|
Naga People (Lanka)
The Naga people are believed by some to be an ancient Mythological tribe who once inhabited Sri Lanka and various parts of Southern India. There are references to Nagas in several ancient texts such as Mahavamsa, Manimekala. They were generally represented as a class of super-humans taking the form of serpents who inhabit a subterranean world. Certain places such as Nagadeepa in Jaffna and Kalyani in Gampaha are mentioned as their abodes. The names of some Naga kings in Sri Lankan Ancient legend and the cult of Naga prevailed in India up to medieval times. The Jaffna Peninsula was mentioned in Tamil literature as ''Naka Nadu'', in Pali literature as ''Nagadeepa'' and in Greek gazetteer as ''Nagadiba''. The name ''Nagabhumi'' was also found on a Brahmi-inscribed coin from Uduthurai, Jaffna and in a Tamil inscription from Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu referring to the Jaffna peninsula. Naga workship tradition still followed in Tamil Nadu. Etymology The word has many origins. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naga People
Nagas are various Tibeto-Burman languages, Tibeto-Burman ethnic groups native to northeastern India and northwestern Myanmar. The groups have similar cultures and traditions, and form the majority of population in the Indian state of Nagaland and Naga Self-Administered Zone of Myanmar (Burma); with significant populations in Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in India; Sagaing Region and Kachin State in Myanmar. The Nagas are divided into various List of Naga ethnic groups, Naga ethnic groups whose numbers and populations are unclear. They each speak distinct List of Naga languages, Naga languages often unintelligible to the others, but all are loosely connected to each other. Etymology The present day Naga people have historically been referred to by many names, like "Noga" or "Naka" by the inhabitants of the Ahom kingdom in what is now considered as Assam which means "people with pierced ears", "Hao" by Meitei people of Imphal Valley and "Nakas" by Bamar people, Burmese ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pudukkottai
Pudukkottai Municipal Corporation is the administrative headquarters of Pudukkottai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is one of the oldest Heritage city located on the banks of the Vellar River. It has been ruled, at different times, by the Mutharaiyar dynasty, Cholas, Early Pandyas, and Thondaimans. It is situated about southwest of the state capital Chennai, southeast of Tiruchirappalli, and northeast of Madurai. Pudukkottai is sometimes called a cradle of archaeology. Being the district headquarters, Pudukkottai has district administrative offices, along with government educational institutes, colleges, and schools. Pudukkottai is a part of the Pudukkottai constituency and elects its member to the legislative assembly every five years. It is a part of the Lok Sabha constituency comprising Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Tiruchirappalli and Karur. Pudukkottai is administered by a selection-grade municipality established in 1912 as per the Municipal Corporat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dravidian People
The Dravidian peoples, Dravidian-speakers or Dravidians, are a collection of ethnolinguistic groups native to South Asia who speak Dravidian languages. There are around 250 million native speakers of Dravidian languages. Telugus form the largest Dravidian ethnic group, whilst Tamilians, Kannadigas and Malayalis form the vast-majority of the rest of Dravidian speakers. Dravidian speakers form the majority of the population of South India and are natively found in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. The four languages of these ethnic groups along with Urdu constitute the official languages of South India. Dravidian peoples are also present in Singapore, Mauritius, Malaysia, France, South Africa, Myanmar, East Africa, the Caribbean, and the United Arab Emirates through recent migration. Proto-Dravidian may have been spoken in the Indus civilization, suggesting a "tentative date of Proto-Dravidian around the early part of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South India
South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area () and 20% of India's population. It is bound by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west and the Indian Ocean in the south. The geography of the region is diverse, with two mountain ranges, the Western and Eastern Ghats, bordering the plateau heartland. The Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, Penna, Tungabhadra and Vaigai rivers are important non-perennial sources of water. Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Coimbatore and Kochi are the largest urban areas in the region. The majority of the people in South India speak at least one of the four major Dravidian languages: Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. During its history, a number of dynastic kingdoms ruled ove ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vanniyar
The Vanniyar, formerly known as the Palli, are a community or '' jāti'' found in the northern part of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Vanniyars were historically considered a lower caste, although some were peasant-warriors in the 14th century. They have been trying to gain a higher socio-religious standing since the 19th century, using the Sanskritisation process to promote a myth of origin that they are related to the ancient Agnikula deity, born from the flames of a fire sacrifice. Etymology Several etymologies for ''Vanniyar'' have been suggested. Alf Hiltebeitel suggests that the caste name derives from ''vahni'', a Sanskrit word thought to be the root for the Tamil word ''vanni'' (fire), which is also a Tamil name for an important tree. The connection to the sage (Jambumuni) leads to further associations with mythological legends. Other etymologies include derivation from the Dravidian ''val'' ("strength"), or the Sanskrit or Pali ''vana'' ("forest"). The te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kallar (caste)
Kallar (or Kallan, formerly spelled as Colleries) is one of the three related castes of South India, southern India which constitute the Mukkulathor confederacy. The Kallar, along with the Maravar and Agamudayar, constitute a united social caste on the basis of parallel professions, though their locations and heritages are wholly separate from one another. Etymology ''Kallar'' is a Tamil word meaning ''thief''. Their history has included periods of banditry. Kallars themselves use titles such as "landlord", Other proposed etymological origins include "black skinned", "hero", and "Palm wine, toddy-tappers". The anthropologist Susan Bayly notes that the name Kallar, as with that of Maravar, was a title bestowed by Tamil Polygar, ''palaiyakkarars'' (warrior-chiefs) on pastoral peasants who acted as their armed retainers. The majority of those poligars, who during the late 17th and 18th centuries controlled much of the Telugu people, Telugu region as well as the Tamil area, had t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sambavar
Paraiyar, Parayar or Maraiyar (formerly anglicised as Pariah and Paree) is a caste group found in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and in Sri Lanka. Etymology Robert Caldwell, a nineteenth-century missionary and grammarian who worked in South India, was in agreement with some Indian writers of the same period who considered the name to derive from the Tamil word '' parai'' (''drum''). According to this hypothesis, the Paraiyars were originally a community of drummers who performed at auspicious events like weddings and funerals. M. Srinivasa Aiyangar, writing a little later, found this etymology unsatisfactory, arguing that beating of drums could not have been an occupation of so many people. Sociologist Karthikeyan Damodaran also challenges the notion that the Paraiyars were primarily drum beaters, arguing they are the largest caste group in Tamil Nadu and engaged in diverse occupations like agriculture and weaving. He contends that the name's history is misle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maravar
Maravar (also known as Maravan and Marava) are a Tamil community in the state of Tamil Nadu. These people are one of the three branches of the Mukkulathor confederacy. Members of the Maravar community often use the honorific title '' Thevar''. They are classified as an Other Backward Class or a Denotified Tribe in Tamil Nadu, depending on the district. The Sethupathi rulers of the erstwhile Ramnad kingdom were from this community. The Maravar community, along with the Kallars, had a reputation for thieving and robbery from as early as the medieval period. Etymology The term ''Maravar'' has diverse proposed etymologies; it may come simply from a Tamil word ''maram'', meaning such things as ''vice'' and ''murder''. or a term meaning "bravery". Social status The Maravars were considered as Shudras and were free to worship in Hindu temples. According to Pamela G, Price, the Maravar were warriors who were in some cases zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parathavar
Paravar (also known as Bharathar or Bharathakula Kshatriyar) is a predominantly Catholic Tamil maritime community, mainly living in the state of Tamil Nadu, and in Sri Lanka. Historically, they were inhabitants of the ''Neithal'' (coastal) lands of Tamil Nadu, and find mention in various ancient Tamil literary works. In modern India, Paravars are concentrated along the coastal belt extending along the Gulf of Mannar, from Kilakarai to Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin). They also live in some pockets along the Arabian Sea coast in Kanyakumari District as well as central Kerala. Paravars have been significant among the population of the port city of Thoothukudi and Ramanathapuram, since the 1580s. Apart from Thoothukudi and Ramanathapuram, Paravars also live in many of the big cities and towns in South Tamilnadu like Tuticorin, Nagercoil, Tirunelveli, Rameshwaram, Thiruchendur and Madurai where they are into diverse professions. In Sri Lanka, the Paravas (called Bharathas in Sri Lan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tamil Culture
Tamil culture refers to the culture of the Tamil people. The Tamils speak the Tamil language, one of the oldest languages in India with more than two thousand years of written history. Archaeological evidence from the Tamilakam region indicates a continuous history of human occupation for more than 3,800 years. Historically, the region was inhabited by Tamil-speaking Dravidian people. It was ruled by various kingdoms such as the Sangam period (3rd century BCE to 3rd century CE) triumvirate of the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas, the Pallavas (3rd–9th century CE), and the later Vijayanagara Empire (14th–17th century CE). European colonization began in the 17th century CE, and continued for two centuries until the Indian Independence in 1947. Due to its long history, the culture has seen multiple influences over the years and have developed diversely. The Tamils had outside contact in the form of diplomatic and trade relations with other kingdoms to the north and with the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tamil Language
Tamil (, , , also written as ''Tamizhil'' according to linguistic pronunciation) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. It is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world,. "Tamil is one of the two longest-surviving classical languages in India" (p. 7). attested since 300 BC, 300 BCE.: "...the most acceptable periodisation which has so far been suggested for the development of Tamil writing seems to me to be that of A Chidambaranatha Chettiar (1907–1967): 1. Sangam Literature – 200BC to AD 200; 2. Post Sangam literature – AD 200 – AD 600; 3. Early Medieval literature – AD 600 to AD 1200; 4. Later Medieval literature – AD 1200 to AD 1800; 5. Pre-Modern literature – AD 1800 to 1900" at p. 610 Tamil was the lingua franca for early maritime traders in South India, with Tamil inscriptions found outside of the Indian subcontinent, such as Indonesia, Thailand, and Egypt. The language has a well-documented history wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinhala Language
Sinhala ( ; Sinhala: , , ), sometimes called Sinhalese ( ), is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka, who make up the largest ethnic group on the island, numbering about 16 million. It is also the first language of about 2 million other Sri Lankans, as of 2001. It is written in the Sinhalese script, a Brahmic script closely related to the Grantha script of South India. The language has two main varieties, written and spoken, and is a notable example of the linguistic phenomenon known as diglossia. Sinhala is one of the official and national languages of Sri Lanka. Along with Pali, it played a major role in the development of Theravada Buddhist literature. Early forms of the Sinhalese language are attested to as early as the 3rd century BCE. The language of these inscriptions, still retaining long vowels and aspirated consonants, is a Prakrit similar to Magadhi, a regional associate of the Middle-Indian Prakrits that had been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
