Dr.S.Sundarabalu
Assistant Professor
Department of Linguistics
Bharathiar University,Coimbatore-46
Visiting Professor ,ICCR’s Tamil Chair
Institute of Oriental Studies, Dept. of Indology
Jagiellonian University, Krakow-Poland
sunder_balu@yahoo.co.in
Tamil land and people (akam, purum, thinai, thurai etc..)
1. Tamil land and people (akam, prum, thinai, thurai etc..)
http://sangamtamilliterature.wordpress.com/useful-links
Dr.S.Sundarabalu
Assistant Professor
Department of Linguistics
Bharathiar University,Coimbatore-46
Visiting Professor ,ICCR’s Tamil Chair
Institute of Oriental Studies, Dept. of Indology
Jagiellonian University, Krakow-Poland
sunder_balu@yahoo.co.in
2. • Thinai: There are seven thinai classifications in Puram, and five
in Akam. (There are 2 more Akam thinais which are rarely used, and are seen only in the later Kalithokai poems. They are
Kaikilai and Perunthinai which deal with one sided love, and are not regarded as pure Akam by scholars).
• Puram Thinais: These seven thinais have been named after
flowers. These are Vetchi, Vanji, Ulignai, Thumpai, Vākai, Kānji
and Pādān.
1. Vetchi -is cattle raid,
2. Vanji -is preparation for war and invasion (especially the entrance
of an armed force into a territory to conquer.),
3. Ulignai -is siege,(The surrounding and blockading of a city)
4. Thumpai -is battle,
5. Vākai -is victory,
6. Kānji -is tragedy, and
7. Pādān -is praise.
• The Puram thinai poems are spoken by the poet himself, and frequently
associated with real persons, places and events in history.
3. நடுகல் – Memorial Stones for warriors and heroes
• Nadukkal or memorial stones were erected for
warriors and heroes (kings, battle heroes etc. – not
for the hero (main character) of the Akam poems).
• These stones were decorated with peacock feathers
and worshipped. Rice liquor was poured on
them. Goats were killed and sacrificed to them (Akam
53).
• The names of the warriors as well as their
achievements were etched on these stones, and they
were decorated with peacock feathers. There were
spears and shields placed nearby, and they made the
place appear like a battlefield (Akam 67, 131). All the
memorial stones appear in pālai thinai (dry wasteland). அகநானூறு – 35, 53, 67, 131, 289, 297,
343, 365, 387 புறநானூறு – 221, 222, 223, 232, 261, 306, 314, 329 ஐங்குறுநூறு – 352 பட்டினப்பாலை – line 79
5. • Understanding Akam thinais: It is very important
to understand this to enjoy Akam poems. Each
Akam thinai consists of three components –
Muthal, Karu and Uri.
1. Muthal consists of basic elements such as a tract
of land, a season, a time of day or night.
2. Karu consists of the flora and fauna in that tract,
its inhabitants, their occupations etc.
3. Uri is the aspect peculiar to each landscape; more
specifically, the feelings, deeds and situations of
the dramatis personae in love poetry.
6. • Comparing Akam and Puram thinais: Akam means
‘that which is inside’ and Puram means, ‘that which
is outside’, and they are the two sides of Sangam
poetry. For each Akam thinai, there is a coinciding
Puram thinai.
• The Puram poem is spoken by the poet, and has
names, places and events of history.
• The Akam poems are spoken by the hero, his friend,
heroine, her friend (tholi), the friend’s mother
(foster mother- sevili), the heroine’s real mother,
the courtesan and the passer-by.
7. • The two genres differ from each other not only in theme, but also in technique.
Akam poems make much use of images suggesting a mood
and a situation, while Puram poems do not and are more
straightforward.
For Akam, the mood and the situation are closely
associated with each thinai, but, for Puram, the association
is less.
In Akam poetry, themes described in poems are connected
with each other, and, taken as a whole, form a ‘love
drama’; each scene describe in Puram poems is a solitary
one and not connected with each other.
Puram poetry is far less conventional than Akam poetry,
and its subject matter is easier to understand.
Akam poems have many similes and metaphors, and fauna
and flora are used to express situations and human
emotions.
8. Some Interesting Conventions and Facts that might help
new readers:
1. Snakes spit sparkling gems.
2. Pearls drop off the tusks of elephants.
3. A tiger will not eat a prey if it does not fall on its right side.
4. Women in love get yellow pallor spots on their bodies,
and their eyes become pale and yellow. Their shoulders
and arms become thin. Bangles fall off their wrists.
9. 6. There is a mythical creature called asunam : defines asunam as a
creature believed to be so susceptible to harmony, that when it is fascinated by
notes of music, a sudden loud beat of the drum causes its instantaneous death.
7. There is a mighty animal Āli, which kills elephants. It could
be a hyena or a lion.
8. The heroine’s friend (tholi) refers to the hero as ‘our lover’,
since both the girls are very closefriends.
9. The heroine’s friend is sometimes the voice of the heroine and
she tells the hero what the heroine wants to tell him.
It is because of an old convention which is in the Tholkāppiyam, that
the heroine cannot utter her love feelings directly to the hero. This
convention comes from ancient oral tradition.
10. 10. The utterances of the foster mother and real mother are not
quite clear. The foster mother also refers to the heroine as ‘my
daughter’.
11.The speakers of Puram poems are the poets. The speakers of
Akam poems are the hero, heroine, heroine’s friend, heroine’s
mother, heroine’s foster mother, hero’s charioteer, hero’s
concubine and passers-by, when the hero and heroine are in the
wasteland.
12. The fathers and brothers of the heroine have never been speakers
of any poem. However, they are referred to in the poems.
13. When the heroine refuses to respond to the hero, he climbs
on a palmyra stem horse (madal ēruthal, meaning climbing on a palmyra stem or frond)
and has it pulled through town with a picture of the heroine in
his hand. He does that as a last resort as a jilted lover, if the
heroine refuses his love.
11. • Omens
• Omens – நிமித்தங்கள் – It is surprising that a few of the omens that we
have in our Tamil culture comes to us from Sangam times,
unchanged. We see the lizard and crow omens in the Sangam poems.
There are also விரிச்சி நிற்பது (waiting for the good word) and புள்
நிமித்தம் (புள் was probably used for bird omens first, but was used
for all omens later)
• – Kurunthokai 218. Mullaipattu has a line describing விரிச்சி நிற்பது – line 11. In
addition to these poems, Natrinai 258, 281, 343, and 367 have descriptions of
crows being fed for good luck.
12. • மடல் ஏறுதல் – Riding on a Palmyra Horse
• மடல் ஏறுதல் – Climbing on a Palmyra leaf horse and
riding through town
• This appears to be a silly ancient Tamil custom
performed by young men who wanted to get
the attention of their loved one and her family,
so that a wedding could be arranged. The hero
of the poem climbs on a palm stems/leaves
horse that has bells on its neck, and has it
pulled through the streets where people can
see him.
13. • He also wears an erukkam flower (calotropis gigantea) or āvirai
(Tanner’s senna, Cassia auriculata) flower garland while on the horse.
He carries a picture of his object of love, and shows
it to the whole town. He becomes an object of
ridicule. It is also hard on the young girl. This is an
ultimate act of desperation by the man. He
threatens to commit suicide if this fails.
• Some of the poems talk about the hero’s
threatening messages. He tells her beforehand that
if she doesn’t respond, he’ll climb on a palmyra
horse. I have come across 16 poems that deal with
மடல் ஏறுதல்.
15. •
அமிழ்து பபாதி பெந்நா அஞ்ெவந்த
வார்ந்துஇைங்கு லவஎயிற்றுச் சின்பமாழி அரிலவலைப்
பபறுகதில் அம்ம ைானன! பபற்றாங்கு
அறிகதில் அம்ம, இவ்வூனே! மறுகில்
நல்னைாள் கணவன் இவன் எனப்
பல்னைார் கூற ைாஅம் நாணுகம் சிறினத.
• The reddish sweet nectar-like tongue of my
girl of few words, fears her sharp teeth.
Listen! I desire to attain her. Once attained,
they’ll know. Listen town! On the streets,
“he’s a good woman’s husband”, is
what many will say then, and we’ll feel a little shy.
• Translated by Vaidehi
16. 14. When the heroine is lovesick and thin, her mother
fears that she’s trouble with a disease because of the
wrath of Murukan, and brings a diviner to her house to
appease Murukan, the mountain deity.
The diviner (Velan) uses divines, offers a goat as sacrifice,
ties a talisman(magic signs) on the heroine’s arms and does
frenzied (wild) ritual dances on freshly laid sand in the
front yard of the house that is decorated with flowers.
17. 15. There is not a word in the English language for
‘virali’. A virali is a female artist who performs
dances and also sings. She belongs to the bard’s
family. She is the bard’s wife in some poems.
16. A demon (evil) protects wounded warriors on the
battlefield, when they have nobody to guard
them. This convention comes from Tholkāppiyam
PurathinaiIyal.
18. 17. Young girls are described as having ‘bright
forehead’, ‘sharp teeth’, ‘thick, dark hair’, ‘fragrant
hair, ‘deer-like looks’, ‘bamboo-like arms’, ‘swaying
walk’, ‘delicate shoulders’ etc.
These phrases are repeated quite often in the
poems. Young girls drew designs on their breasts
and shoulders, and these were called thoyyil.
19. • த ொய்யில் – Body Painting Art
• This is an ancient Tamil custom where women painted
their breasts and backs with beautiful paintings.
• நற்றிணை – 29, 39, 225, 298
குறுந்த ொணை – 276, 384
அைநொனூறு – 177, 239, 389
ைலித்த ொணை - 18, 24, 54, 63, 64, 76, 97, 111, 112, 117, 125, 142, 143, 144
மதுணைக்ைொஞ்சி – 283
20. • Akam Poetic Conventions
• Sangam poetry is highly conventionalized. It is best to
understand the thinais and the concepts of muthal,
karu, uri and ullurai to enjoy them
best. Tholkāppiyam, Kalaviyal endra Iraiyanār
Akapporul, and Nampi’s Akapporul Vilakkam are the
three books that deal with Sangam Akam conventions.
• Parts of Tholkappiyam (4th – 5th centuries) dealing with akam,
Kalaviyal endra Iraiyanār Akapporul (4th – 5th centuries) , and
Nampi’s Akapporul Vilakkam (13th century) were all written many
centuries after the Sangam poems. These akam conventions are
probably much older than the poems themselves, coming from an
ancient oral bardic tradition. The authors of the three books
mention quote ancient Tamil scholars (referring to them as “they
said so”, “என்ப”) from oral tradition times.
21. • Meaning of Akam and Puram
Akam – interior, Puram – exterior
Akam – heart, mind, Puram – body surfaces & extremeties
Akam – self, Puram – others
Akam – Kin, Puram – non-kin
Akam – house, family, Puram – house yard, field
Akam – earth, Puram – farthest ocean
Akam – love poems & no names or person, Puram –
poems about war, kings, people, names
Akam – codes of conduct appropriate to akam
poetry, Puram – Codes of conduct appropriate to
puram poetry
22. Some interesting elements seen in the poems:
The heroine’s eyes are described as having red
streaks.(move very fast in a specified direction)
The heroine who is in love becomes thin when
separated from her lover, and the bangles on her
arms slip down. She becomes pale and develops
yellow spots on her body. The words used to
describe this are – பெலை, பைப்பு, சுணங்கு, னதமல், தித்தி, திதலை,
பீேம், வரி.
• pale -lacking brightness of colour
23. • The heroine’s friend (னதாழி) refers to the hero as our
lover (நம் காதைர்) often, even though she means ‘your
lover’, since the two of them are very close friends.
The heroine’s friend plays a very important role in
the poems.
• She is a friend, confidante, she arranges trysts(a secret
meeting between two people who are having a romantic relationship) and is a messenger
between the lovers.
24. Typical Kurinji Thinai scenarios – Love in the mountains
The heroine chases parrots in the family’s millet field
Her friend joins her often in chasing parrots
The young girls use rattles and noise producing gadgets (implement)to
chase parrots
The heroine meets the hero while chasing parrots, and fall in love
The friend helps the lovers to meet
The hero comes through forest paths at night to meet his lover
The heroine worries about his safety and the friend conveys this to him
The friend arranges for day and night trysts
The heroine and her friend play with the hero at the waterfalls
The heroine and her friend play on swings
The heroine is badly affect with love and becomes thin
26. Bangles slip down the arms of the heroine
Her skin has become pale and yellow spots have spread on her body
The village finds out about the affair and rumours start
The heroine’s friend asks the hero whether they can come to his town
Heroine’s mother finds out about it and locks her up
The friend urges the hero to come and marry her friend
Mother arranges for a velan (Murugan priest) to cure her daughter
Velan prepares the ceremonial ground with fresh sand in their front yard
Velan does veriyāttam dances, and offers a goat and other things to appease Murugan
The heroine’s parents try to arrange her marriage with somebody else
The heroine does not respond to the hero’s love
The hero threatens that he is going to climb on the palmyra palm and be
drawn around town with a photo of his beloved
The mountain dwellers plant millet and aivanam grain
They guard their crops from wild boars and elephants
27. Typical Pālai Thinai scenarios – Separation
The hero leaves, passing the wasteland, to earn wealth (except
in Akananuru 255, the only poem in Sangam poetry where the
hero goes on a ship)
The hero and heroine elope and go through the wasteland paths
The foster mother goes in search of the heroine
Passers-by give advice to the hero and heroine
The heroine’s mother is very hurt since her daughter has eloped
The hero goes alone in search of wealth, leaving behind the
heroine
The heroine is afraid that he has to go through paths with
bandits(A robber,) and wild animals
The heroine’s friend consoles her
The heroine is distressed and bangles slip down her forearms
The hero speaks to his heart about his feelings
The heroine’s mother pleads (appeal earnestly)with the crow to
caw and bring her daughter back
28. • Typical Mullai Thinai scenarios – Patient waiting
The hero has gone on a personal business trip, and is
expected at the start of the rainy season
The hero has gone on the king’s business, and is expected at
the start of the rainy season
The heroine awaits his arrival when the rainy season arrives
The heroine is upset that the rainy season has started, and
her man has not returned
The heroine is in denial that the rainy season has started and
blames the trees for showing signs of the season
The heroine’s friend consoles her when she is worried
The hero is anxious to get back home once his business is
over
The heroine is upset when rainy season has started and the
hero has not returned
The hero talks to his charioteer on his way back
The rains start and forest is filled with kāyā, kondrai, mullai
and other flowers
The hero eventually reaches home and tells the heroine how
happy he is to be back
29. • Typical Neythal Thinai scenarios – Anxious waiting
The heroine and her friend dry fish on the seashore
Their fathers and brothers go into the ocean to fish
The heroine plays with her friends on the seashore
The heroine waits nervously for the hero who is
away
There is rumour in their settlement when the love
affair is known
The heroine’s friend assures her that the hero will
come on his chariot
The heroine’s body becomes pale and weak due to
the separation
The heroine is unable to sleep at night
30. • Typical Marutham Thinai scenarios – Infidelity and hurt
The hero takes a concubine
The hero plays with his concubine/concubines in the river
The heroine is very sad and hurt
The heroine’s friend accosts the hero
The concubine talks about her feelings
The concubine talks about the heroine
The hero uses a messenger bard to send word to the heroine
The heroine tells the bard about her sad feelings
The heroine tells the hero how hurt she is
The heroine tells the hero about rumour
The heroine tells the hero that he was seen with his concubines
The friend speaks her mind to the bard
The friend refuses the hero entry into the house
• Concubine-woman in the past who had a sexual relationship with an important man but was not married to him
31. • யவனர் – Ionians, Greeks
• யவனர் – The Ionians (Greek people -Greeks) must
have come first to trade with us. We called them
Yavanas. Those who came subsequently were also
called Yavanas – like the Romans and Turks.
• There are nine references to Yavanas. The Sangam
poems speak about the trade with the Yavanas in many
poems. Trade with them started a few centuries before
Christ and continued until the 3rd century A.D.
• We sold black pepper to these foreigners and got gold
coins in return. We bought wine from them. It appears
that the ‘pāvai vilakku’ lamp and the ‘kuthu vilaku
with an annam top’ was designed by Yavanas. See the
information in the poems below.
32. • அன்னம் உள்ள குத்து விளக்கு யவனரொல் தெய்யப்பட்டது, தபரும்பொணொற்றுபப்பை ட (316-317)
• தபரும்பொணொற்றுபப்பை ட – ஆெிரியர் கடியலூர் உரித் ிரங் கண்ணனொர்
• வண்டல் ஆயதமொடு உண் துணற ணல இப்
புனலொடு மைளிர் இட்ட த ொலங்குணை
இணற த ர் மைிச்சிைல் இணை தசத்து எறிந் னப்
புள் ஆர் த ண்ணைப் புலம்பு மடல் தசல்லொது
தைள்வி அந் ைர் அருங்ைடன் இறுத்
தவள்வித் தூைத்து அணசஇ யவன
ஓ ிம விளக்கின் உயர் மிணசக் தைொண்ட
ணவகுறு மீனின் ண யத் த ொன்றும். (311 – 318)
• வண்டல் – sand dolls making, ஆயதமொடு – friends, உண்துணற –
water tank steps, ணல இப் – join together, புனலொடு மைளிர் –
women playing in the water, இட்ட த ொலங்குணை – the gold
earrings that they left (on the shore), இணை – food, த ர் – searching,
மைிச்சிைல் – kingfisher bird, இணை – food, தசத்து – thought,
எறிந் னப் – took it, புள் – bird, ஆர் – filled, த ண்ணைப் –
palmyra palm, புலம்பு – lonely, மடல் – leaf, frond, தசல்லொது – not
going, தைள்வி அந் ைர் – brahmins who learn vedas, அருங்ைடன்
இறுத் – to do their rituals, தவள்வித் தூைத்து – ritual building
pillar, அணசஇ – was kept, யவன – Greek, ஓ ிம விளக்ைின் –
goose lamp, உயர் மிணசக்தைொண்ட – above it, ணவகுறு
மீனின் – morning star (venus), ண யத் த ொன்றும் – appears
slowly/in a dull manner
33. • Young women who swim in the drinking water
port along with friends they played with
while young making sand dolls,
left their gold earrings on the shore.
A kingfisher, thinking that it was food
took the jewels,
did not go to its usual palm tree perch
filled with birds,
but left it on a column top
near where the Vedic Brahmins did rituals.
It looked like the top of the Yavanar’s goose lamp
and the slowly appearing morning star (venus)
in the high skies.
• Translated by Vaidehi
Editor's Notes
Bard - poet
trysts -meeting
Eloped-they go away secretly to get married
Concubine-woman in the past who had a sexual relationship with an important man but was not married to him