chola incursions into Sri Lanka culminated in the Chola annexation of the island, which lasted until the latter half of the 11th century CE, after which Chola influence declined in Sri Lanka.[86][88] The Chola decline in Sri Lanka was followed by the restoration of the Polonnaruwa monarchy in the late 11th century CE.[89] In 1215, following Pandya invasions, the Tamil-dominant Aryacakaravarthi dynasty established the Jaffna Kingdom[90] on the Jaffna peninsula and in parts of northern Sri Lanka. The Aryacakaravarthi expansion into the south was halted by Akalesvara Alagakkonara, the descendant of a powerful feudal family from Kanchipuram that migrated to Sri Lanka around the 13th century and converted to Buddhism.[91] Akalesvara was the chief minister of the Sinhalese king Parakramabahu V (1344–59 CE) and soon became the real power behind the throne. Vira Alakeshwara, a descendant of Alagakkonara, later became king of the Sinhalese,[92] but the Ming admiral Zheng He overthrew him in 1409 and took him as a captive to China, after which his family declined in influence. The Aryachakaravarthi dynasty continued to rule over large parts of northeast Sri Lanka until the Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna Kingdom in 1619. The coastal areas of the island were taken over by the Dutch and then became part of the British Empire in 1796. The English sailor Robert Knox described walking into the island's Tamil country in the publication An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon, annotating some kingdoms within it on a map in 1681.[93] Upon the arrival of European powers from the 17th century, the Tamils' separate nation was described[by whom?] in their areas of habitation in the northeast of the island.[94]

The caste structure of the majority Sinhalese has also accommodated Hindu immigrants from South India since the 13th century CE. This led to the emergence of three new Sinhalese caste groups: The "Radala" the Salagama, the Durava and the Karava.[95][96][97] The Hindu migration and assimilation continued until the 18th century.[95]

British occupation & contemporary Sri Lanka

British colonists consolidated the Tamil territory in southern India into the Madras Presidency, which was integrated into British India. Similarly, the majority Tamil speaking parts of Sri Lanka joined with the other regions of the island in 1802 to form the Ceylon colony unitl it gained independence in 1948 with both Sinhalese and Tamil populations.

Irrespective of the ethnic differences, the British imposed a unitary state structure in British Ceylon for better administration.[98][full citation needed] During the British colonial rule, many Tamils held higher positions than the Sinhalese in the government, because they were favoured by the British for their qualification in English education. In the Sri Lankan highlands the lands of the Sinhalese were seized by the British and Indian Tamils were settled there as plantation workers.[99] After the British colonial rule in Sri Lanka ended, ethnic tension between the Sinhalese and the Sri Lankan Tamils rose. The Sinhalese, constituting a majority of the country, resented the minority Tamils having huge power in the island. In 1948 about 700,000 Indian Tamil tea plantation workers from Sri Lanka were made stateless and deported to India. In 1956 the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka passed the Sinhala Only Act, an act where Sinhala replaced English as the only official language of Sri Lanka. Due to this, many Tamils were forced to resign as civil servants/public servants because they were not fluent in Sinhala.[100] The Sri Lankan Tamils saw the act as linguistic, cultural and economic discrimination against them.

After anti-Tamil pogroms in 1956, 1958 and 1977 and a brutal crackdown against Tamils protesting against these acts, guerrilla groups like the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Tamil Tigers) were established[by whom?]. They aimed to set up an independent Tamil state, Tamil Eelam, for majority-Tamil regions in Sri Lanka. From the 1970s to the late 2000s Tamil Eelam was a proposed independent state that Sri Lankan Tamils and the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora aspire to establish in the north and east of Sri Lanka.[101][102] The burning of Jaffna library in 1981 and Black July in 1983 finally led to over 25 years of war between the Sri Lankan army and the Tamil Tigers, in which both sides committed numerous atrocities. This Sri Lankan Civil War led to death of over 100,000 people, according to the United Nations.[103] The Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tigers allegedly committed war crimes against the civilian Sri Lankan Tamil people during the final months of the Eelam War IV phase in 2009, when the leader of the Tigers, Prabhakaran, was killed.[104] The war led to the flight of over 800,000 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, many going to the UK and India.

Geographic distribution

India

 
Tamil girls dressed in traditional attire, ca. 1870, Tamil Nadu, India.

Most Tamils in India live in the state of Tamil Nadu. Tamils are the majority in the union territory of Puducherry, a former French colony. Puducherry is a subnational enclave situated within Tamil Nadu. Tamils account for at least one-sixth of the population in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.[citation needed]

There are significant Tamil communities in other parts of India. Most of these have emerged fairly recently, dating to the colonial and post-colonial periods, but some date back to the medieval period.[citation needed] Significant populations reside in Karnataka (3 million), Maharashtra (0.4 million), Andhra Pradesh (1.2 million), Kerala (0.6 million), Gujarat (0.1 million) and the National Capital Region (0.1 million).[105]

Sri Lanka

See also: Sri Lankan Tamils, Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka, and Sri Lankan Moors
 
Distribution of Tamil speakers in South India and Sri Lanka (1981)

There are two groups of Tamils in Sri Lanka: the Sri Lankan Tamils and the Indian Tamils. The Sri Lankan Tamils (or Ceylon Tamils) are descendants of the Tamils of the old Jaffna Kingdom and east coast chieftaincies called Vannimais. The Indian Tamils (or Hill Country Tamils) are descendants of bonded laborers who migrated from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka in the 19th century to work on tea plantations.[106] There also exists a significant Muslim population in Sri Lanka who are speakers of the Tamil language. Due to independent lineage, they are listed[10][12] as Moors by the Sri Lankan government.[107][108]

Most Sri Lankan Tamils live in the Northern and Eastern provinces and in the capital Colombo, whereas most Indian Tamils live in the central highlands.[108] Historically both groups have seen themselves as separate communities, although there has been a greater sense of unity since the 1980s.[109]

Under the terms of an agreement reached between the Sri Lankan and Indian governments in the 1960s, about 40 percent of the Indian Tamils were granted Sri Lankan citizenship, and many of the remainder were repatriated to India. By the 1990s, most Indian Tamils had received Sri Lankan citizenship.[110]

Tamil diaspora

Main articles: Tamil diaspora and Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora
See also: Tamil Malaysians, Tamil South Africans, Tamil Canadians, Tamil British, Tamil Americans, Tamil Indonesian, Myanmar Tamils, Tamils in Réunion, and Malbars
 
Tamil woman in traditional attire, c. 1880, Sri Lanka.
 
Batu Caves temple built by Tamil Malaysians in c. 1880s

Significant Tamil emigration began in the 18th century, when the British colonial government sent many middle-class and poor Tamils as indentured labourers to far-off parts of the Empire, especially Malaya, Burma, South Africa, Fiji, Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, and Martinique. At about the same time, many Tamil businessmen also migrated to other parts of the British Empire, particularly to Burma and East Africa.[111]

Many Tamils still live in these countries, and the Tamil communities in Singapore, Reunion Island, Malaysia, Myanmar and South Africa have retained much of their original culture, tradition and language. Many Malaysian children attend Tamil schools, and a significant portion of Tamil children are brought up with Tamil as their first language. In Singapore, Mauritius and Reunion, Tamil students learn Tamil as their second language in school. In Singapore, to preserve the Tamil language, the government has made it an official language despite Tamils comprising only about 5% of the population, and has also introduced compulsory instruction of the language for Tamils. Other Tamil communities, such as those in South Africa, Fiji, Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Pakistan, Martinique, and the Caribbean no longer speak Tamil language as a first language, but still retain a strong Tamil identity, and are able to understand the language, while most elders speak it as a first language.[112][dubious – discuss] There is a very small Tamil community in Pakistan, notably settled since the partition in 1947.[113]

A large emigration also began in the 1980s, as Sri Lankan Tamils sought to escape the ethnic conflict there. These recent emigrants have most often moved to Australia, Europe, North America and southeast Asia.[114][page needed] Today, the largest concentration of Sri Lankan Tamils outside Sri Lanka can be found in Toronto.[115]

Culture

Further information: South Indian culture, Tamil culture, and Tamil cuisine

Language and literature

Main articles: Tamil language, Tamil literature, Sri Lankan Tamil dialects, and Sri Lankan Tamil literature
 
Sage Agathiyar, one of the contributors of old Tamil literature

Tamils have strong attachment to the Tamil language, which is often venerated in literature as Tamil̲an̲n̲ai, "the Tamil mother".[116][full citation needed] It has historically been, and to large extent still is, central to the Tamil identity.[117][full citation needed] It is a Dravidian language, with little relation to the Indo-European languages of northern India. The language has been far less influenced by Sanskrit than the other Dravidian languages, and preserves many features of Proto-Dravidian, though modern-day spoken Tamil in Tamil Nadu freely uses loanwords from Sanskrit and English.[118] Tamil literature is of considerable antiquity, and underpins the decision to recognise Tamil as a classical language by the government of India. Classical Tamil literature, which ranges from lyric poetry to works on poetics and ethical philosophy, is remarkably different from contemporary and later literature in other Indian languages, and represents the oldest body of secular literature in South Asia.[119][page needed]

Religion

See also: Religion in ancient Tamil country and Dravidian folk religion

Tamil religion denotes the religious traditions and practices of Tamil-speaking people. The Tamils are native to modern state of India known as Tamil Nadu and the northern and eastern part of Sri Lanka. Tamils also live outside their native boundaries due to migration such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, South Africa, Australia, Great Britain, United States, Canada, Réunion, Myanmar, Mauritius and in countries in Europe. Many emigrant Tamils retain elements of a cultural, linguistic, and religious tradition that predates the Christian era.

Ancient Tamil grammatical works, Tolkappiyam; the ten anthologies, Pathupattu; and the eight anthologies, Ettuthogai shed light on early religion. Murugan was glorified as "the red god seated on the blue peacock, who is ever young and resplendent" as "the favored god of the Tamils." Sivan was also seen as the supreme God.[33][page needed] The Sangam landscape was classified into five categories, thinais, based on the mood, the season and the land. Tolkappiyam mentions that each of these thinai had an associated deity such as Seyyon in Kurinji-the hills, Thirumal in Mullai-the forests, Vendhan in Marutham-the plains, Kadalon in the Neithal-the coasts & the seas and Kottravai in Paalai- the deserts. Other gods mentioned were Mayyon and Vaali who are major deities in Hinduism today. Mercantile groups from Tamilakam and Kerala introduced Cholapauttam, a syncretic form of Buddhism and Shaivism in northern Sri Lanka and Southern India. This religion was transmitted through the Tamil language. The religion lost its importance in the 14th century when conditions changed for the benefit of Sinhala/Pali traditions.[120]

 
Meenakshi Amman temple, dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi, tutelary deity of Madurai city

The cult of the mother goddess is treated as an indication of a society which venerated femininity. Amman, Mariamman, Durgai, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kali and Saptakanniyar are venerated in all their forms.[121][page needed] The temples of the Sangam days, mainly of Madurai, seem to have had priestesses to the deity, who also appear predominantly as goddesses.[citation needed] In the Sangam literature, there is an elaborate description of the rites performed by the Kurava priestess in the shrine Palamutircholai.[122] About 88%[123] of the population of Tamil Nadu were Hindus in 2001.

 
Erwadi durgah in Ramanathapuram district is a major pilgrimage shrine of the Tamil Muslims.

In Tamil Nadu, Christians and Muslims accounted for 6% and 5.8% respectively in 2001.[123] The majority of Muslims in Tamil Nadu speak Tamil,[124] with less than 15% of them reporting Urdu as their mother tongue.[125] Tamil Jains now number only a few thousand.[126] Atheist, rationalist, and humanist philosophies are also adhered by sizeable minorities.[127]

 
The Om symbol in Tamil script

The most popular Tamil deity is Murugan; he is known as the patron god of the Tamils and is also called "Tamil Kadavul" (Tamil God).[128][129][full citation needed] In Tamil tradition, Murugan is the youngest and Pillaiyar the oldest son of Sivan and Parvati. The goddess Parvati is often depicted as a goddess with green skin complexion in Tamil Hindu tradition. The worship of Amman, also called Mariamman, thought to have been derived from an ancient mother goddess, is also very common.[130] Kannagi, the heroine of the Cilappatikaram, is worshipped as Pattini by many Tamils, particularly in Sri Lanka.[131] There are also many followers of Ayyavazhi in Tamil Nadu, mainly in the southern districts.[132] In addition, there are many temples and devotees of Thirumal, Sivan, Pillaiyar, and the other Hindu deities.

Muslims across Tamil Nadu follow Hanafi and Shafi'i schools while the Tamil Muslims in Sri Lanka follow the Shadhili school. While the Marakkayar, Labbai and Kayalar sects claim descent from the Arab world, the Rowther sects Claim descent from the Turkic world.[133]

 
Aiyanar, guardian folk deity of Tamil Nadu

Among the ancient Tamils the practice of erecting memorial stones (natukal) had appeared, and it continued for quite a long time after the Sangam age, down to about the 16th century.[134] It was customary for people who sought victory in war to worship these hero stones to bless them with victory.[135] They often carry inscriptions displaying a variety of adornments, including bas relief panels, friezes, and figures on carved stone.[citation needed]

The most important Tamil festivals are Pongal, a harvest festival that occurs in mid-January, and Varudapirappu, the Tamil New Year, which occurs on 14 April. Both are celebrated by almost all Tamils, regardless of religion. The Hindu festival Deepavali is celebrated with fanfare; other local Hindu festivals include Thaipusam, Panguni Uttiram, and Adiperukku. While Adiperukku is celebrated with more pomp in the Cauvery region than in others, the Ayyavazhi Festival, Ayya Vaikunda Avataram, is predominantly celebrated in the southern districts of Kanyakumari District, Tirunelveli, and Thoothukudi.[citation needed]

In rural Tamil Nadu, many local deities, called aiyyanars, are thought to be the spirits of local heroes who protect the village from harm.[136] Their worship often centres around natukal, stones erected in memory of heroes who died in battle. This form of worship is mentioned frequently in classical literature and appears to be the surviving remnants of an ancient Tamil tradition.[137] Munis are a group of guardian gods, who are worshiped by Tamils. The Saivist tradition of Hinduism is significantly represented amongst Tamils, more so among Sri Lankan Tamils, although most of the Saivist places of religious significance are in northern India. The Alvars and Nayanars, who were predominantly Tamils, played a key role in the renaissance of Bhakti tradition in India. In the 10th century, the philosopher Ramanuja propagated the theory of Visishtadvaitam.[138] Kambaramayanam is the Tamil version of the Hindu epic Ramayana, which was written by the Tamil poet Kambar during the 12th century. The Tamil version is smaller than the original Ramayana written by Valmiki. It is not a translation but tells the story in a different perspective.[citation needed]

Tamil Jains constituted around 0.13% of the population of Tamil Nadu in 2001.[123] Many of the classical Tamil literature works were written by Jains.[139][full citation needed] According to George L. Hart, the legend of the Tamil Sangams or literary assemblies was based on the Jain sangham at Madurai.[140]

Martial traditions

Various martial arts including Kuttu Varisai, Varma Kalai, Silambam, Adithada, and Malyutham are practised in Tamil Nadu.[141] The warm-up phase includes yoga, meditation and breathing exercises. Silambam originated in ancient Tamilakam and was patronized by the Pandyans, Cholas and Cheras, who ruled over this region. Silapathiharam, Tamil literature from the 2nd century CE, refers to the sale of Silamabam instructions, weapons and equipment to foreign traders.[142] Since the early Sangam age, there was a warlike culture in South India. War was regarded as an honorable sacrifice and fallen heroes and kings were worshiped in the form of a hero stone. Each warrior was trained in martial arts, horse riding and specialized in two of the weapons of that period: Vel (spear), Val (sword), and Vil (bow).[143] Heroic martyrdom was glorified in ancient Tamil literature. The Tamil kings and warriors followed an honour code similar to that of Japanese samurai and committed suicide to preserve honor. The forms of martial suicide were known as Avipalli, Thannai, Verttal, Marakkanchi, Vatakkiruttal and Punkilithu Mudiyum Maram. Avipalli was mentioned in all the works except Veera Soliyam. It was a self-sacrifice of a warrior to the goddess of war for the victory of his commander.[144][full citation needed] The Tamil rebels in Sri Lanka reflected some elements of Tamil martial traditions which included worship of fallen heroes (Maaveerar Naal) and practice of martial suicide. They carried a suicide pill around their neck to escape captivity and torture.[145][full citation needed]

 
Katar, Tamil dagger which was popular throughout South Asia

Wootz steel originated in South India and Sri Lanka.[146][dead link][147] There are several ancient Tamil, Greek, Chinese and Roman literary references to high-carbon Indian steel since the time of Alexander's India campaign. The crucible steel production process started in the sixth century BCE at Kodumanal in Tamil Nadu, Golconda in Andhra Pradesh, in Karnataka and in Sri Lanka. It was exported globally, with the Tamils of the Chera Dynasty producing what was termed "the finest steel in the world",[by whom?] i.e. Seric Iron to the Romans, Egyptians, Chinese and Arabs by 500 BCE.[148][149][page needed][150] The steel was exported as cakes of steely iron that came to be known as "Wootz".[151]

The Tamilakam method was to heat black magnetite ore in the presence of carbon in a sealed clay crucible inside a charcoal furnace. An alternative was to smelt the ore first to give wrought iron, then heated and hammered to be rid of slag. The carbon source was bamboo and leaves from plants such as avārai.[151][152] The Chinese and locals in Sri Lanka adopted the production methods of creating Wootz steel from the Chera Tamils by the 5th century BCE.[153][full citation needed][154] In Sri Lanka, this early steel-making method employed a unique wind furnace, driven by the monsoon winds, capable of producing high-carbon steel. Production sites from antiquity have emerged, in places such as Anuradhapura, Tissamaharama and Samanalawewa, as well as imported artefacts of ancient iron and steel from Kodumanal. A 200 BCE Tamil trade guild in Tissamaharama, in the South East of Sri Lanka, brought with them some of the oldest iron and steel artefacts and production processes to the island from the classical period.[155][156][157] The Arabs introduced the South Indian/Sri Lankan wootz steel to Damascus, where an industry developed for making weapons of this steel. The 12th century Arab traveller Edrisi mentioned the "Hinduwani" or Indian steel as the best in the world.[146] Another sign of its reputation is seen in a Persian phrase – to give an "Indian answer", meaning "a cut with an Indian sword".[158] Wootz steel was widely exported and traded throughout ancient Europe and the Arab world, and became particularly famous in the Middle East.[158]

Traditional weapons

The Tamil martial arts also includes various types of weapons.

Visual art and architecture

See also: Chola art, Dravidian architecture, and Tamil architecture
 
Dancing Siva or Nataraja, example of Chola Empire bronze
 
The Brihadeshswara Temple at Thanjavur, also known as the Great Temple, built by Rajaraja Chola I

Most traditional art is religious in some form and usually centres on Hinduism, although the religious element is often only a means to represent universal—and, occasionally, humanist—themes.[159][page needed][need quotation to verify]

The most important form of Tamil painting is Tanjore painting, which originated in Thanjavur in the 9th century. The painting's base is made of cloth and coated with zinc oxide, over which the image is painted using dyes; it is then decorated with semi-precious stones, as well as silver or gold thread.[160] A style which is related in origin, but which exhibits significant differences in execution, is used for painting murals on temple walls; the most notable example are the murals on the Koodal Azhagar temple and Meenakshi temple of Madurai, and the Brihadeeswarar temple of Tanjore.[161]

Tamil sculpture ranges from elegant stone sculptures in temples, to bronze icons with exquisite details.[162] The medieval Chola bronzes are considered to be one of India's greatest contributions to world art.[163][164] Unlike most Western art, the material in Tamil sculpture does not influence the form taken by the sculpture; instead, the artist imposes his/her vision of the form on the material.[165] As a result, one often sees in stone sculptures flowing forms that are usually reserved for metal.[166][page needed]

Music

See also: Music of Tamil Nadu and Ancient Tamil music

Ancient Tamil works, such as the Cilappatikaram, describe a system of music,[167] and a 7th-century Pallava inscription at Kudimiyamalai contains one of the earliest surviving examples of Indian music in notation.[168] Dance forms such as Bharatanatyam have recent origins but are based on older temple dance forms known as Catir Kacceri as practised by courtesans and a class of women known as Devadasis.[169]

Performing arts

 
Bharatanatyam dancers

Notable Tamil dance styles are

In its religious form, the karakattam dance is performed in front of an image of the goddess Mariamma.[170] The kuravanci is a type of dance-drama, performed by four to eight women. The drama is opened by a woman playing the part of a female soothsayer of the kurava tribe (people of hills and mountains), who tells the story of a lady pining for her lover. The therukoothu, literally meaning "street play", is a form of village theater or folk opera. It is traditionally performed in village squares, with no sets and very simple props.[171] The performances involve songs and dances, and the stories can be either religious or secular.[172] Tamil Nadu also has a well developed stage theatre tradition, which has been influenced by western theatre. A number of theatrical companies exist, with repertoires including absurdist, realist, and humorous plays.[173]

Film and theatre arts

Main article: Tamil cinema

Theatrical culture flourished among Tamils during the classical age. Tamil theatre has a long and varied history whose origins can be traced back almost two millennia to dance-theatre forms like Kotukotti and Pandarangam, which are mentioned in an ancient anthology of poems entitled the Kalingathu Parani.[174][page needed] The modern Tamil film industry originated during the 20th century, has its headquarters in Chennai and is known as Kollywood; it is the second largest film industry in India after Bollywood.[175] Films from Kollywood have been distributed to overseas theatres in Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Malaysia, Japan, Oceania, the Middle East, Western Europe, and North America.[176] Independent Tamil film production inspired by Kollywood originated outside India in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Canada, and western Europe. Several Tamil actresses such as Anushka Ranjan, Vyjayanthimala, Hema Malini, Rekha Ganesan, Sridevi, Meenakshi Sheshadri, Adah Sharma and Vidya Balan have acted in Bollywood and dominated the cinema over the years. Some Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, such as MG Ramachandran, Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa, have had a background in the Tamil film industry.

Sports in Tamil Nadu

Main article: Sports in Tamil Nadu
 
A 400 years old hero stone in Salem depicting bull-taming sport Jallikattu.

The people of Tamil Nadu play traditional sports and sports from other countries. Tamil Nadu has some notable players in each sport.

  • Jallikattu: a bull-taming sport in Tamil Nadu that is over 2,000 years old and an integral part of Tamil culture. In ancient times, two bull-taming and bull-racing sports were pursued, called manjuvirattu and yeruthazhuval, with the aim of keeping people's temperament fit and ready for war at any time. Each has its own techniques and rules. Proficiency in these sports was one of the criteria for marrying girls of a warrior family. There were traditions where the winner would be chosen as bridegroom for their daughter or sister. On the other hand, the untamable bulls were held as a pride of the owner/village and used for breeding the cows. Unlike western bullfighting, bulls and warriors participated in the sport year after year. The sport, popular amongst warriors in the classical period,[177][178] survives in parts of Tamil Nadu, notably Alanganallur near Madurai, where it is held once a year around the time of the Pongal festival.
  • Kabaddi: a traditional sport that originated in Tamil Nadu.[179]
  • Mattu Vandy Elgai Panthayam (Reckla Race): bullock cart racing is mostly celebrated in southern Tamil Nadu.
  • Silambam (Staff fencing): a martial art originated in the ancient Tamilakam. In 1978, the Tamil Nadu government and Tamil Nadu Olympic Federation recognised silambam as a traditional sport, but it was not recognised by the Sports Ministry of India and Indian Olympic Association.[180]

Tamil cuisine

Main article: Tamil cuisine

Tamil cuisine includes vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. Some Tamils are vegetarian because of religious reasons.[181][page needed] Rice is mostly eaten with vegetarian and non-vegetarian curries. Traditionally, the Tamils sit on the ground and the food is served on a banana leaf. The traditional foods are eaten with the right hand. Dishes such as dosa, idli, and vadai are served with sambar, chutney or in Sri Lanka with coconut sambal. Rasam replaces soup in Tamil cuisine. The Tamil cuisine in Sri Lanka differs little from that of South India.[182] A famous Sri Lankan Tamil specialty is kottu roti, available in most Sri Lankan restaurants in the country and abroad[citation needed].

Notable Tamil people

Main article: List of Tamil people

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Statistic includes all speakers of the Tamil language, as many multi-generation individuals do not speak the language as a mother tongue, but instead as a second or third language.
  2. ^ Note: The Singapore Tamil population data excludes Tamils who were unable to speak and those in one-person households and households comprising only unrelated persons.
  3. ^ Tamils in Sri Lanka are classified into three ethnicities by the Sri Lankan government, namely Sri Lankan Tamils, Indian Origin Tamils and Sri Lankan Moors who accounted for 11.2%, 4.1% and 9.3% respectively of the country's population in 2011.[9] Indian Origin Tamils were separately classified in the 1911 census onwards, while the Sri Lankan government lists a substantial Tamil-speaking Muslim population as a distinct ethnicity. However, much of the available genealogical evidence suggests that the Sri Lankan Moor community are of Tamil ethnicity, and that the majority of their ancestors were also Tamils who had lived in the country for generations, and had simply converted to Islam from other faiths.[10][11][12] It is also evidenced by the fact that Sri Lankan Moors were not a self-defined group of people and neither did the 'Moor' identity exist before the arrival of Portuguese colonists.[citation needed]

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Further reading

  • Bowers, F. (1956). Theatre in the East – A Survey of Asian Dance and Drama. Grove Press.
  • Chaitanya, Krishna (1971). A history of Malayalam literature. Orient Longman. ISBN 81-250-0488-2.
  • Hart, G. L. (1979). "The Nature of Tamil Devotion". In Deshpande, M. M.; Hook, P. E. (eds.). Aryan and Non-Aryan in India. Ann Arbor. pp. 11–33. ISBN 0-89148-014-5.
  • Hart, G. L. (1987). "Early Evidence for Caste in South India". In Hockings, P. (ed.). Dimensions of Social Life: Essays in honor of David B. Mandelbaum. Mouton Gruyter.
  • Keay, John (2000). India: A History. New York: Grove Publications. ISBN 978-0-8021-3797-5.
  • Varadpande, M. L. (1992). Loka Ranga: Panorama of Indian Folk Theatre. Abhinav Publications. ISBN 81-7017-278-0.
  • Zvebil, K. (1974). The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India. Brill. ISBN 90-04-03591-5.

External links

January 12, 2023
tamils, tamil, people, also, known, tamilar, tamil, தம, ழர, romanized, tamiḻar, pronounced, amiɻaɾ, singular, தம, ழர, கள, tamiḻarkaḷ, amiɻaɾɣaɭ, plural, simply, dravidian, ethno, linguistic, group, trace, their, ancestry, mainly, india, southern, state, tamil,. The Tamil people also known as Tamilar Tamil தம ழர romanized Tamiḻar pronounced t amiɻaɾ in the singular or தம ழர கள Tamiḻarkaḷ t amiɻaɾɣaɭ in the plural or simply Tamils ˈ t ae m ɪ l s are a Dravidian ethno linguistic group who trace their ancestry mainly to India s southern state of Tamil Nadu union territory of Puducherry and to Sri Lanka Tamils who speak the Tamil Language and are born in Tamil clans are considered Tamilians 8 Tamils constitute 5 9 of the population in India concentrated mainly in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry 15 in Sri Lanka excluding Sri Lankan Moors note 3 7 in Malaysia 6 in Mauritius 13 and 5 in Singapore Tamilsதம ழர Tamil bride and groom performing the ritual of metti anidalTotal populationc 76 million 1 Regions with significant populations India69 026 881 2011 2 Sri Lanka3 135 770 2012 3 Malaysia1 800 000 1 United States238 699 4 Canada237 890 2021 5 note 1 Singapore192 665 2015 6 7 note 2 OtherSee Tamil diasporaLanguagesTamilReligionMajority HinduismMinority ChristianityIslamBuddhismJainismJudaism citation needed Related ethnic groupsDravidiansFrom the 4th century BCE 14 urbanisation and mercantile activity along the western and eastern coasts of what is today Kerala and Tamil Nadu led to the development of four large Tamil empires the Cheras Cholas Pandyas and Pallavas and a number of smaller states all of whom were warring amongst themselves for dominance The Jaffna Kingdom inhabited by Sri Lankan Tamils was once one of the strongest kingdoms of Sri Lanka and controlled much of the north of the island Tamils were noted for their influence on regional trade throughout the Indian Ocean Artefacts marking the presence of Roman traders demonstrate that direct trade was active between Ancient Rome and Southern India and the Pandyas were recorded as having sent at least two embassies directly to the Roman Emperor Augustus in Rome The Pandyas and Cholas were historically active in Sri Lanka The Chola dynasty successfully invaded several areas in southeast Asia including the powerful Srivijaya and the city state of Kedah 15 Medieval Tamil guilds and trading organizations like the Ayyavole and Manigramam played an important role in Southeast Asian trading networks 16 Pallava traders and religious leaders travelled to Southeast Asia and played an important role in the cultural Indianisation of the region Scripts brought by Tamil traders to Southeast Asia like the Grantha and Pallava scripts induced the development of many Southeast Asian scripts such as Khmer Javanese Kawi Baybayin and Thai The Tamil language is one of the world s longest surviving classical languages 17 18 with a history dating back to 300 BCE Tamil literature is dominated by poetry especially Sangam literature which is composed of poems composed between 300 BCE and 300 CE The most important Tamil author was the poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar who wrote the Tirukkuṛaḷ a group of treatises on ethics politics love and morality widely considered the greatest work of Tamil literature 19 Tamil visual art is dominated by stylized Temple architecture in major centres and the productions of images of deities in stone and bronze Chola bronzes especially the Nataraja sculptures of the Chola period have become notable symbols of Hinduism A major part of Tamil performing arts is its classical form of dance the Bharatanatyam whereas the popular forms are known as Koothu Classical Tamil music is dominated by the Carnatic genre while gaana and dappan koothu are also popular genres Tamil is an official language in Sri Lanka and Singapore In 2004 Tamil was the first of six to be designated as a classical language of India 20 Although most Tamil people are Hindus Shaivism many follow a particular way of religious practice that is considered to be the Ancient Tamil religion venerating a plethora of village deities and Ancient Tamil Gods 21 22 A smaller number are Christians and Muslims and a small Jain community survives from the classical period as well Tamil cuisine is informed by varied vegetarian and non vegetarian items usually spiced with locally available spices The music the temple architecture and the stylized sculptures favoured by the Tamil people as in their ancient nation are still being learnt and practised English historian and broadcaster Michael Wood called the Tamils the last surviving classical civilization on Earth because the Tamils have preserved substantial elements of their past regarding belief culture music and literature despite the influence of globalization 23 Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2 1 In India 2 1 1 Pre historic period 2 1 2 Classical period 2 1 3 Economy trade and maritime 2 1 4 Imperial and post imperial periods 2 2 In Sri Lanka 2 2 1 Pre Anuradhapura period 2 2 2 Anuradhapura period 2 2 3 Polonnaruwa period to the Kandyan period 2 2 4 British occupation amp contemporary Sri Lanka 3 Geographic distribution 3 1 India 3 2 Sri Lanka 3 3 Tamil diaspora 4 Culture 4 1 Language and literature 4 2 Religion 4 3 Martial traditions 4 3 1 Traditional weapons 4 4 Visual art and architecture 4 5 Music 4 6 Performing arts 4 6 1 Film and theatre arts 4 7 Sports in Tamil Nadu 4 8 Tamil cuisine 5 Notable Tamil people 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 8 1 Sources 9 Further reading 10 External linksEtymologyIt is unknown whether the term Tamiḻar and its equivalents in Prakrit such as Damela Dameda Dhamila and Damila was a self designation or a term denoted by outsiders Epigraphic evidence of an ethnicity termed as such is found in ancient Sri Lanka where a number of inscriptions have come to light dating from the 2nd century BCE mentioning Damela or Dameda persons The well known Hathigumpha inscription of the Kalinga ruler Kharavela refers to a T ra mira samghata Confederacy of Tamil rulers dated to 150 BCE It also mentions that the league of Tamil kingdoms had been in existence 113 years before then In Amaravati located in present day Andhra Pradesh there is an inscription referring to a Dhamila vaniya Tamil trader datable to the 3rd century CE 24 In the Buddhist Jataka story known as Akiti Jataka there is a mention of a Damila rattha Tamil dynasty There were trade relationship between the Roman Empire and Pandyan Empire As recorded by the Hellenistic Greek historian and geographer Strabo the Roman Emperor Augustus of Rome received at Antioch an ambassador from a king called Pandyan of Dramira citation needed Hence it is clear that by at least 300 BCE the ethnic identity of Tamils was formed as a distinct group 24 Tamiḻar is etymologically related to Tamil the language spoken by Tamil people Southworth suggests that the name comes from tam miz gt tam iz self speak or our own speech 25 Zvelebil suggests an etymology of tam iz with tam meaning self or one s self and iz having the connotation of unfolding sound Alternatively he suggests a derivation of tamiz lt tam iz lt tav iz lt tak iz meaning in origin the proper process of speaking 26 HistorySee also History of Tamil Nadu and Sources of ancient Tamil history In India Pre historic period Possible evidence indicating the earliest presence of Tamil people in modern day Tamil Nadu are the megalithic urn burials dating from around 1500 BCE and onwards which have been discovered at various locations in Tamil Nadu notably in Adichanallur in Thoothukudi District 27 28 full citation needed which conform to the descriptions of funerals in classical Tamil literature 29 Various legends became prevalent after the 10th century CE regarding the antiquity of the Tamil people According to Iraiyanar Agapporul a 10th 11th century annotation on the Sangam literature the Tamil country extended southwards beyond the natural boundaries of the Indian peninsula comprising 49 ancient nadus divisions The land was supposed to have been destroyed by a deluge The Sangam legends also alluded to the antiquity of the Tamil people by claiming tens of thousands of years of continuous literary activity during three Sangams 30 Classical period Grey pottery with engravings Arikamedu 1st century CE Ancient Tamils had three monarchical states headed by kings called Vendhar and several tribal chieftainships headed by the chiefs called by the general denomination Vel or Velir 31 Still lower at the local level there were clan chiefs called kizhar or mannar 32 The Tamil kings and chiefs were always in conflict with each other mostly over territorial hegemony and property The royal courts were mostly places of social gathering rather than places of dispensation of authority they were centres for distribution of resources Ancient Tamil Sangam literature and grammatical works Tolkappiyam the ten anthologies Pattuppaṭṭu and the eight anthologies Eṭṭuttokai also shed light on ancient Tamil people 33 page needed The kings and chieftains were patrons of the arts and a significant volume of literature exists from this period The literature shows that many of the cultural practices that are considered peculiarly Tamil date back to the classical period 34 Agriculture was important during this period and there is evidence that networks of irrigation channels were built as early as the 3rd century BCE 35 Internal and external trade flourished and evidence of significant contact with Ancient Rome exists Large quantities of Roman coins and signs of the presence of Roman traders have been discovered at Karur and Arikamedu 36 There is evidence that at least two embassies were sent to the Roman Emperor Augustus by Pandya kings 37 Potsherds with Tamil writing have also been found in excavations on the Red Sea suggesting the presence of Tamil merchants there 38 full citation needed An anonymous 1st century traveller s account written in Greek Periplus Maris Erytraei describes the ports of the Pandya and Chera kingdoms in Damirica and their commercial activity in great detail Periplus also indicates that the chief exports of the ancient Tamils were pepper malabathrum pearls ivory silk spikenard diamonds sapphires and tortoiseshell 39 The classical period ended around the 4th century CE with invasions by the Kalabhra referred to as the kalappirar in Tamil literature and inscriptions 40 41 These invaders are described as evil kings and barbarians coming from lands to the north of the Tamil country but modern historians think they could have been hill tribes who lived north of Tamil country 42 This period commonly referred to as the Dark Age of the Tamil country ended with the rise of the Pallava dynasty 43 page needed 44 Megalithic sarcophagus burial from Tamil Nadu Virampatnam jewelry from funerary burial 2nd century BCE Tamil Nadu Souttoukeny jewelry 2nd century BCE Tamil Nadu Map of ancient oceanic trade and ports of Tamilakam Tamiḻakam during Sangam PeriodEconomy trade and maritime Main article Economy of ancient Tamil country The Tamil country is strategically located in the Indian Ocean and had access to a sea trade route Imperial and post imperial periods The Varaha cave bas relief at Mahabalipuram from 7th century CE The names of the three dynasties Cholas Pandyas and Cheras are mentioned in Tamil Sangam literature and grammatical works like Tolkappiyar refers to them as the Three Glorified by Heaven Tamil வ ண ப கழ ம வர Vaṉpukaḻ Muvar 45 Later they are mentioned in the Mauryan Empire s Pillars of Ashoka inscribed 273 232 BCE inscriptions among the kingdoms which though not subject to Ashoka were on friendly and allied terms with him 46 The king of Kalinga Kharavela who ruled around 150 BCE is mentioned in the Hathigumpha inscription of the confederacy of the Tamil kingdoms that had existed for over 100 years 47 The Cholas Pandyas Cheras and Pallavas were followers of Hinduism though for a short while some of them seem to have embraced Jainism and later converted to Hinduism 43 page needed After the fall of the Mauryan Empire the Tamil kingdoms were allied with the Satavahana Dynasty Tiruvannamalai city and Annamalaiyar temple Tamil architecture and culture influenced much of Southeast Asia between the 8th to 13th century CE These early kingdoms sponsored the growth of some of the oldest extant literature in Tamil The classical Tamil literature referred to as Sangam literature is attributed to the period between 300 BCE and 300 CE 48 30 The poems of Sangam literature which deal with emotional and material topics were categorised and collected into various anthologies during the medieval period These Sangam poems paint the picture of a fertile land and of a people who were organised into various occupational groups The governance of the land was through hereditary monarchies although the sphere of the state s activities and the extent of the ruler s powers were limited through the adherence to the established order dharma Although the Pallava records can be traced from the 2nd century CE they did not rise to prominence as an imperial dynasty until the 6th century citation needed They transformed the institution of the kingship into an imperial one and sought to bring vast amounts of territory under their direct rule The Bhakti movement in Hinduism was founded at this time and rose along with the growing influence of Jainism and Buddhism 49 The Pallavas pioneered the building of large ornate temples in stone which formed the basis of the Dravidian temple architecture They came into conflict with the Kannada Chalukyas of Badami During this period the great Badami Chalukya King Pulakeshin II extended the Chalukya Empire up to the northern extents of the Pallava kingdom and defeated the Pallavas in several battles 50 page needed Pallava Narasimhavarman however reversed this victory in 642 by attacking and occupying Badami temporarily 51 However a later Chalukya King Vikramaditya II took revenge by repeated invasions of the territory of Tondaimandalam and his subsequent victories over Pallava Nandivarman II and the annexation of Kanchipuram 52 The Pallava dynasty was overthrown in the 9th century by the imperial Kannada Rashtrakutas who ruled from Gulbarga Krishna III the last great Rashtrakuta king consolidated the empire so that it stretched from the Narmada River to the Kaveri River and included the northern Tamil country Tondaimandalam while levying tribute on the king of Ceylon 53 The Tamil Chola Empire at its height 1030 CE Under Rajaraja Chola and his son Rajendra Chola the Cholas became dominant in the 10th century and established an empire covering most of South India and Sri Lanka citation needed The empire had strong trading links with the Chinese Song Dynasty and southeast Asia 54 55 The Cholas defeated the Eastern Chalukya and expanded their empire to the Ganges They conquered the coastal areas around the Bay of Bengal and turned it into a Chola lake Rajendra Chola improved his father s fleet and created the first notable marine of the Indian subcontinent The Chola navy conquered the dominant Southeast Asian power the Srivijaya Empire and secured the sea trade route to China 56 Cholas exacted tribute from Thailand and the Khmer Empire The latter half of the 11th century saw the union of Chola and Vengi kingdoms under Kulottunga I 57 full citation needed The Chola emperor decisively repulsed an invasion by the Western Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI who had tried to interfere in Chola politics by installing his puppet and their defeat of him led to their annexation of Gangavadi and Konkan regions Vikramaditya VI was confined to his own dominions north of the Tungabhadra 58 The Chola empire remained formidable during the reign of Kulottunga and maintained its influence over the various kingdoms of Southeast Asia like the Sri Vijaya empire 59 full citation needed 60 According to historian Nilakanta Sastri Kulottunga avoided unnecessary wars and had a long and prosperous reign characterized by unparalleled success that laid the foundation for the well being of the empire for the next 150 years 61 The eventual decline of Chola power in South India began towards the end of Kulottunga III s reign It was accentuated by the resurgence of Pandyas under Maravarman Sundara Pandya 1216 1238 CE 56 The waning Chola fortunes resulted in a three way fight for the Tamil regions between the Pandyas the Hoysalas and the Kakatiyas Even the Kadava chief Kopperunjinga rebelled against his Chola overlord Rajaraja III and asserted his independence citation needed The Hoysalas played a divisive role in the politics of the Tamil country during this period They thoroughly exploited the lack of unity among the Tamil kingdoms and alternately supported one Tamil kingdom against the other thereby preventing both the Cholas and Pandyas from rising to their full potential During the period of Rajaraja III the Hoysalas sided with the Cholas and defeated the Kadava chieftain Kopperunjinga and the Pandyas and established a presence in the Tamil country Rajendra Chola III who succeeded Rajaraja III was a much better ruler who took bold steps to revive the Chola fortunes He led successful expeditions to the north as attested by his epigraphs found as far as Cuddappah 62 He also defeated two Pandya princes one of whom was Maravarman Sundara Pandya II and briefly made the Pandyas submit to the Chola overlordship The Hoysalas under Vira Someswara were quick to intervene and this time they sided with the Pandyas and repulsed the Cholas in order to counter the latter s revival 63 Tamil history turned a new leaf with the advent of the warrior prince Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I In the ensuing wars for supremacy he emerged as the single most victorious ruler and the Pandya kingdom reached its zenith in the 13th century during his reign Jatavarman Sundara Pandya first put an end to Hoysala interference by expelling them from the Kaveri delta and subsequently killed their king Vira Someswara in 1262 AD near Srirangam He then defeated Kopperunjinga the Kadava chieftain and turned him into a vassal The Pandya then turned his attention to the north and annexed Kanchi by killing the Telugu chief Vijaya Gandagopala He then marched up to Nellore and celebrated his victories there by doing the virabisheka anointment of heroes after defeating the Kakatiya ruler Ganapati Meanwhile his lieutenant Vira Pandya defeated the king of Lanka and obtained the submission of the island nation 64 In the 14th century the Pandyan empire was engulfed in a civil war and also had to face repeated invasions by the Delhi Sultanate In 1335 Madurai the Pandyan capital was conquered by Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan and a short lived Madurai Sultanate was established but was captured in 1378 by the Vijayanagara Empire Throughout the 15th century the Vijayanagara Empire was the dominant power of South India In the early 16th century about 1520 CE Virasekhara Chola king of Tanjore rose out of obscurity and plundered the dominions of the then Pandya prince in south The Pandya who was under the protection of the Vijayanagara appealed to the emperor and the Raya accordingly directed his agent Karyakartta Nagama Nayaka who was stationed in the south to put down the Chola Nagama Nayaka then defeated the Chola but to everyone s surprise the once loyal officer of Krishnadeva Raya defied the emperor for some reason and decided to keep Madurai for himself 65 Krishnadeva Raya is then said to have dispatched Nagama s son Viswanatha who defeated his father and restored Madurai to Vijayanagara 66 The fate of Virasekhara Chola the last of the line of Cholas is not known It is speculated that he either fell in battle or was put to death along with his heirs during his encounter with Vijayanagara 67 Later when the Vijayanagara empire crumbled and fell after the Battle of Talikota in 1565 CE the Nayaks who had once been viceroys asserted their independence and ruled independently from Madurai and Thanjavur 68 The area west of the Western Ghats became increasingly politically distinct from the Eastern parts ruled by Chola and Pandya Dynasties 69 Kerala was until 9th century culturally and linguistically part of Tamilakam with the local Koduntamil evolving to Malayalam 70 This socio culturally transformation was altered through Sanskrit speaking Indo Aryan migration from Northern India in the 8th century 71 In Sri Lanka Main article Sri Lankan Tamils Megalithic burial urns or jar found in Pomparippu North Western Sri Lanka dated to at least five to two centuries before the Common Era These are similar to Megalithic burial jars found in South India and the Deccan during a similar time frame 72 There is little scholarly consensus over the presence of Tamil people in Sri Lanka 73 One theory is that cultural diffusion well before Sinhalese arrival in Sri Lanka led to Tamil replacing a previous language of an indigenous Mesolithic population that became the Sri Lankan Tamils 74 According to their tradition Sri Lankan Tamils are lineal descendants of the aboriginal Naga and Yaksha people of Sri Lanka The Nakar used the cobra totem known as Nakam in the Tamil language which is still part of the Hindu Tamil tradition in Sri Lanka today as a subordinate deity 75 Pre Anuradhapura period Settlements of people culturally similar to those of present day Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu in modern India were excavated at megalithic burial sites at Pomparippu on the west coast and in Kathiraveli on the east coast of the island with villages established between the 5th century BCE and 2nd century CE 76 77 Cultural similarities in burial practices in South India and Sri Lanka were dated by archeologists to the 10th century BCE However Indian history and archaeology have pushed the date back to the 15th century BCE and in Sri Lanka there is radiometric evidence from Anuradhapura that the non Brahmi symbol bearing black and red ware occurs at least around the 9th or 10th century BCE 78 Anuradhapura period Early South Indian type black and red ware potsherds found in Sri Lanka indicate that both region were bound by similar culture and identity 79 The many Brahmic inscriptions found in Sri Lanka with Tamil clan names such as Parumakal Ay Vel Uti Utiyan Tissa Ticaiyan Cuda Cula Cola Naka etc point out to early close affinity between Sri Lanka and South India 80 Potsherds with early Tamil writing from the 2nd century BCE have been found in excavations in north of the Sri Lanka in Poonagari bearing several inscriptions including a clan name vela a name related to velir from ancient Tamil country 81 Tamil Brahmi inscribed potsherds have also been excavated in the south of the island in Tissamaharama There is epigraphic evidence of people identifying themselves as Damelas or Damedas the Prakrit word for Tamil people in Anuradhapura the capital city of Rajarata and other areas of Sri Lanka as early as the 2nd century BCE 82 Historical records establish that Tamil kingdoms in modern India were closely involved in the island s affairs from about the 2nd century BCE 83 84 In Mahavamsa a historical poem ethnic Tamil adventurers such as Elara invaded the island around 145 BCE 85 Tamil soldiers from what is now South India were brought to Anuradhapura between the 7th and 11th centuries CE in such large numbers that local chiefs and kings trying to establish legitimacy came to rely on them 86 By the 8th century CE there were Tamil villages collectively known as Demel kaballa Tamil allotment Demelat valademin Tamil villages and Demel gam bim Tamil villages and lands 87 Polonnaruwa period to the Kandyan period In the 9th and 10th centuries CE Pandya and Chola incursions into Sri Lanka culminated in the Chola annexation of the island which lasted until the latter half of the 11th century CE after which Chola influence declined in Sri Lanka 86 88 The Chola decline in Sri Lanka was followed by the restoration of the Polonnaruwa monarchy in the late 11th century CE 89 In 1215 following Pandya invasions the Tamil dominant Aryacakaravarthi dynasty established the Jaffna Kingdom 90 on the Jaffna peninsula and in parts of northern Sri Lanka The Aryacakaravarthi expansion into the south was halted by Akalesvara Alagakkonara the descendant of a powerful feudal family from Kanchipuram that migrated to Sri Lanka around the 13th century and converted to Buddhism 91 Akalesvara was the chief minister of the Sinhalese king Parakramabahu V 1344 59 CE and soon became the real power behind the throne Vira Alakeshwara a descendant of Alagakkonara later became king of the Sinhalese 92 but the Ming admiral Zheng He overthrew him in 1409 and took him as a captive to China after which his family declined in influence The Aryachakaravarthi dynasty continued to rule over large parts of northeast Sri Lanka until the Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna Kingdom in 1619 The coastal areas of the island were taken over by the Dutch and then became part of the British Empire in 1796 The English sailor Robert Knox described walking into the island s Tamil country in the publication An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon annotating some kingdoms within it on a map in 1681 93 Upon the arrival of European powers from the 17th century the Tamils separate nation was described by whom in their areas of habitation in the northeast of the island 94 The caste structure of the majority Sinhalese has also accommodated Hindu immigrants from South India since the 13th century CE This led to the emergence of three new Sinhalese caste groups The Radala the Salagama the Durava and the Karava 95 96 97 The Hindu migration and assimilation continued until the 18th century 95 British occupation amp contemporary Sri Lanka British colonists consolidated the Tamil territory in southern India into the Madras Presidency which was integrated into British India Similarly the majority Tamil speaking parts of Sri Lanka joined with the other regions of the island in 1802 to form the Ceylon colony unitl it gained independence in 1948 with both Sinhalese and Tamil populations Irrespective of the ethnic differences the British imposed a unitary state structure in British Ceylon for better administration 98 full citation needed During the British colonial rule many Tamils held higher positions than the Sinhalese in the government because they were favoured by the British for their qualification in English education In the Sri Lankan highlands the lands of the Sinhalese were seized by the British and Indian Tamils were settled there as plantation workers 99 After the British colonial rule in Sri Lanka ended ethnic tension between the Sinhalese and the Sri Lankan Tamils rose The Sinhalese constituting a majority of the country resented the minority Tamils having huge power in the island In 1948 about 700 000 Indian Tamil tea plantation workers from Sri Lanka were made stateless and deported to India In 1956 the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka passed the Sinhala Only Act an act where Sinhala replaced English as the only official language of Sri Lanka Due to this many Tamils were forced to resign as civil servants public servants because they were not fluent in Sinhala 100 The Sri Lankan Tamils saw the act as linguistic cultural and economic discrimination against them After anti Tamil pogroms in 1956 1958 and 1977 and a brutal crackdown against Tamils protesting against these acts guerrilla groups like the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Tamil Tigers were established by whom They aimed to set up an independent Tamil state Tamil Eelam for majority Tamil regions in Sri Lanka From the 1970s to the late 2000s Tamil Eelam was a proposed independent state that Sri Lankan Tamils and the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora aspire to establish in the north and east of Sri Lanka 101 102 The burning of Jaffna library in 1981 and Black July in 1983 finally led to over 25 years of war between the Sri Lankan army and the Tamil Tigers in which both sides committed numerous atrocities This Sri Lankan Civil War led to death of over 100 000 people according to the United Nations 103 The Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tigers allegedly committed war crimes against the civilian Sri Lankan Tamil people during the final months of the Eelam War IV phase in 2009 when the leader of the Tigers Prabhakaran was killed 104 The war led to the flight of over 800 000 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees many going to the UK and India Geographic distributionIndia Tamil girls dressed in traditional attire ca 1870 Tamil Nadu India Most Tamils in India live in the state of Tamil Nadu Tamils are the majority in the union territory of Puducherry a former French colony Puducherry is a subnational enclave situated within Tamil Nadu Tamils account for at least one sixth of the population in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands citation needed There are significant Tamil communities in other parts of India Most of these have emerged fairly recently dating to the colonial and post colonial periods but some date back to the medieval period citation needed Significant populations reside in Karnataka 3 million Maharashtra 0 4 million Andhra Pradesh 1 2 million Kerala 0 6 million Gujarat 0 1 million and the National Capital Region 0 1 million 105 Sri Lanka See also Sri Lankan Tamils Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan Moors Distribution of Tamil speakers in South India and Sri Lanka 1981 There are two groups of Tamils in Sri Lanka the Sri Lankan Tamils and the Indian Tamils The Sri Lankan Tamils or Ceylon Tamils are descendants of the Tamils of the old Jaffna Kingdom and east coast chieftaincies called Vannimais The Indian Tamils or Hill Country Tamils are descendants of bonded laborers who migrated from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka in the 19th century to work on tea plantations 106 There also exists a significant Muslim population in Sri Lanka who are speakers of the Tamil language Due to independent lineage they are listed 10 12 as Moors by the Sri Lankan government 107 108 Most Sri Lankan Tamils live in the Northern and Eastern provinces and in the capital Colombo whereas most Indian Tamils live in the central highlands 108 Historically both groups have seen themselves as separate communities although there has been a greater sense of unity since the 1980s 109 Under the terms of an agreement reached between the Sri Lankan and Indian governments in the 1960s about 40 percent of the Indian Tamils were granted Sri Lankan citizenship and many of the remainder were repatriated to India By the 1990s most Indian Tamils had received Sri Lankan citizenship 110 Tamil diaspora Main articles Tamil diaspora and Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora See also Tamil Malaysians Tamil South Africans Tamil Canadians Tamil British Tamil Americans Tamil Indonesian Myanmar Tamils Tamils in Reunion and Malbars Tamil woman in traditional attire c 1880 Sri Lanka Batu Caves temple built by Tamil Malaysians in c 1880s Significant Tamil emigration began in the 18th century when the British colonial government sent many middle class and poor Tamils as indentured labourers to far off parts of the Empire especially Malaya Burma South Africa Fiji Mauritius Trinidad and Tobago Guyana Suriname Jamaica French Guiana Guadeloupe and Martinique At about the same time many Tamil businessmen also migrated to other parts of the British Empire particularly to Burma and East Africa 111 Many Tamils still live in these countries and the Tamil communities in Singapore Reunion Island Malaysia Myanmar and South Africa have retained much of their original culture tradition and language Many Malaysian children attend Tamil schools and a significant portion of Tamil children are brought up with Tamil as their first language In Singapore Mauritius and Reunion Tamil students learn Tamil as their second language in school In Singapore to preserve the Tamil language the government has made it an official language despite Tamils comprising only about 5 of the population and has also introduced compulsory instruction of the language for Tamils Other Tamil communities such as those in South Africa Fiji Mauritius Trinidad and Tobago Guyana Suriname Jamaica French Guiana Guadeloupe Pakistan Martinique and the Caribbean no longer speak Tamil language as a first language but still retain a strong Tamil identity and are able to understand the language while most elders speak it as a first language 112 dubious discuss There is a very small Tamil community in Pakistan notably settled since the partition in 1947 113 A large emigration also began in the 1980s as Sri Lankan Tamils sought to escape the ethnic conflict there These recent emigrants have most often moved to Australia Europe North America and southeast Asia 114 page needed Today the largest concentration of Sri Lankan Tamils outside Sri Lanka can be found in Toronto 115 CultureFurther information South Indian culture Tamil culture and Tamil cuisine Language and literature Main articles Tamil language Tamil literature Sri Lankan Tamil dialects and Sri Lankan Tamil literature Sage Agathiyar one of the contributors of old Tamil literature Tamils have strong attachment to the Tamil language which is often venerated in literature as Tamil an n ai the Tamil mother 116 full citation needed It has historically been and to large extent still is central to the Tamil identity 117 full citation needed It is a Dravidian language with little relation to the Indo European languages of northern India The language has been far less influenced by Sanskrit than the other Dravidian languages and preserves many features of Proto Dravidian though modern day spoken Tamil in Tamil Nadu freely uses loanwords from Sanskrit and English 118 Tamil literature is of considerable antiquity and underpins the decision to recognise Tamil as a classical language by the government of India Classical Tamil literature which ranges from lyric poetry to works on poetics and ethical philosophy is remarkably different from contemporary and later literature in other Indian languages and represents the oldest body of secular literature in South Asia 119 page needed Religion See also Religion in ancient Tamil country and Dravidian folk religion Tamil religion denotes the religious traditions and practices of Tamil speaking people The Tamils are native to modern state of India known as Tamil Nadu and the northern and eastern part of Sri Lanka Tamils also live outside their native boundaries due to migration such as Malaysia Singapore Indonesia South Africa Australia Great Britain United States Canada Reunion Myanmar Mauritius and in countries in Europe Many emigrant Tamils retain elements of a cultural linguistic and religious tradition that predates the Christian era Ancient Tamil grammatical works Tolkappiyam the ten anthologies Pathupattu and the eight anthologies Ettuthogai shed light on early religion Murugan was glorified as the red god seated on the blue peacock who is ever young and resplendent as the favored god of the Tamils Sivan was also seen as the supreme God 33 page needed The Sangam landscape was classified into five categories thinais based on the mood the season and the land Tolkappiyam mentions that each of these thinai had an associated deity such as Seyyon in Kurinji the hills Thirumal in Mullai the forests Vendhan in Marutham the plains Kadalon in the Neithal the coasts amp the seas and Kottravai in Paalai the deserts Other gods mentioned were Mayyon and Vaali who are major deities in Hinduism today Mercantile groups from Tamilakam and Kerala introduced Cholapauttam a syncretic form of Buddhism and Shaivism in northern Sri Lanka and Southern India This religion was transmitted through the Tamil language The religion lost its importance in the 14th century when conditions changed for the benefit of Sinhala Pali traditions 120 Meenakshi Amman temple dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi tutelary deity of Madurai city The cult of the mother goddess is treated as an indication of a society which venerated femininity Amman Mariamman Durgai Lakshmi Saraswati Kali and Saptakanniyar are venerated in all their forms 121 page needed The temples of the Sangam days mainly of Madurai seem to have had priestesses to the deity who also appear predominantly as goddesses citation needed In the Sangam literature there is an elaborate description of the rites performed by the Kurava priestess in the shrine Palamutircholai 122 About 88 123 of the population of Tamil Nadu were Hindus in 2001 Erwadi durgah in Ramanathapuram district is a major pilgrimage shrine of the Tamil Muslims In Tamil Nadu Christians and Muslims accounted for 6 and 5 8 respectively in 2001 123 The majority of Muslims in Tamil Nadu speak Tamil 124 with less than 15 of them reporting Urdu as their mother tongue 125 Tamil Jains now number only a few thousand 126 Atheist rationalist and humanist philosophies are also adhered by sizeable minorities 127 The Om symbol in Tamil script The most popular Tamil deity is Murugan he is known as the patron god of the Tamils and is also called Tamil Kadavul Tamil God 128 129 full citation needed In Tamil tradition Murugan is the youngest and Pillaiyar the oldest son of Sivan and Parvati The goddess Parvati is often depicted as a goddess with green skin complexion in Tamil Hindu tradition The worship of Amman also called Mariamman thought to have been derived from an ancient mother goddess is also very common 130 Kannagi the heroine of the Cilappatikaram is worshipped as Pattini by many Tamils particularly in Sri Lanka 131 There are also many followers of Ayyavazhi in Tamil Nadu mainly in the southern districts 132 In addition there are many temples and devotees of Thirumal Sivan Pillaiyar and the other Hindu deities Muslims across Tamil Nadu follow Hanafi and Shafi i schools while the Tamil Muslims in Sri Lanka follow the Shadhili school While the Marakkayar Labbai and Kayalar sects claim descent from the Arab world the Rowther sects Claim descent from the Turkic world 133 Aiyanar guardian folk deity of Tamil Nadu Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni Tamil Nadu Among the ancient Tamils the practice of erecting memorial stones natukal had appeared and it continued for quite a long time after the Sangam age down to about the 16th century 134 It was customary for people who sought victory in war to worship these hero stones to bless them with victory 135 They often carry inscriptions displaying a variety of adornments including bas relief panels friezes and figures on carved stone citation needed The most important Tamil festivals are Pongal a harvest festival that occurs in mid January and Varudapirappu the Tamil New Year which occurs on 14 April Both are celebrated by almost all Tamils regardless of religion The Hindu festival Deepavali is celebrated with fanfare other local Hindu festivals include Thaipusam Panguni Uttiram and Adiperukku While Adiperukku is celebrated with more pomp in the Cauvery region than in others the Ayyavazhi Festival Ayya Vaikunda Avataram is predominantly celebrated in the southern districts of Kanyakumari District Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi citation needed In rural Tamil Nadu many local deities called aiyyanars are thought to be the spirits of local heroes who protect the village from harm 136 Their worship often centres around natukal stones erected in memory of heroes who died in battle This form of worship is mentioned frequently in classical literature and appears to be the surviving remnants of an ancient Tamil tradition 137 Munis are a group of guardian gods who are worshiped by Tamils The Saivist tradition of Hinduism is significantly represented amongst Tamils more so among Sri Lankan Tamils although most of the Saivist places of religious significance are in northern India The Alvars and Nayanars who were predominantly Tamils played a key role in the renaissance of Bhakti tradition in India In the 10th century the philosopher Ramanuja propagated the theory of Visishtadvaitam 138 Kambaramayanam is the Tamil version of the Hindu epic Ramayana which was written by the Tamil poet Kambar during the 12th century The Tamil version is smaller than the original Ramayana written by Valmiki It is not a translation but tells the story in a different perspective citation needed Tamil Jains constituted around 0 13 of the population of Tamil Nadu in 2001 123 Many of the classical Tamil literature works were written by Jains 139 full citation needed According to George L Hart the legend of the Tamil Sangams or literary assemblies was based on the Jain sangham at Madurai 140 Martial traditions Various martial arts including Kuttu Varisai Varma Kalai Silambam Adithada and Malyutham are practised in Tamil Nadu 141 The warm up phase includes yoga meditation and breathing exercises Silambam originated in ancient Tamilakam and was patronized by the Pandyans Cholas and Cheras who ruled over this region Silapathiharam Tamil literature from the 2nd century CE refers to the sale of Silamabam instructions weapons and equipment to foreign traders 142 Since the early Sangam age there was a warlike culture in South India War was regarded as an honorable sacrifice and fallen heroes and kings were worshiped in the form of a hero stone Each warrior was trained in martial arts horse riding and specialized in two of the weapons of that period Vel spear Val sword and Vil bow 143 Heroic martyrdom was glorified in ancient Tamil literature The Tamil kings and warriors followed an honour code similar to that of Japanese samurai and committed suicide to preserve honor The forms of martial suicide were known as Avipalli Thannai Verttal Marakkanchi Vatakkiruttal and Punkilithu Mudiyum Maram Avipalli was mentioned in all the works except Veera Soliyam It was a self sacrifice of a warrior to the goddess of war for the victory of his commander 144 full citation needed The Tamil rebels in Sri Lanka reflected some elements of Tamil martial traditions which included worship of fallen heroes Maaveerar Naal and practice of martial suicide They carried a suicide pill around their neck to escape captivity and torture 145 full citation needed Katar Tamil dagger which was popular throughout South Asia Wootz steel originated in South India and Sri Lanka 146 dead link 147 There are several ancient Tamil Greek Chinese and Roman literary references to high carbon Indian steel since the time of Alexander s India campaign The crucible steel production process started in the sixth century BCE at Kodumanal in Tamil Nadu Golconda in Andhra Pradesh in Karnataka and in Sri Lanka It was exported globally with the Tamils of the Chera Dynasty producing what was termed the finest steel in the world by whom i e Seric Iron to the Romans Egyptians Chinese and Arabs by 500 BCE 148 149 page needed 150 The steel was exported as cakes of steely iron that came to be known as Wootz 151 The Tamilakam method was to heat black magnetite ore in the presence of carbon in a sealed clay crucible inside a charcoal furnace An alternative was to smelt the ore first to give wrought iron then heated and hammered to be rid of slag The carbon source was bamboo and leaves from plants such as avarai 151 152 The Chinese and locals in Sri Lanka adopted the production methods of creating Wootz steel from the Chera Tamils by the 5th century BCE 153 full citation needed 154 In Sri Lanka this early steel making method employed a unique wind furnace driven by the monsoon winds capable of producing high carbon steel Production sites from antiquity have emerged in places such as Anuradhapura Tissamaharama and Samanalawewa as well as imported artefacts of ancient iron and steel from Kodumanal A 200 BCE Tamil trade guild in Tissamaharama in the South East of Sri Lanka brought with them some of the oldest iron and steel artefacts and production processes to the island from the classical period 155 156 157 The Arabs introduced the South Indian Sri Lankan wootz steel to Damascus where an industry developed for making weapons of this steel The 12th century Arab traveller Edrisi mentioned the Hinduwani or Indian steel as the best in the world 146 Another sign of its reputation is seen in a Persian phrase to give an Indian answer meaning a cut with an Indian sword 158 Wootz steel was widely exported and traded throughout ancient Europe and the Arab world and became particularly famous in the Middle East 158 Traditional weapons The Tamil martial arts also includes various types of weapons Valari Boomerang Maduvu deer horns Surul vaal curling blade Vaal sword Kedayam shield eetti or Vel spear Savuku whip Kattari fist blade Veecharuval Billhook Machete Silambam long bamboo staff Kuttu kattai spiked knuckleduster Katti dagger knife Vil bow Ambu arrow Tantayutam mace Soolam trident Visual art and architecture See also Chola art Dravidian architecture and Tamil architecture Dancing Siva or Nataraja example of Chola Empire bronze The Brihadeshswara Temple at Thanjavur also known as the Great Temple built by Rajaraja Chola I Most traditional art is religious in some form and usually centres on Hinduism although the religious element is often only a means to represent universal and occasionally humanist themes 159 page needed need quotation to verify The most important form of Tamil painting is Tanjore painting which originated in Thanjavur in the 9th century The painting s base is made of cloth and coated with zinc oxide over which the image is painted using dyes it is then decorated with semi precious stones as well as silver or gold thread 160 A style which is related in origin but which exhibits significant differences in execution is used for painting murals on temple walls the most notable example are the murals on the Koodal Azhagar temple and Meenakshi temple of Madurai and the Brihadeeswarar temple of Tanjore 161 Tamil sculpture ranges from elegant stone sculptures in temples to bronze icons with exquisite details 162 The medieval Chola bronzes are considered to be one of India s greatest contributions to world art 163 164 Unlike most Western art the material in Tamil sculpture does not influence the form taken by the sculpture instead the artist imposes his her vision of the form on the material 165 As a result one often sees in stone sculptures flowing forms that are usually reserved for metal 166 page needed Music See also Music of Tamil Nadu and Ancient Tamil music Ancient Tamil works such as the Cilappatikaram describe a system of music 167 and a 7th century Pallava inscription at Kudimiyamalai contains one of the earliest surviving examples of Indian music in notation 168 Dance forms such as Bharatanatyam have recent origins but are based on older temple dance forms known as Catir Kacceri as practised by courtesans and a class of women known as Devadasis 169 Performing arts Bharatanatyam dancers Notable Tamil dance styles are Bharatanatyam Tamil classical dance Karakattam Tamil ancient folk dance Koothu A folk and street dance Parai attam A folk drums and dance Kavadiattam dedicated to the Tamil God Murugan Kummiyattam female folk dance Bommalattam Puppet dance Puliyattam Tiger dance Mayilattam Peacock dance Paampu attam Snake dance Oyilattam Dance of Grace Poikkaal Kuthirai Aattam False legged horses dance In its religious form the karakattam dance is performed in front of an image of the goddess Mariamma 170 The kuravanci is a type of dance drama performed by four to eight women The drama is opened by a woman playing the part of a female soothsayer of the kurava tribe people of hills and mountains who tells the story of a lady pining for her lover The therukoothu literally meaning street play is a form of village theater or folk opera It is traditionally performed in village squares with no sets and very simple props 171 The performances involve songs and dances and the stories can be either religious or secular 172 Tamil Nadu also has a well developed stage theatre tradition which has been influenced by western theatre A number of theatrical companies exist with repertoires including absurdist realist and humorous plays 173 Film and theatre arts Main article Tamil cinema Theatrical culture flourished among Tamils during the classical age Tamil theatre has a long and varied history whose origins can be traced back almost two millennia to dance theatre forms like Kotukotti and Pandarangam which are mentioned in an ancient anthology of poems entitled the Kalingathu Parani 174 page needed The modern Tamil film industry originated during the 20th century has its headquarters in Chennai and is known as Kollywood it is the second largest film industry in India after Bollywood 175 Films from Kollywood have been distributed to overseas theatres in Singapore Sri Lanka South Africa Malaysia Japan Oceania the Middle East Western Europe and North America 176 Independent Tamil film production inspired by Kollywood originated outside India in Sri Lanka Singapore Canada and western Europe Several Tamil actresses such as Anushka Ranjan Vyjayanthimala Hema Malini Rekha Ganesan Sridevi Meenakshi Sheshadri Adah Sharma and Vidya Balan have acted in Bollywood and dominated the cinema over the years Some Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu such as MG Ramachandran Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa have had a background in the Tamil film industry Sports in Tamil Nadu Main article Sports in Tamil Nadu A 400 years old hero stone in Salem depicting bull taming sport Jallikattu The people of Tamil Nadu play traditional sports and sports from other countries Tamil Nadu has some notable players in each sport Jallikattu a bull taming sport in Tamil Nadu that is over 2 000 years old and an integral part of Tamil culture In ancient times two bull taming and bull racing sports were pursued called manjuvirattu and yeruthazhuval with the aim of keeping people s temperament fit and ready for war at any time Each has its own techniques and rules Proficiency in these sports was one of the criteria for marrying girls of a warrior family There were traditions where the winner would be chosen as bridegroom for their daughter or sister On the other hand the untamable bulls were held as a pride of the owner village and used for breeding the cows Unlike western bullfighting bulls and warriors participated in the sport year after year The sport popular amongst warriors in the classical period 177 178 survives in parts of Tamil Nadu notably Alanganallur near Madurai where it is held once a year around the time of the Pongal festival Kabaddi a traditional sport that originated in Tamil Nadu 179 Mattu Vandy Elgai Panthayam Reckla Race bullock cart racing is mostly celebrated in southern Tamil Nadu Silambam Staff fencing a martial art originated in the ancient Tamilakam In 1978 the Tamil Nadu government and Tamil Nadu Olympic Federation recognised silambam as a traditional sport but it was not recognised by the Sports Ministry of India and Indian Olympic Association 180 Tamil cuisine Main article Tamil cuisine Tamil cuisine includes vegetarian and non vegetarian food Some Tamils are vegetarian because of religious reasons 181 page needed Rice is mostly eaten with vegetarian and non vegetarian curries Traditionally the Tamils sit on the ground and the food is served on a banana leaf The traditional foods are eaten with the right hand Dishes such as dosa idli and vadai are served with sambar chutney or in Sri Lanka with coconut sambal Rasam replaces soup in Tamil cuisine The Tamil cuisine in Sri Lanka differs little from that of South India 182 A famous Sri Lankan Tamil specialty is kottu roti available in most Sri Lankan restaurants in the country and abroad citation needed Notable Tamil peopleMain article List of Tamil peopleSee also Tamils portal India portalList of languages by first written accounts Tamil population by cities Tamil population by nation Kumari KandamNotes Statistic includes all speakers of the Tamil language as many multi generation individuals do not speak the language as a mother tongue but instead as a second or third language Note The Singapore Tamil population data excludes Tamils who were unable to speak and those in one person households and households comprising only unrelated persons Tamils in Sri Lanka are classified into three ethnicities by the Sri Lankan government namely Sri Lankan Tamils Indian Origin Tamils and Sri Lankan Moors who accounted for 11 2 4 1 and 9 3 respectively of the country s population in 2011 9 Indian Origin Tamils were separately classified in the 1911 census onwards while the Sri Lankan government lists a substantial Tamil speaking Muslim population as a distinct ethnicity However much of the available genealogical evidence suggests that the Sri Lankan Moor community are of Tamil ethnicity and that the majority of their ancestors were also Tamils who had lived in the country for generations and had simply converted to Islam from other faiths 10 11 12 It is also evidenced by the fact that Sri Lankan Moors were not a self defined group of people and neither did the Moor identity exist before the arrival of Portuguese colonists citation needed References a b Tamil at Ethnologue 19th ed 2016 Statement 1 Abstract of speakers strength of languages and mother tongues 2011 Censusindia gov Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka 2012 Table A3 Population by district ethnic group and sex PDF Department of Census and Statistics Sri Lanka Commuting Times Median Rents and Language other than English Use Census gov 7 December 2017 Retrieved 3 August 2022 Government of Canada Statistics Canada 17 August 2022 Knowledge of languages by age and gender Canada provinces and territories census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts www12 statcan gc ca Retrieved 12 October 2022 Basic Demographic Characteristics Table 6 Indian Resident Population by Age Group Dialect Group and Sex Census of Population 2010 Statistical Release 1 Demographic Characteristics Education Language and Religion Department of Statistics Singapore Archived from the original on 8 September 2013 General Household Survey 2015 Department of Statistics Ministry of Trade amp Industry Republic of Singapore Web archive org Llc Books September 2010 Social Groups of Tamil Nadu Badagas Kongu Vellalar Iyer Boyar Iyengar Paravar Nagarathar Rajus Nadar Balija Pallar Kamma Thondaimandala Mudaliar Arya Vysyas Paraiyar Saurashtra Language Maravar Sengunthar Vadama Kapu Kotas Toda People Revised ed India General Books LLC p 174 ISBN 978 1 157 56781 3 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint date and year link A2 Population by ethnic group according to districts 2012 Department of Census amp Statistics Sri Lanka a b Mohan Vasundhara 1987 Identity Crisis of Sri Lankan Muslims Delhi Mittal Publications pp 9 14 27 30 67 74 113 18 Ross Brann The Moors PDF Drum lib umd edu Retrieved 15 December 2017 a b Analysis Tamil Muslim divide BBC News World Edition Retrieved 6 July 2014 Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on 3 April 2015 Retrieved 29 October 2018 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Lal Mohan ed 1992 Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature Sasay to Zorgot Sahitya Akademi p 4283 Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa Reflections on the Chola Naval Expeditions to Southeast Asia by Hermann Kulke K Kesavapany Vijay Sakhuja p 79 The Emporium of the World Maritime Quanzhou 1000 1400 by Angela Schottenhammer p 293 Stein B 1977 Circulation and the Historical Geography of Tamil Country The Journal of Asian Studies 37 1 7 26 doi 10 2307 2053325 JSTOR 2053325 S2CID 144599197 Steever 1998 pp 6 9 Lal Mohan ed 1992 Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature Sasay to Zorgot Sahitya Akademi p 4284 Front Page Tamil to be a classical language The Hindu Chennai India 18 September 2004 Archived from the original on 3 March 2018 Retrieved 1 August 2010 Tamilar Madham Contents Page www tamilvu org Retrieved 29 April 2021 Cutler Norman 1983 Clothey Fred W Ramanujan A K Shulman David Dean eds Tamil Religion Melting Pot or Battleground History of Religions 22 4 381 391 doi 10 1086 462931 ISSN 0018 2710 JSTOR 1062405 S2CID 162366616 Wood Michael 2 August 2007 A South Indian Journey The Smile of Murugan Penguin UK pp x xiii xvi ISBN 978 0 14 193527 0 a b Indrapala K 2007 The Evolution of an ethnic identity The Tamils of Sri Lanka Vijitha Yapa pp 155 56 ISBN 978 955 1266 72 1 Southworth Franklin C 1998 On the Origin of the word tamiz International Journal of Dravidial Linguistics 27 1 129 32 Zvelebil Kamil V 1992 Companion Studies to the history of Tamil literature Leiden E J Brill pp x xvi John Vino 27 January 2006 Reading the past in a more inclusive way Interview with Dr Sudharshan Seneviratne Frontline archived from the original on 2 February 2009 retrieved 9 July 2008 But Indian south Indian history archaeology has pushed the date back to 1500 B C and in Sri Lanka there are definitely good radiometric dates coming from Anuradhapura that the non Brahmi symbol bearing black and red ware occur at least around 900 B C or 1000 B C Comparative excavations carried out in Adichanallur in Thirunelveli district and in Northern India have provided evidence of a southward migration of the Megalithic culture K A N Sastri A History of South India pp 4 amp gt 67 Codrington K De B October 1930 Indian Cairn and Urn Burials Man 30 30 190 196 doi 10 2307 2790468 JSTOR 2790468 It is necessary to draw attention to certain passages in early Tamil literature which throw a great deal of light upon this strange burial ceremonial a b Sastri K A Nilakanta 1955 A History of South India Oxford University Press p 105 Sastri K A Nilakanta 1955 A History of South India Oxford University Press pp 109 12 Perspectives on Kerala History P J Cherian ed Kerala Council for Historical Research Archived from the original on 26 August 2006 Retrieved 15 November 2006 There were three levels of redistribution corresponding to the three categories of chieftains namely the Ventar Velir and Kilar in descending order Ventar were the chieftains of the three major lineages viz Cera Cola and Pandya Velir were mostly hill chieftains while Kilar were the headmen of settlements a b Sinha Kanchan 1979 Kartikeya in Indian art and literature Sundeep Prakashan Sivathamby K December 1974 Early South Indian Society and Economy The Tinai Concept Social Scientist 3 5 20 37 doi 10 2307 3516448 JSTOR 3516448 Those who ruled over small territories were called Kurunilamannar The area ruled by such a small ruler usually corresponded to a geographical unit In Purananuru a number of such chieftains are mentioned Grand Anaicut Encyclopaedia Britannica retrieved 3 May 2006 Narayanan M G S September 1988 The Role of Peasants in the Early History of Tamilakam in South India Social Scientist 16 9 17 34 doi 10 2307 3517170 JSTOR 3517170 Pandya Dynasty Encyclopaedia Britannica retrieved 3 May 2007 Veluppillai A Archaeologists Uncover Ancient Maritime Spice Route Between India Egypt The term Periplus refers to the region of the eastern seaboard of South India as Damirica The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea Travel and Trade in the Indian Ocean by a Merchant of the First Century Ancient History source book Indian Geographical Society 1941 The Indian Geographical Journal p 69 These Kalabhras were thrown out by the powerful Pallava dynasty in the fourth century AD this period is aptly known as Dark Ages of Tamil Nadu K A N Sastri A History of South India Sastri K A Nilakanta 1955 A History of South India Oxford University Press p 130 Kalabhraas were denounced as evil kings kaliararar a b Sastri K A Nilakanta 1955 A History of South India Oxford University Press Hirsh Marilyn 1987 Mahendravarman I Pallava Artist and Patron of Mamallapuram Artibus Asiae 48 1 2 109 130 doi 10 2307 3249854 JSTOR 3249854 A Kiruṭṭin an 2000 Tamil culture religion culture and literature Bharatiya Kala Prakashan p 17 Everywhere within Beloved of the Gods King Piyadasi s domain and among the people beyond the borders the Cholas the Pandyas the Satyaputras the Keralaputras as far as Tamraparni Ashoka s second minor rock edict Colorado State University Archived from the original on 28 October 2013 Retrieved 15 November 2006 Hathigumpha Inscription Epigraphia Indica Vol XX 1929 1930 Delhi 1933 pp 86 89 Missouri Southern State University Archived from the original on 17 November 2006 Retrieved 15 November 2006 Kamil Veith Zvelebil Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature p 12 Chandra Satish 1997 Medieval India From Sultanat to the Mughals 1206 1526 I Har Anand Publications p 250 ISBN 978 81 241 1064 5 Starting from the Tamil lands under the Pallava kings bhakti spread to different parts of south India Chopra P N Ravindran T K Subrahmanian N 2003 History of South India Ancient Medieval and Modern Part 1 New Delhi Chand Publications ISBN 978 81 219 0153 6 Sastri K A Nilakanta 1955 A History of South India Oxford University Press p 136 Sastri K A Nilakanta 1955 A History of South India Oxford University Press p 140 Sastri K A Nilakanta 1955 A History of South India Oxford University Press p 162 Srivastava Balram 1973 Rajendra Chola National Book Trust India p 80 The mission which Rajendra sent to China was essentially a trade mission Curtin Philip D 1984 Cross Cultural Trade in World History Cambridge University Press p 101 ISBN 978 0 521 26931 5 a b Smith Vincent Arthur 1904 The Early History of India The Clarendon press pp 336 58 ISBN 978 81 7156 618 1 The Cambridge Shorter History of India CUP Archive p 191 Sen Sailendra Nath 1999 Ancient Indian History and Civilization New Age International p 485 Singapore in Global History by Derek Thiam Soon Heng Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied p 40 Kulke Hermann Kesavapany K Sakhuja Vijay eds 2009 Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa Reflections on the Chola Naval Expeditions to Southeast Asia Singapore Institute of Southeast Asian Studies pp 11 12 K A N Sastri 1955 The Cōḷas University of Madras p 301 S Jeyaseela Stephen ed 2008 The Land Peasantry and Peasant Life in India New Direction Renewed Debate Manak Publications p 87 Sailendra Nath Sen Ancient Indian History and Civilization New Age International 1999 p 487 Sailendra Nath Sen Ancient Indian History and Civilization New Age International 1999 p 459 Burton Stein 1990 The New Cambridge History of India Vijayanagara Volume 1 Cambridge University Press p 57 P K S Raja 1966 Mediaeval Kerala Navakerala Co op Publishing House p 47 E Ke Ceṣattiri 1998 Sri Brihadisvara the Great Temple of Thanjavur Nile Books p 24 Heather Elgood 2000 Hinduism and the Religious Arts Bloomsbury Publishing p 162 Freeman Rich February 1998 Rubies and Coral The Lapidary Crafting of Language in Kerala The Journal of Asian Studies 57 1 38 65 doi 10 2307 2659023 JSTOR 2659023 S2CID 162294036 at pp 41 43 Subrahmanian N 1993 Social and cultural history of Tamilnad Ennes p 209 Paniker K Ayyappa 1997 Medieval Indian Literature Surveys and selections Sahitya Akademi pp 299 300 ISBN 9788126003655 de Silva 2005 p 129 Natarajan V History of Ceylon Tamils p 9 Indrapala K The Evolution of an ethnic identity 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1997 Peopling of India In D Balasubramanian and N Appaji Rao eds The Indian Human Heritage Further readingBowers F 1956 Theatre in the East A Survey of Asian Dance and Drama Grove Press Chaitanya Krishna 1971 A history of Malayalam literature Orient Longman ISBN 81 250 0488 2 Hart G L 1979 The Nature of Tamil Devotion In Deshpande M M Hook P E eds Aryan and Non Aryan in India Ann Arbor pp 11 33 ISBN 0 89148 014 5 Hart G L 1987 Early Evidence for Caste in South India In Hockings P ed Dimensions of Social Life Essays in honor of David B Mandelbaum Mouton Gruyter Keay John 2000 India A History New York Grove Publications ISBN 978 0 8021 3797 5 Varadpande M L 1992 Loka Ranga Panorama of Indian Folk Theatre Abhinav Publications ISBN 81 7017 278 0 Zvebil K 1974 The Smile of Murugan On Tamil Literature of South India Brill ISBN 90 04 03591 5 External linksTamils Encyclopaedia Britannica entry Tamils A Trans State Nation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tamils amp oldid 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