the beauty of tamil culture and why it’s so important to tamil people; a thread

disclaimer: there might be a few mistakes here as i’m only making this based on things i know. south india in general has a lot in common, but this thread is solely focused on tamil!

first of all, the tamil language is actually the oldest language in the world that is still being spoken today. it is also the 20th most commonly-spoken language, spoken by over 78 million people. it’s spoken in many countries, including india, sri lanka, singapore and mauritius.

tamil, like most south indian languages, is a dravidian language, which means that it’s nowhere near close to hindi, which indo-aryan. there is strong evidence that links dravidian language to the indus valley civilization, one of the earliest known human civilizations.

the language itself has a lot of unique features, such as the letter “ழ்”. there are 12 vowels and 18 consonants, which form 216 letters when combined. there is also one special letter, “ஃ”. when you add all (12 + 18 + 216 + 1), you get a total of 247 letters in the alphabet.

tamil people have a rich and proud history. the chera, chola and pandya, better known as moovendhar, were three kings with their own kingdoms ruling the tamil people. the earliest evidence of these kingdoms is from 300 BCE, and they existed for centuries.

as they existed for centuries, there is a lot of history with war, allies and invasion amongst these three. these kingdoms were also wealthy and powerful, as middle easterners and europeans traveled all the way to trade spices, pearls and other goods with them.

poets and philosophers are very important to tamil culture, as they wrote down history and important knowledge. there are 5 epics of tamil literature: manimegalai, kundalakesi, silappathikaram, valayapathi and seevaga cinthamani. these are considered classics.

the thirukkural are 1330 sacred verses written by thiruvalluvar and consist of 7 words each. they cover a wide range of topics, with great teachings on moral and ethics. they have been translated to 40+ languages and are of universal and secular nature, and very important to us.

let’s move on to art! there are so many performing arts that are of tamil origin, such as bharathanatyam (or those “funny” gestures people make whenever they imitate indians), and carnatic music, which is both vocal and instrumental.

carnatic music actually originated from tamil pannisai, which has its own history! music in general is very important to tamil people, as it is present during weddings and temple festivals. music in modern tamil film industry is also significant, with many legendary composers.

bharathanatyam, like carnatic music, has roots in hinduism and is the oldest classical dance tradition in india. the dancers express emotions through their hands, eyes and face muscles, and follow the rhythm with amazing footwork.

tamil cuisine is also v different, with rice being the staple food. the word “curry” actually comes from the tamil word கறி (kari)! we have fermented dishes such as idli, dosai and appam, steamed dishes like puttu and idiyappam, and lots of rice dishes.

rasam for example, is a soup-y dish usually eaten with rice, and is believed to have medicinal effects as it contains lots of healthy herbs and spices. it’s one of many dishes of the south that are overlooked, when they’re actually quite healthy!

traditionally, tamil food is eaten on banana leaves, which is both eco-friendly and said to have anti-bacterial properties, as well as certain health benefits. we also eat with our hands, which is both good for the environment and believed to boost digestion.

thai pongal is a tradition that is quite unique to tamil people. it’s a celebration to show our gratefulness to the sun, for giving us sunlight and rain for our crops. it’s celebrated by making pongal, a sweet rice dish with milk and jaggery.

there is so much more to our culture that i haven’t included in this thread and i definitely recommend doing some research if you’re interested! with thousands of years, the tamil culture has grown and changed quite a lot.

tamil people have suffered a lot of oppression and discrimination throughout the years, which is why we highly value our culture and traditions. we have darker skin, we are a minority, and other ethnicities have forced their languages down our throats.

it’s important to know that tamil lives on not only through our language, but also through our culture and traditions. this is why it can be harmful when people mock or ridicule parts of our culture, or reduce us down to a typical indian stereotype. we are more than that.