Ammanai () is a type of

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

belonging to the family of " Tharavu kochchaga kalippa". This is a type of poetry associated with a game of the same name that was popular with teen girls. Ammanai will be in the form of questions and answers. Ammanai generally follows the rules of a

venpa Venpa or Venba ('' வெண்பா'' in Tamil) is a form of classical Tamil poetry. Classical Tamil poetry has been classified based upon the rules of metric prosody. Such rules form a context-free grammar. Every venba consists of between tw ...

, but can occasionally have kalithalais and belongs to the kalippa family. The earliest ammanai poetry was composed by Saint

Manikkavasagar Manikkavacakar was a 3rd-century Tamil saint and poet who wrote ''Thiruvasagam and Thirukkovaiyar'', books of Shaiva hymns. Tamil scholars and researchers share that he was a minister to the Pandya king Nedunjeliyan II (3rd Century CE) and liv ...

. There is an ammanai which is said to be sung by the poets Ottakuththar and Pugalzendhi. During later times, it became something like a historical ballad. Ramappaiyan Ammanai was composed to extol the wars fought by Dalavay Ramappaiyan who was the general of Tirumalai Nayakkar of

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

Akilathirattu Ammanai Akilathirattu Ammanai (; ''akilam'' ("world"), ''thirattu'' ("collection"), ''ammanai'' ("ballad")), also called Thiru Edu ("venerable book"), is the main religious text of the Tamil belief system Ayyavazhi. The title is often abbreviated to Ak ...

, often called as

Akilam Akilathirattu Ammanai (; ''akilam'' ("world"), ''thirattu'' ("collection"), ''ammanai'' ("ballad")), also called Thiru Edu ("venerable book"), is the main religious text of the Tamil belief system Ayyavazhi. The title is often abbreviated to Ak ...

which includes more than 15,000 verses and is the largest Ammanai literature.N. Vivekanandan (2003), ''Akilathirattu Ammanai Moolamum Uraiyum'', Vivekananda Publications, p. 12 ''(Additional)''. The Sivagangai Seemai Kummi/Ammanai relates the final wars of the valiant

Marudhu Brothers ''Marudhu'' is a 2016 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by M. Muthaiah. It features Vishal (actor), Vishal in the lead role. Production began in November 2015. It was released worldwide on 20 May 2016 w ...

Sivagangai Sivaganga () is the City and headquarters of the Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is known for the 16th-century Sivagangai Fort, located in City Centre. Inside the fort, the Rajarajeshwari Amman Temple features many orn ...

. The

Palm-leaf manuscript Palm-leaf manuscripts are manuscripts made out of dried palm leaves. Palm leaves were used as writing materials in the Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asia dating back to the 5th century BCE. Their use began in South Asia and spread to ot ...

's on Ariviyur Nagarathar Ammanai was also found in

district which explains the history of the

Nagarathar Nagarathar (நகரத்தார்) is a Tamil caste found native in Tamil Nadu, India. The Nagarathar community was not originally a single caste, but developed from an assortment of related subcastes, which over time became known under t ...

community.

References

Tamil-language literature {{Poetry-stub