Ancient Tamils
We really can’t decide which is astonishing, whether the idea of staying the same or evolving into something new entirely. But isn’t that what most of the fighting around is centred around. Conservative or liberals. Left or right. Old or new. And when an identity is threatened, men have gone and will go to any extent like the Sri Lankan civil war to protect it.
Tamilakam at around 300 BCE - 300 AD covered the whole of South India, from the banks of Kaveri in the North to Kanyakumari in the South. At a time when other cultures were developing orally, ideas about Tamil grammar and lifestyle were passed on to future generations effectively through writing. And, no wonder we have accumulated some of the finest literature works- dating back to 500 BCE- the world has seen.
There are myths - like in any other culture - about a giant mass of land called Lemuria - குமரிக்கண்டம் - ruled by the Pandyas that got lost underwater due to cataclysmic floods. If found evidence supporting this theory, then Tamil will become the oldest surviving language spoken by a whopping 70 million humans. Meanwhile in Korea, people still workship Heo Hwang-ok, a legendary queen who once was believed to have come from the Ayuta kingdom — Southern tip of Tamil Nadu— and also a princess of a Pandya king.
We saw divine intervention in the ingenious design of nature and eventually, it became our religion. This idol workship that is prevalent now in modern Tamil culture actually came from the Indo-Aryans. For most of us, our idea of divinity was shapeless and free-spirited. We had devised ways of living that can co-exist with other beings. We dived deep into the nature of human thoughts and created treatises like Thirukural — திருக்குறள் — on how to live righteously. Even when rulers of this land like the Pallavas, British, Dutch only lasted for centuries, Tholkaapiyam — தொல்காப்பியம் — literature on grammar thrives for 3000 years helping Tamil adapt to the modern world.
Art ran in our blood and eventually through the land of Tamils like a raging fire in the form of magnificent temples and gods, music, dance among the other art forms. People found so much pleasure in writing of a bardic nature and they were curious about everything especially natural history. In Akananuru — அகநானூறு for example, Nappasalaiyur gave a remarkably accurate description of the breeding habits of turtles. It is said that seafarers used the turtles for navigation since it returns to home even after travelling thousands of miles. The land was divided into Marutham- agriculture fields, Mullai- forests, Kurinchi- mountains, Palai- deserts and Neithal- seashore according to the kind of life it supports. And, men developed their skills accordingly. Women were allowed to choose their lovers yet strongly tabooed when they were under the menstruation cycle. Agriculture was the backbone of our economy back then. Such was the vision of Karikalan Chola that he built- 2000 years ago- water regulatory systems like Kallanai to divert water into the delta districts. Sea on our east side gave us an upper hand in establishing strong trade relations with Rome, Egypt, Korea and Arabian peninsula. So, we were a culture that was forefront on arts, architecture, administration(electoral system) and trade.
A culture survives only if the traits passed down to the next generation have some utility. We once had those traits. Now, what’s remaining with us is hospitality, curiosity and courage. It’s time to rise again from the abyss. To lead a cultural revolution. திரைகடல் தாண்டி திரவியம் தேடுவோம்!
