Sangam period

South India in Sangam Period

Sangam period (Tamil: சங்ககாலம், Sangakālam ?) is the period in the history of ancient southern India (known as the Tamilakam) spanning from c. 3rd century BC to c. 4th century AD. It is named after the famous Sangam academies of poets and scholars centered in the city of Madurai.

In Old Tamil language, the term Tamilakam (Tamiḻakam தமிழகம், Purananuru 168. 18) referred to the whole of the ancient Tamil-speaking area, corresponding roughly to the area known as southern India today, consisting of the territories of the present-day Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, parts of Andhra Pradesh, parts of Karnataka and northern Sri Lanka[1][2] also known as Illam.[3][4]

History

Main article: History of Tamil Nadu

According to southern Indian legends, there were three Sangam periods, namely Head Sangam, Middle Sangam and Last Sangam period. Historians use the term Sangam period to refer the last of these, the first two being legendary. So it is also called Last Sangam period (Tamil: கடைச்சங்க பருவம், Kaṭaissanka paruvam ?),[5] or Third Sangam period (Tamil: மூன்றாம் சங்க பருவம், Mūnṟām sanka paruvam ?). The Sangam literature is thought to have been produced in three Sangam academies of each period. The evidence on the early history of the southern India consists of the epigraphs of the region, the Sangam literature, and archaeological data.

Approximately during the period between 400 BC to AD 500, Tamilakam was ruled by the three Tamil dynasties of Pandya, Chola and Chera, and a few independent chieftains, the Velir.

Literary sources

There is a wealth of sources detailing the history, socio-political environment and cultural practices of ancient Tamilakam, including volumes of literature and epigraphy.[3]

Tamilakam's history is split into three periods; prehistoric, classical (see Sangam period) and medieval. A vast array of literary, epigraphical and inscribed sources from around the world provide insight into the socio-political and cultural occurrences in the Tamil nation.

Culture

Religion

The ancient Tamil literature consists of the great grammatical work Tolkappiyam,the ten anthologies Patthupattu,the eight anthologies Ettuttogai, and the eighteen minor works such as Silappadikaram, Manimegalai and Sivaga-Cindamani. The religion of the ancient Tamils closely follow roots of nature worship and some elements of it can also be found in Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta traditions. In the ancient Sangam literature, Sivan was the supreme God, and Murugan was the one celebrated by the masses; both of them were sung as deified Tamil poets ascending the Koodal academy. The Tamil landscape was classified into five categories, thinais, based on the mood, the season and the land. Tolkappiyam, one of the oldest grammatical works in Tamil mentions that each of these thinai had an associated deity such as Kottravai (Mother goddess) and Sevvael (Murugan) in Kurinji(the hills), Thirumaal in Mullai(the forests), Vendhan (Wanji-ko) in Marutham(the plains), and Kadaloan in the Neithal(the coasts and the seas). Other ancient works refer to Maayon (Maal) and Vaali.

The most popular deity was Murugan, who has from a very early date been identified with Karthikeya, the son of Siva. Muruga might have been a different deity originally stemming from a local deity. According to the noted expert on Tamil culture Kamil V. Zvelebil, "Subrahmanya-Murugan is one of the most complicated and baffling deities for analysis". The later(medieval to present) worship of Amman or Mariamman, thought to have been derived from Kotravai, an ancient mother goddess, also was very common. Kannagi, the heroine of the Cilappatikaram, was worshiped as Pathini by many Tamils, particularly in Sri Lanka. There were also many temples and devotees of Thirumaal, Siva, Ganapathi, and the other common Hindu deities.

According to George L. Hart, who holds the endowed Chair in Tamil Studies by University of California, Berkeley, has written that the legend of the Tamil Sangams or "literary assemblies: was based on the Tamil Jain sangham at Madurai:

There was a permanent Jaina assembly called a Sangha established about 604 A.D. in Madurai. It seems likely that this assembly was the model upon which tradition fabricated the cangkam legend."[6]

Calendar

The ancient Tamil calendar was based on the sidereal year similar to the ancient Hindu solar calendar, except that months were from solar calculations, and originally there was no 60 year cycle as seen in Sanskrit calendar. The year was made up of twelve months and every two months constituted a season. With the popularity of Mazhai vizhavu, traditionally commencement of Tamil year was clubbed on April 14, deviating from the astronomical date of vadavazhi vizhavu.

Festivals

Arts

Musicians, stage artists and performers entertained the kings, the nobility, the rich and the general population. Groups of performers included:

Together with the poets (pulavar) and the academic scholars (saandror), these people of talent appeared to originate from all walks of life, irrespective of their native profession.

Population

The ancient Tamil land was divided into five types- Kurinji, Mullai, Marutam, Neithal and Palai. The people were divided into five different clans ("kudis") based on their profession. They were;

All the five kudis constituted a typical settlement, which was called an "uru". Later each clan spread across the land, formed individual settlements of their own and concentrated into towns, cities and countries. Thus the Mallars settled in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, while the Malavars came to live in Kerala, western Tamil Nadu, eastern Andhra Pradesh and southern Sri Lanka. The Nagars inhabited southern and eastern Tamil Nadu, and northern Sri Lanka, while the Kadambars settled in central Tamil Nadu first and later moved to western Karnataka. The Thiraiyars inhabited throughout the coastal regions. Later various subsects were formed based on more specific professions in each of the five landscapes (Kurinji, Mullai, Marutam, Neithal and Palai).

List of kingdoms and city-states

Empires or large kingdoms were the Cholas, the Pandya and the Cheras. The small kingdoms and city states amidst these were:

Political map of South India, 210 B.C.E.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Wilson, A.Jeyaratnam. "Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its Origins and Development in 19th and 20th Centuries". "They had earlier felt secure in the concept of the Tamilakam, a vast area of "Tamilness" from the south of Dekhan in India to the north of Sri Lanka...". Google. Retrieved 2012-04-28.
  2. ↑ "Early Interactions Between South and Southeast Asia: Reflections on Cross Cultural exchange". "originally imported from Kerala to Tamilakam(Southern India) to Illam(Sri Lanka)". Google. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Abraham, Shinu (2003). "Chera, Chola, Pandya: using archaeological evidence to identify the Tamil kingdoms of early historic South India.". Asian Perspectives: the Journal of Archaeology for Asia and the Pacific 42.
  4. ↑ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=P1naAAAAMAAJ&q=nagadipa+naga+nadu&dq=nagadipa+naga+nadu&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DkulT8-ZM5OA0AWYhoTtAw&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAA
  5. ↑ Zvelebil, Kamil (1973). The smile of Murugan on Tamil literature of South India. BRILL. p. 46.
  6. ↑ The Milieu of the Ancient Tamil Poems, Prof. George Hart
  7. ↑ Mannar Uruvana 'Mallar' Varalaru

Bibliography

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