Tamil Place Names in Malaysia
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The very name Malaya is a comination of two Tamil words, Malay or Malai (hill) and ur (town) meaning hilltown” (Malaiyur). According to Dr. Thriunavukkarasu the word Malaysia means the Mountains of Asia. There is also another hill-town in Sumatra which had been given the same name Malai-Yur which later became Malayu. Till the time of I-Tsing (671 A.D.), this was known as Jambi.[1]
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[edit] Pattani
In the northern part of Malaysia there is a place called Pattani. “Pattani” in Tamil means a pea (pisum sativum), however, the upper most class among the Tamil Muslims call themselves Pattanis. Since Malaya had been subject to the settlement of Tamil Muslims (who intermarried with the local women) as early as the 10th century A.D.[1]
[edit] Manigramam
Literal meaning of Manigramam in Tamil is “gem like town”. This is to be identified in the Malay peninsula as a trading center of the Tamils from the Coromandel Coast. Manigramam occurs in Tamil inscriptions of the Malabar coast.[2]
[edit] Tondi
There are two places in the Tamil country with the same name Tondi – one in the Chera Empire and the other one in the Pandyan Empire. However, there seems to have been a third Tondi in the Malay Peninsula.[1]
A reference to the Malayan Tondi occurs in the Tamil epic Silappadikaram which was first discovered by Nilakanta Sastri and later reported by Tom Harrison (1949), thus:
“Having entered together with the est wind that came laden with (the aroma) of aloe, silks, sandal, spices and camphor put by the residents of Tondi on board a fleet of tall roomy ships.”[1]
[edit] Takkolam (Takuapa)
Takuapa of the northern part of the Malay Peninsula is otherwise known as Takkolam. Takkolam is the Tamil word for “piper cuveba’ and “calyptranthes jambalana. There is also a place in the Tamil country which up to now carries the same name Takkolam. The Malaysian Takuapa could have been either abounded by the spices “calyptranthese jambalana” and “piper cubeba” or it could have been occupied by settlers from the Takkolam of the Tamil country, or both.[1]
[edit] Kadaram (Kedah)
Kedah, the west coast of Malaya, is known as Kadaram in Tamil. Kadaram-kandan, “conqueror of Kadaram” was one of the attributes given to Rajendra Cholan I of the Tamil Chola empire of the early 11th century A.D. There is also a place in the Madurai District in Tamil Nadu, of the Pandyan Empire, with the name Kadaram.[1]
A large and round fruit, which is a species of orange, with sour and bitter taste (not grapefruit) is called by the Tamils as kadarangkay, kadaram-pulp. This variety of orange was brought by the Tamil traders from Malaysia to Tamil Nadu, or the place abounded by this pulp could have been named after it by the Tamil settlers in Malaya.[1]
[edit] Mayirudinggam, Mappappalam, Mewilimbanggam, and Madamalingam
Mayirudinggam, Mappappalam, Mewilimbanggam, and Madamalingam are to be identified in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula. These are among the several states that were part of the Sri Vijaya empire but were overwhelmed by Rajendra Chola I in 1025 A.D. A Tanjore Inscription which commemorates this victory mentions the place names.[1][3]
[edit] Cheras
Cheras in Malaysia is a suburb located in both Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. Originally, Cheras is the name of a kingdom in ancient Tamilakkam. Outside of Malaysia on the cental part of the island of Sumatra are a group of people called the Karo Bataks carrying Dravidian clan names such as Chera, Chola, Pandya, and Pallava.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Arokiaswamy, Celine W.M. (2000). Tamil Influences in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, pp. 43, 45-47, & 49.
- ^ Hultzach, E. (1913). "Note on a Tamil Inscription in Siam". Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland Journal Vols. 1 & 2.
- ^ Coedes, Georges (1968). Indianized States of Southeast Asia. Honolulu: East-West Center.
