Tamil people

The Tamil people are an ethnic group from South Asia with a recorded history going back more than two millennia. The oldest Tamil communities are those of southern India and northeastern Sri Lanka. There are also a number of Tamil emigrant communities scattered around the world, especially in Malaysia, Singapore, Fiji, Mauritius, and South Africa, with more recent emigrants also found in Australia, Canada, and parts of Europe.

Culture

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Language and literature

Main articles: Tamil language, Tamil literature

Related Topics:
Tamil language - Tamil literature

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Tamils have strong feelings towards the Tamil language, which is often venerated in literature as "tamil̲an̲n̲ai," "the Tamil mother." It has historically been, and to large extent still is, central to the Tamil identity (Ramaswamy 1998). Like the other languages of South India, it is a Dravidian language, unrelated 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, especially in Tamil Nadu, freely uses loanwords from Sanskrit and English. Tamil literature is of considerable antiquity, and the language was recently recognised as a classical language by the government of India.

Related Topics:
Tamil language - South India - Dravidian language - Indo-European languages - Sanskrit - Proto-Dravidian - Loanword - English - Classical language - Government of India

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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 (Hart 1975). Notable works in classical Tamil literature include the Tirukkural by Tiruvalluvar, the five great Tamil epics and the works of Auvaiyar. The written language has changed very little over the years, with the result that much of classical literature remains easily accessible to modern Tamils and continues to influence modern Tamil culture.

Related Topics:
Lyric poetry - Poetics - Ethical philosophy - South Asia - Tirukkural - Tiruvalluvar - The five great Tamil epics - Auvaiyar

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Modern Tamil literature is considerably diverse, ranging from Indian Nationalism in the works of Subramanya Bharathy, to historical romanticism in the works of Kalki Krishnamurthy, to radical and more moderate social realism in the works of Pudhumaipithan and Jayakanthan respectively, to feminism in the works of Malathi Maithree and Kutti Revathi. Sujatha, an author whose works range from romance novels to science fiction, is one of the most popular modern writers using the Tamil language. In more recent years, Sri Lankan Tamil literature has produced several powerful pieces reflecting the civilian tragedy caused by decades of war. There is also an emerging diaspora literature in Tamil.

Related Topics:
Indian Nationalism - Subramanya Bharathy - Kalki Krishnamurthy - Social realism - Pudhumaipithan - Jayakanthan - Feminism - Malathi Maithree - Kutti Revathi - Sujatha - Romance novel - Science fiction - Diaspora

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Visual art and architecture

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Tamil visual art displays considerable unity across its three main forms, architecture, sculpture and painting, and is clearly situated within the South Asian artistic tradition. As with other South Asian art, Tamil art stresses the plasticity and fluidity of forms. Most traditional Tamil art is at least nominally religious, usually centred on Hinduism, although the religious element is often only a means to represent universal—and, occasionally, humanist—themes (Coomaraswamy 1946). The classical art forms continue to be practiced, and therefore represent a living tradition.

Related Topics:
Visual art - Architecture - Sculpture - Painting - Hinduism - Humanist

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The most important form of Tamil painting is Tanjore painting, which, as the name suggests, originated in Tanjore (now Thanjavur) in the 9th century. The paintings are prepared on a base of cloth coated with zinc oxide, over which the image is painted using dyes and decorated with semi-precious stones and gold or silver thread. 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 being the murals on the Mīn̲āṭci temple of Madurai. Tamil painting in general is known for its stylistic elegance, rich colours and attention to small details.

Related Topics:
Tanjore painting - Thanjavur - 9th century - Zinc oxide - Mural - Mīn̲āṭci temple - Madurai

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Tamil sculpture is usually worked with bronze (using the lost wax technique) or stone (usually associated with temples), and surviving pieces date from the 7th century onwards. Unlike most Western art, the material in Tamil sculpture does not influence the form taken by the sculpture; instead, the artist imposes his vision of the form on the material. As a result, one often sees in stone sculptures the sort of flowing forms that would normally be reserved for metal (Sivaram 1994). As with painting, these sculptures show a fine eye for detail, with great care being taken in sculpting minute details of jewellery worn by the subjects of the sculpture. The lines tend to be smooth and flowing, and many pieces capture movement with great skill. The cave sculptures at Mamallapuram are a particularly fine example of the technique, as are the bronzes of the Chola period. A particularly popular motif in the bronzes was the depiction of Siva as Nataraja, in a dance posture with one leg upraised and a fiery circular halo surrounding his entire body.

Related Topics:
Sculpture - Bronze - Lost wax - 7th century - Mamallapuram - Chola - Siva - Nataraja

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Tamil temples were often simply treated as sculptures on a grand scale. The temples are most notable for their high spires, known as Gopura, consisting of a number of stepped levels, each with its own minature shrine. These spires tended to be simple and elegant and only sparsely adorned with sculpture in the earliest temples, but they became progressively more elaborate and ornate, as exemplified by the Brihadīsvara temple of Thanjavur. From the 13th century onwards, the entrance gates to the temples—called gopurams in Tamil—also began to grow bigger and more elaborate. The temples at Chidambaram and Srirangam have particularly impressive gopurams, covered with sculptures and reliefs of various scenes and characters from Hindu mythology (Pillai 1976).

Related Topics:
Temple - Gopura - Brihadīsvara temple - Thanjavur - 13th century - Chidambaram - Srirangam - Hindu mythology

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As with Indian art in general, Tamil art does not traditionally aspire to portraiture or realism. Much more emphasis is placed on the representation of ideal prototypes and on depicting the symbols with which the theme of the artistic work is associated. This means that small details, such as the direction which a hand faces, the animals or trees portrayed, or the time of day depicted, are often of critical importance to understanding the meaning of a work of art.

Related Topics:
Indian art - Portrait - Realism

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Performing arts

The traditional Tamil performing arts have ancient roots. The royal courts and temples have been centres for the performing arts since at least the classical period, and descriptions of performances in classical Tamil literature and the Natya Shastra, a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts, indicate a close relationship between the ancient and modern artforms. Much like other Indian traditions, Tamil tradition stresses the unity of the various performance arts, and their symbiotic relationship with the visual arts and literature. The aim of a performance in Tamil tradition is to bring out the rasa—the flavor, mood, or feeling—inherent in the text, and its quality is measured by the extent to which it induces the mood in the audience.

Related Topics:
Performing arts - Temple - Natya Shastra - Visual arts - Literature

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Tamil shares a classical musical tradition, called carnatic music, with the rest of South India. Carnatic music evolved from the ancient music forms of South India, some of which are recorded in classical Tamil literature, and was influenced by the musical theory of the Natya Shastra. It is primarily oriented towards vocal music, with instruments functioning either as accompaniments or imitating the role of the singer. Carnatic music is organized around the twin notions of melody types (rāgam) and cyclical rhythm types (thāḷam). Unlike the northern Hindustani music tradition, carnatic music is almost exclusively religious.

Related Topics:
Musical - Carnatic music - South India - Music - Instruments - Accompaniment - Hindustani music

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In sharp contrast with the restrained and intellectual nature of carnatic music, Tamil folk music tends to be much more exuberant. Popular forms of Tamil folk music include the Villuppāṭṭu, a form of music performed with a bow, and the Nāṭṭuppur̲appāṭṭu, ballads that convey folklore and folk history.

Related Topics:
Folk music - Villuppāṭṭu - Nāṭṭuppur̲appāṭṭu - Ballad - Folklore

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The dominant classical dance amongst Tamils is Bharatanatyam. Bharatanatyam is performative rather than participative. A dance is an exposition of the story contained in a song, and is usually performed by one performer on stage, with an orchestra of drums, a drone, and one or more singers backstage. The story is told through a complicated combination of mudras (hand gestures), facial expressions, and body posture. The dance form evolved from a specialized form of temple-dancing, and was only performed in temples until the 1930s. Dancers used to be exclusively female, but the dance now also has several well-known male practitioners.

Related Topics:
Dance - Bharatanatyam - Mudra - Temple - 1930s

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Tamils also have a large number of folk dances. The most celebrated of these is karakāṭṭam. In its religious form, the dance is performed in front of an image of the goddess Mariamma. The dancer bears on his or her head a brass pot filled with uncooked rice, decorated with flowers and surrounded by a bamboo frame, and tumbles and leaps to the rhythm of a song without spilling a grain. Karakāṭṭam is usually performed to a special type of song known as temmanguppāṭṭu or thevar pāṭṭu, a folk song in the mode of a lover speaking to his beloved, to the accompaniment of a nadaswaram and melam. Other Tamil folk dances include mayilāṭṭam, where the dancers tie a string of peacock feathers around their waist; ōyilāttam, danced in a circle while waving small pieces of cloth of various colors; poykkāl kuthiraiyaaṭṭam, where the dancers use dummy horses; mān̲āṭṭam, where the dancers imitate the graceful leaping of deer; par̲aiyāṭṭam, a dance to the sound of rhythmical drumbeats, and thīppandāṭṭam, a dance involving playing with burning wooden torches. (Sharma 2004).

Related Topics:
Folk dance - Mariamma - Nadaswaram - Deer

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Tamil dance is closely intertwined with the Tamil theatrical tradition. Most art forms include a blend of both. The kuravañci 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 a wandering kurava tribe, who tells the story of a lady pining for her lover. The songs themselves have a lyrical beauty, which is amplified by the performance.

Related Topics:
Soothsayer - Kurava

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The therukkūthu (which literally means "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. The performances involves songs and dances, sometimes at the same time, and the stories can be either religious or secular. The performances are not formal, and performers often interact with the audience, mocking them or involving them in the dialogue. Therukkūthu has in recent times been very successfully adapted to convey social messages, such as abstinence and anti-caste criticism, as well as information about legal rights, and has spread to other parts of India.

Related Topics:
Therukkūthu - Village square - Song - Dance - Religious - Secular - Abstinence - Caste

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The village of Melatur in Tamil Nadu has a special type of performance, called the bhagavatamela, in honour of the local deity, which is performed once a year and lasts all night. Tamil Nadu also has a well developed stage theater tradition, which has been heavily influenced by western theatre. A number of theatrical companies exist, with repertoires includes absurdist, realist and humorous plays.

Related Topics:
Melatur - Tamil Nadu - Bhagavatamela - Absurdist - Realist - Humorous

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Both classical and folk performing arts survive in modern Tamil society. The folk arts declined during the middle of the 20th century, but have seen a resurgence in recent years, particularly in southern Tamil Nadu, although their popularity continues to be largely confined to rural regions. The Tamil Nadu Folk Arts Society (or "Tamil̲nāṭu iyalisai nāṭaka man̲r̲am") is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the folk arts, and has played a significant role in the continuance of the tradition.

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20th century - Rural

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Tamil people in Tamil Nadu are also passionate about their cinema. The Tamil film industry, commonly dubbed Kollywood, is the second-largest film industry in India. Tamil cinema is appreciated both for its technical accomplishments and for its artistic and entertainment value.

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Cinema - Kollywood

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Religion

Most Tamils are Hindus, but Islam and Christianity also have a long history in Tamil Nadu. According to popular legend, the last Chera king is said to have converted to Islam and travelled to Arabia to become a companion of Muhammad, and the mother of one of the early Pallava kings is believed to have been Christian. Native Tamil Christianity was entirely replaced by European Christianity during the 16th century, and most Tamil Christians today are either Catholic or Protestant. Jainism was at one time a major religious force in Tamil Nadu, but it declined substantially during the Pallava period, and there are now only a few thousand Tamil Jains.

Related Topics:
Hindu - Islam - Christianity - Tamil Nadu - Chera - Arabia - Companion - Muhammad - Pallava - Christian - 16th century - Catholic - Protestant - Jainism - Tamil Jain

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Tamil Hinduism, like other regional varieties of Hinduism, has many peculiarities. The most popular deity is Murugan, who has from a very early date been identified with Karthikeya, the son of Siva, but who may in origin have been a different deity (Hart 1979). The worship of Amman or Mariamman, thought to have been derived from an ancient mother goddess, is also very common. Kan̲n̲agi, the heroine of the Cilappatikār̲am, is worshipped as Paṭṭin̲i by many Tamils, particularly in Sri Lanka. There are also many temples and devotees of Vishnu, Siva, Ganapathi, and the other common Hindu deities.

Related Topics:
Hinduism - Murugan - Karthikeya - Siva - Amman - Mariamman - Mother goddess - Kan̲n̲agi - Cilappatikār̲am - Paṭṭin̲i - Sri Lanka - Vishnu - Ganapathi

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In addition, the popular religion of rural Tamil Nadu has many local deities called aiyyan̲ārs, who are thought to be the spirits of local heroes who protect the village from harm. Their worship often centers around naḍukkals, 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.

Related Topics:
Tamil Nadu - Aiyyan̲ārs - Naḍukkals

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The Alvars and Nayanars, who were predominantly Tamils, played a key role in the renaissance of Bhakti tradition in South India. In the 10th century, the philosopher Ramanuja who propagated the theory of Visishtadvaitam brought lot of changes to worshiping practices, creating new regulations on temple worship and accepting lower-caste Hindus as his prime disciples. Other notable Tamil spiritualists include Vallalar, Ramana Maharshi, and the Siddhars, a group of yogic practitioners. The system of Siddha medicine is also associated with Tamil Shaivism.

Related Topics:
Alvars - Nayanars - Bhakti - South India - 10th century - Ramanuja - Visishtadvaitam - Vallalar - Ramana Maharshi - Siddhar - Yogic - Siddha - Shaivism

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The most important Tamil festivals are Pongal, a harvest festival that occurs in mid-January, and varuḍapir̲appu, the Tamil New Year, which occurs around mid-April. Both are celebrated by almost all Tamils, regardless of religion. Important Tamil Hindu festivals include Diwali and Thaipusam. Kolam, a type of drawing made in front of one's house with rice flour, is a typical characteristic of Tamil hinduism.

Related Topics:
Pongal - Harvest festival - January - Varuḍapir̲appu - New Year - April - Diwali - Thaipusam - Kolam

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Martial arts

According to Tamil legend, the Chola, Chera and Pandya kings fought a hundred-year war at the beginning of the 1st century, during which they perfected the art of fighting. Four martial arts are believed to have evolved from this, Kalarippayattu, Silambam Nillaikalakki, maankombukkalai and Varma Kalai, all of which are still practised today in parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Related Topics:
Chola - Chera - Pandya - 1st century - Martial arts - Kalarippayattu - Silambam Nillaikalakki - Maankombukkalai - Varma Kalai - Tamil Nadu - Kerala

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Silambam Nillaikalakki is the art of staff combat, and uses a staff 1.6 metres long. Its techniques were designed to enable a person to use a traveller's walking-staff to defend himself against an attack by several enemies. Its techniques focus on using the staff without stopping its movement, and synchronising staff, foot and body motion. Varma Kalai is a martial art which trains people to attack the vital points of an opponent's body with hands or weapons. maankombukkalai involves fighting with a weapon made from the antlers of a stag tipped with metal. Kalarippayattu focus on all aspects of fighting, including unarmed combat and combat with wooden and metal weapons. The Kalarippayattu tradition is strongest in Kerala, where it is known as Kalaripayattu.

Related Topics:
Staff - Varma Kalai - Antler - Stag - Kalarippayattu

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The ancient Tamil art of unarmed bullfighting, popular amongst warriors in the classical period, has also survived in parts of Tamil Nadu, notably Alanganallur near Madurai, where it is known as Jallikaṭṭu or mañcuviraṭṭu and is held once a year around the time of the Pongal festival.

Related Topics:
Bullfighting - Tamil Nadu - Alanganallur - Madurai - Jallikaṭṭu - Pongal

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