History of Tamil people...
PART-6
During the whole of SumeroTamil literature there is NO Varnasrama Dharma[வருணாசிரம தருமம்dharma of the various castes and stages of life] being put forwarded[an Idea or theory) and supported though individuals differences are recognized and that any one can become the ur-sag ( caanroon/சான்றோன்/“hero”) and ulu-gula ( the Kuravan/குரவன்/an elderly respectable person/மூத்தோன்,a priest, ) the teacher.The ancient Tamilian social order was also without the castes associated varna system. But had social divisions or classes based on work done (profession or vocation).Even Tolkapiyam that mentions Antanar[parpparar] Vaiciyar[(Skt. vais'ya)] as groupings of people also describes the Munaivan[முனைவன்/அறிவு விளக்கம் பெற்றவன் முனைவன்] as one who enjoys understanding free of prejudices( Vinaiyin niiGki viLangkiya aRivu/வினையின் நீங்கி விளங்கிய அறிவு) implying thereby that anyone can become the Munivan[sage] and that it is NOT matter of birth but rather that of understanding. An added reason may that the whole of Tamil literature also goes against Varnasra Dharma.
Below some very historically interesting lines pointed out by Dr K.Loganathan where both Kumari and Sangam are mentioned with his own interpretations as well.
215. ga-e gudu sag-gam-mah ju me-en ( I am the anointing (gudu)-priest , the knowledgeable sangamah)
The Su. gudu which is given the meaning 'priest" may actually be a ritual dancer, and hence the Tamil: koodu , meaning Tamil: koodiyar, the dancer. From this might have originated Tamil: kuudal, the coming together.Also The word "sag-gam" cannot be 'priest" ( sangu?sanga) as 'gudu' that precedes it, already means that. Hence it should be linked with 'sa-ga =sag-a" , to conjoin, be together , be in love etc. Hence:
215.Tamil: Gaayee koodu cangkam maa: cuu maan ( I am ritual dancer ( koodu) who knows the rules established by the Great Sangam)
217. ga-e ka-pirig [A-HA](ki) he-sikil-la he-ga-dadag-ga me-en ( I am the incantation priest of Ku'ar , who indeed cleansed , and also purified)
Markham J. Geller gives evidences to read the sign [A-HA] as " Kumari" ( Ku'ar) on page 13 of his book "Forerunners to Udug-Hul"published by Franz Steiner Verlag Wiebaden GMBH, Stuttgart, 1985.It is interesting here that in Tamil, Kumari is also called Kauri, a parallel in meaning and morphology that is quite striking and thus pointing out also a historical continuity despite a shift in the geographical location.Hence:
217.Ta. Gaayee kaapiri Kumari (Kauri) ey sukilla, eyka taGtaGku maan ( I am the incantation priest of Kumari (Kauri), attained purity and also attained living long)
Let us examine another similarities between Sumerian words & Tamil words.Sumerian kal & Tamil Kal = stone and learning:
From Suruppak’s Neri (3000 BC)i we have ‘kal’ unmistakably as ‘learning’ as follows:
246:nig.nam kal-kal-en nig.e me-kal-kal ( You appreciate something, it appreciates you.
Tamil:நிகழ்.நம் கல்கல்லின் மிகவே மெய் கல்கல் /nikaznam kal.kal-in mikvee mey kal.kal ( If you learn about the happenings around you learn the truths).
Here ,the word kal.in would be expressed as karkin but which is only a transform of the base : kal.in
Now we have the ‘stone’ sense in the Temple Hymn 9 line below:
2(120):us-ku temen-gal-zu nam-kal-kal ( Your base (and) your great foundation are mighty)
Tamil:உச்சி கோ தாமான்கள்ஜு நம்கல்கல் /ucci koo taamankaL-ju namkal.kal ( Your divine top and wide base are really strong and firm)
us (the top) Tamil. ucci : the very top, peak etc).Tamil: kal :stone, firm. The ‘nam’ serves here as an adjective for the metaphorical use of ‘kal’ (stone).Here nam.kal.kal which will be expressed now as ‘kal.kal. nam’ where the nam (> nayam, nalam?) can also be taken as the abstract noun format, makes it clear that the meaning is ‘strong and firm’, a meaning that comes from a metaphorical application of the primary meaning of ‘stone’
This overlap of both meanings and metaphorical applications cannot be accidental. Once the ancient Tamils must have READ and learned from stone cut inscriptions or rock-cut symbols before they changed the media to clay tablets and which comes along another range of terms for writing reading and so forth.( ri, gir, dub-sar etc)
There are hundreds of such words that have come down from the Sumerian past to the Tamils unchanged in phonetic shape and meaning.For example another Sumerian word: ma: means boat (kattamaram>tree) and ma/mah:means large or great corresponding to Tamil. maa, makaa.In Tamil too maa: mango tree, maram: tree ; maa/makaa: huge great. In Sumerian: ma means "boat: as in ma-gur: a large boat (ship?) This may correspond to Tamil:maa, maram : tree.The intial boats may be simply logs put together-- kattamaram- and hence a transfer of meaning from tree to that which is made out of it. So It may NOT be an accidental .
Sumerian scholars who deciphered originally,Dr. Kramer and so on, who consider that Sumerian is a completely isolated language and no correspondence with any other languages in the world.However ,any Tamil who read Samuel Kramer’s books on Sumerians,would realize the similarities of the texts there with Tamil.Eg. En, nin,aba[Sumerian. aba/apa and Tamil. appa ], ama, Ur and so on.When reading these basic words of Sumerians no Tamil can easily reject the astonishing fact that Tamil language has been constructed with these basic components.Eg. Ur was Sumerian city. Like wise,Parthibanur [பார்த்திபனூர்]. Thuraiyur[‘துறையூர்]...etc,etc /ur’ suffix.And also we know that how ‘Oor’ the word is a part and parcel of Tamil culture.
Double Headed Bird: Tamil- Sumerian
[ Double-Headed bird found in Alaja Huyuk, Turkey, 14th C
[Sculpture in Keladi Temple, Karnataka]
There are striking similarities between the Tamil and Sumerian civilizations.Ancient Sangam Tamil literature used this bird in their love poetry.Sumerians considered this bird the symbol of God Ninurta[God of War] of Lagash[is an ancient city]. They thought it had divine power.Tamil literature, dated over two thousand years old, mentions it in three places. In Akananuru[அகநானூறு], poet Kapilar (verse 12) compares this double-headed, single-bellied bird to two people in love as "யாமே, பிரிவு இன்று இயைந்த துவரா நட்பின்,இரு தலைப் புள்ளின் ஓர் உயிரம்மே;""our friendship is sweet and without separation, and we are like a two-headed bird with one body". Nallanthuvanar also used this simile in Paripatal (Verse 8-72). But another Tamil poet Maruthan Ilanagan in Kalithokai (verse 89) used this bird in the form of two fighting heads, like the Panchatantra story as "என் இவை, ஓர் உயிர்ப் புள்ளின் இரு தலையுள் ஒன்று போர் எதிர்ந்தற்றாப் புலவல்? நீ கூறின், என் ஆர் உயிர் நிற்கும் ஆறு யாது;". Thakadur Yaththirai[தகடூர் யாத்திரை] is a lost Tamil book, but excerpts are available as quotes in other works such as இணைக்குறள்ஆசிரியப்பா 8. These quotes compared the fight between two kings Athiyaman and Peruncheral Irumporai to the double headed bird fighting with itself. (Ref. Purath thirattu verse 785) as "வினவுதி யாயின் கேண்மதி சினவாது ஒருகுடர் படுதர ஓர்இரை தூற்றும் இருதலைப் புள்ளின் ஓர்உயிர் போல அழிதரு வெகுளி தாங்காய்" It shows that Tamils from one end of the land to the other knew this bird very well.
Inanna- Kali comparison..
The Sumerians were a non-Semitic people, generally short and stocky, with high, straight noses and downward sloping eyes. As you know this characteristic does fit well to the Dravidian Tamils in South India.The women draped the garment from the left shoulder (a saree like),while the men bound it at their waists (a versti like) and left the upper half of their body bare. As you know this characteristic also fits well to the Dravidian Tamils in South India. Even now some village people wear like this.
Birds were used by ancient mariners to find the land while they were in the mid seas. After the use of compasses, this was not practised. Very Interesting references are found in Sumerian culture, Indus valley, and Tamil literature. We have an Indus Valley tablet containing a boat with two birds on either side. Tamil Vaishnavite saints used this simile in their poems. Let us look at Sumerian culture first.
Utnapishtim was the survivor of a great deluge sent by the gods to destroy the human race. Akkadian epic of Gilgamesh says that God Enlil was angry with humanity and decided to destroy them in a flood. Utnapishtim told Gilgamesh to build a boat. When the waters receded he sent a dove, a swallow and a raven to find land.
A three sided Indus Valley Tablet was found in 1931 in the Indus valley excavations. This shows a flat bottomed boat with a central hut and two birds on the deck. The birds were used as aids in the navigation. When they were released, they would not come back if they find land.
Tamil Literature:Hindus look at this direction finding birds from a different angle. Kulasekara Alvar of ninth century sang a poem on Vishnu. He says that he also comes back to the lotus feet of the lord, like a bird that couldn’t find the land. A strange coincidence is that he and other Tamil saints mention only crow as the bird for finding the direction. It is similar to the raven of Sumerian stories.
"O Lord of Vittuvakkodu, you killed the rutted elephant Kuvalayapida! Other than falling at your lotus feet, where can I go for refuge? I am like the osprey on the mast-head of a ship in the barren ocean which flies out, only to return to the mast, not seeing the shore anywhere."...
In the Stone Age, when people first began settling on the alluvial plains of Mesopotamia, perhaps their single most immediate concern was finding reliable sources of freshwater for drinking and watering their crops and animals. At first, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and their tributaries, including the Upper and Lower Zab, offered the most obvious and convenient water supplies. And this is why so many of the early Sumerian villages and cities were built on or very near the rivers. However, though they were important sources of life-giving water, the rivers, especially the Tigris, could be unpredictable and at times produced destructive spring floods. Periodic attempts were made to erect levees and dams to control the rivers, but ultimately the soft soil of southern Mesopotamia allowed these barriers to erode rapidly. Also, as populations grew, some people desired to build settlements in areas lying a few or even tens of miles from the nearest river. And the need to supply these new settlements with water presented another major challenge.
To overcome these challenges, the early inhabitants of Mesopotamia steadily learned to supplement the direct tapping of the rivers with other water sources and supplies, including artificial canals, wells, and aqueducts. Canals—water channels dug on the surface of the ground—distributed water efficiently and safely and became vital to sustaining life in the region throughout ancient times. Archaeological investigation has identified this evidence of irrigation in Mesopotamia as far back as the 6th millennium BC, where barley was grown in areas where the natural rainfall was insufficient to support such a crop.The flood waters, which occurred July through December, were diverted to fields for 40 to 60 days. The water was then drained back into the river at the right moment in the growing cycle.Their importance is reflected in a much-repeated ancient Mesopotamian curse: “May your canal become choked with debris!” By necessity, therefore, kings and other rulers made digging and maintaining canals a major priority. Because constructing a canal was a massive undertaking, a ruler like Hammurabi called on large numbers of his subjects to do the job.Any ruler who neglected the existing canals was certain to become unpopular and risk inciting unrest or even rebellion.
Similar situation could be seen in sangam poem Purananuru 18 also.
"Barren fields which are sown, which look to the skies for
water, are of no use to a king, even if they are huge.
O Cheliyan of murderous battles! You should not disdain my advice,
but act quickly! Those who harness the flowing waters and built
dams have established their glory! Those who have built none
will have no enduring fame in this world!"
Once the canal had been dug, a sluice gate constructed on the bank of the river controlled the volume and flow of the water into the artificial channel. When deemed necessary, the gate was opened or closed the desired amount, thereby increasing or decreasing the water's flow.During the growing season,each farmer was allowed only a certain amount of water.When it was a farmer's turn to water his fields the regulator was adjusted so that water ran from canal into an irrigation ditch which ran alongside the farmer's fields.the farmer could the water his field.It was noted that the Babylonian King Hammurabi; was the first to institute water regulations within his kingdom. This early code covered: A) The distribution of water proportionally based on the acres farmed. B) A farmer’s responsibilities in maintaining canals on his property. C) The collective administration of the canal by all users.
All early civilizations developed along rivers/ flood plains of great rivers because it was a source of fresh water..All these confirmed what Valluvar said 2000 years before:"When water fails, functions of nature cease" as well as what poet Ilango Adigal said 1800 years before, "praise the copious rains praise the copious rains/மாமழை போற்றுதும் மாமழை போற்றுதும் " in Silappathikaram.
Further,the same poet Ilango Adigal praised the Kaveri which gave water to the people who lived there in Pukaar Kaandam,kaanal vari as:
"uzavar Odhai madhagOdhai
udai nIr Odhai thaNpadham koL
vizavar Odhai thiRanthArppa
nadanthAy vAzi kAvEri !"
Even Tiru Kurippu Thonda Nayanar puranam of 12th thirumurai confirms the importance of water as:
"Such rivers flow, and gushing fill
The strong-banked tanks nigh the fields;
When vents are flung open from the watched-over dams
The waters rush into channels seeing which
The farmers shout in sheer joy". ...
Such a sluice gate was only effective, however, when the level of water in the river was normal. At those times when the level dropped below that of the gate, the flow of water into the canal stopped. To overcome this problem, some bright, anonymous ancient Ubaidian or Sumerian got the idea for a device that the Arabs later called a shaduf. It consisted of a long pole with a bucket attached to one end; there was a counterweight attached to the other end of the pole, the center of which rested on a fulcrum, such as a rock or a block of wood. Depending on the size of the shaduf, one or more people operated the device by swinging the pole on the fulcrum so that the bucket dipped into the river and filled. Next, they swung the device up and over the bank of the canal and emptied it into the canal. This development enabled irrigation when a river wasn’t in flood which meant higher ground also could be used for farming.The shaduf was also used to move water from one canal to another.This Irrigation Shaduf was in use since 1700 BC. The Greek historian Herodotus saw this device in action when he visited Babylonia in the fifth century B.C. “The rainfall … is slight,” he reports,
Hand-dug wells were another important source of freshwater in ancient Mesopotamia, especially in the northern plains where the Tigris River was more difficult to control and the soil was denser. At first a typical well was simply a deep vertical hole in the ground; a person lowered a bucket on a rope, dipped the bucket in the water at the bottom, and pulled it up. This process was made easier by the introduction of the pulley in about 1500 B.C. or slightly earlier.
Also a Sophisticated irrigation and storage systems were developed by the Indus Valley Civilization in present-day Pakistan and North India, including the reservoirs at Girnar in 3000 BC and an early canal irrigation system from 2600 BC.
The primitive use of water-rotated wheels may date back to Sumerian times, with references to a "Month for raising the Water Wheels", though it is not known whether these wheels were turned by the flow of a river.The oldest evidence of the existence of water lifting devices in India is furnished by the antiquities unearthed from the Indus valley cities such as mohenjo-Daro & harapa . Sir John Marshall who studied the pottery evidences from Mohenjo Daro expresses his opinion about the possible use of pottery for water wheels.In the vedas too Wells,Canals & Dams were mentioned.The rig veda mentions the term "KULYA" which signified artifical river-mean a canal.similarly "AVAR" signified a well.Also the hymns of the same veda the uses of mechanical contrivances for drawing water from deep & goodly wells are narrated.However the vedas were written only after Indo- Aryans who defeated the Dravidian Indus Valley Civilization.
All above shows that irrigation was well recognized from the dawn of civilization and these Mesopotamia Sumerian & Indus valley people were claimed to be the ancestors of tamil people.When Indus valley people migrated to south India after it collapsed during 1700-1500 BC,they may also carry these knowledge of irrigation & its importance with them.But the sangam literary works from which we usually derive materials for our study about ancient south india,do not clearly mention the provenance of the use of such devices,the water wheel.However,the application of water-lifters & other simple devices in south India is unmistakably mentioned in the following works such as:Akananuru-a sangam work,Maduraikanchi-one of the Pattu paatu,Silappathikaram & Manimekalai-the two tamil epics,Periyapuranam & so on.Besides a number of early tamil epigraphs also make definite mention about picotahs[similar to the shadoof] & palm-leaf baskets.
In Silappathikaram,the poet Ilango Adigal,while giving a detailed account of Kaveri describes the modes or devices,particularly the bucket ,the water lifts & palm-leaf baskets in the tenth canto as :
"By finding her[Kaveri] movement arrested by the barrier
the anicut with its doorway[Its “doorway” probably refers to the dam’s sluices.]
she noisily leaps beyond it in the sportive mood natural to her first freshes.
No sound other than this can be heard.
We can hear there neither the sound of the bucket nor the water -lifts,
neither the usually loud picotah[a water-lifting mechanism] nor the palm leaf bucket used in irrigation."
A passage like the above -cited one would surely indicate the existence of water -lifting mechanisms for the purpose of irrigation & cultivation. [Silappathikaram, canto 10,]
Further,due to the many handicaps such as failure of monsoon,the uneven rainfall,its scarcity & excess etc had forced the ancient tamil people of south india,to carry on irrigation by means of artificial reservoirs or canals as Mesopotamia Sumerians.Historically It was the sangam king Karikala who as a pioneer,actually engineered the idea of raising embankments,clearing forests for digging tanks & cutting canals similar to Babylonian King Hammurabi.This lead given by king Karikala was subsequently followed by the rulers of all dynasties in constructing reservoirs to impound water for irrigation in Tamil Nadu....
WILL FOLLOW... PART-7
யாழறிவன்... Yalarivan Jackson Jackie
கருத்துகள் இல்லை:
கருத்துரையிடுக