Talk:Sri Lanka Tamils (native)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is within the scope of the NCSLC Project, a collaborative effort to improve Wikipedia's coverage of Ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka and to provide a balanced opinion on the ongoing crisis. The primary objective is to contribute and maintain pages pertaining to the Sri Lanka Tamils, LTTE and the Sri Lankan government's efforts towards resolving the crisis. NCSLC stands for Neutral Coverage of the Sri Lankan Crisis. If you would like to participate, you can visit the project page, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks.

A wealth of information is provided in the article. A lot of information has been digested and presented. The POV is reasonably balanced.

At times the article does not take the present situation into due consideration. For instance, how does the present situation alter the caste situation? In particular, how does LTTE leader or leadership not belonging to the “upper caste” alters the caste organization of SLT?

The section “present situation” to cover the last two decades of rapid change can be expanded extensively. --Natkeeran 01:20, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

About caste domination and present situation, the facts are that in Sri Lanka, caste still plays an important role but not the restrictive role that it once played. The so called 'lower' caste composition of the LTTE leader is a misnomer, as amongst the Sinhalese Karave, Tamil Karaiyar(and allied coastal castes) in certain regions have attained numerical, social and economic dominance that Vellalar domination was minimal or non existant. Especially in Valvetithurai, leader's grandfather had built the local Sivan temple thus accruing his family a social position akin to any Vellala or Chetty Temple ejamanan, pretty high ritual position indeed. More than the majority of Jaffan Velala families can dream off. Under no circumstances would he have felt any sence of shame or discrimination viz a vie the Vellalar. Infact I was told the Karaiyar had divided them amongst Mel and Kil subgrous, one owning the boats and trades and the other providing the muscle power.

RaveenS 10:02, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Tamilnadu Tamils versus Sri Lankan Tamhils

I've removed the reference to TN Tamil cuisine not using chillies and coconut. It uses them quite extensively, particularly in its more traditional form. This article also seems to overstate differences between SL Tamils and TN Tamils. As it notes, several of the peculiarities of SL Tamil culture which it lists are also shared by the Tamils of southern TN. As such, it's not really correct to term them "differences". It would be useful if someone who's very familiar with both (such as a TN Tamil who's lived in Jaffna, or a SL Tamil who's lived in a part of TN other than Chennai) could have a look and rewrite the section. From a more detached perspective, Dr. Dagmar Hellmar-Rajanayagam's article[1] on how the SL Tamil identity evolved to be different from that of Indian Tamils may also be useful. -- Arvind 14:18, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

I think what gives the SLT the distinctness culturally is that SLT Tamil dialects and culture is derived both from Tamilakam as well as Sri lanka. When I say, Tamilakam, it includes present day Kerala. Also a lot of borrowings and assimilations has had happened between the Sinhalese and SLT that requires further study. From a linguitic point of view one example is the word for gun. It is Tuppaki in Indian Tamil, but is Tuvaku in SLT and Sinhalese. Pardoxically the Ge or family name of some coastal Sinhalese of Indian origin is Tuppakige not Tuvakkuge showing how recent their arrival and assimilation has been :-))

RaveenS 10:11, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

We TN Tamils quite cheerfully use "Tamilakam" as a just another name for Tamil Nadu. I have been quite struck by the way SL Tamils use it to refer to a cultural region. It would be quite interesting to read more about the borrowings and assimilation between Sinhalese and SL Tamils. I'm currently working on an article on the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict for the Norwegian wikipedia, and the extent of cultural exchange that took place up to quite modern times is absolutely fascinating. -- Arvind 12:51, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

The term was popularized by Prof.Dr Peter Schalk[[2]] of the Uppsala University (if there is prior attestation, I am not aware) to denote a common cultural region of Tamil Nadu and Kerala as Tamilakam. Many other linguists, historians, and lay people such as me have picked up on it. It also has become an aceptable term amongst those who study Malayalee/Keralite culture to refer to its common Tamil past. Although we have to be cognizant of its use in Tamil Nadu as a synonym for Tamil Nadu. Because you already have a term for Tamil Nadu we feel comfortable in appropriating it to denote a common area. SLT dialects, culture, cuisine are all derived from a time before the distinction between Tamils and Malayalees became pronounced or derived from a people(s) from Kerala (especially from the lower echelons) who had not become true Malayalees in the modern sence even while the elites (such as the Namboothiris and Nairs) had abandoned Tamil identity. My opinion is that it is a bit of both. It is Sanskritisation and influence of Saiva Siddantam on the Vellalar elite that gave a more traditional link to Tamil Nadu elite culture alone.

RaveenS 19:54, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

It's quite a good way of referring to the common area, although my impression is that many Keralites do not think they share very much cultural heritage with Tamils. That may have something to do with the Nam Tamilar movement of the 1950s, perhaps. It's certainly a topic worth exploring. Perhaps we could work on a substantive article on Tamilakam, instead of just a redirect to Ancient Tamil country? -- Arvind 17:24, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

Shall we ask Prof.Peter Schalk to write it?

RaveenS 22:27, 18 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Revised version July 13

Revised and shortened RaveenS