Sharmalan Thevar

The ancient Tamil people categorized their land into 5 different landscapes. These are collectively known as Aintinai, the 5 tinai. Each of these tinai has a patron deity. Different tribes dominate each tinai. Interestingly the ancient Tamils also used the 5 tinais as genre for their poems as each tinai represents a particular human mood. The concept of aintinai is unique to the Tamils and it was first mentioned in the oldest surviving Tamil text, the Tolkappiyam. This text is estimated to be 2,500 years old. Let's take a look at the 5 landscapes of Tamilakam. Kurinji These are the hilly regions of the land. The patron deity is Muruga who was also known as Seyon. As the deity of the hills, Muruga is also worshipped as Malayandi. The associated mood of the kurinji tinai is romanticism. The kurinji tinai is inhabited by the Kuravar, Veddar and the Kanavar tribe. They were hunters. The Kuravar people are also known as Nari-kurav...

Conversion of the Paravars by Francis Xavier in 1542. During the visit of Francis Xavier the Paravars were using two different types of boat for net fishing, which he called the vallam and the toni The Paravars are one of the ancient tribes which can still be found in Tamil Nadu. They are numerous in areas close to the sea. We can find them in the coastal regions of Ramanathapuram, Toothukudi (Tuticorin) and Kanyakumari districts. Works in the Tamil Sangam literature which refer to the lives of the Paravars include Ettuthokai, Pathupaattu, Ahananuru, Maduraikkanci and Pattinappaalai. Paravars are also known as Parathavar or Bharathar. They are believed to be related to my clan, the Maravars. The Maravars lived in the palai (desert) region of the country and the Paravars lived in the neythal (coast) region. (More research should be done to verify if the Maravars and Paravars are related) Paravars used to be involved in the pearl trade during the era of the Pandyan kings....

Pictures taken from Google. Credit goes to the various people who uploaded them. I apologise for not being able to identify the original owner of the pics. Whenever we speak of dogs, we tend to focus on the European breeds.  This is due to their popularity and demand. Unknown to many, India has about 88 native dog breeds. Six of these breeds are from the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Most of these dogs from Tamil Nadu evolved naturally. That makes them more suitable to the hot climate in the south. Furthermore, these dogs require less medical attention as their immune system is stronger, making them less prone to disease which are common among the European breeds. In Tamil Nadu, we can find breeds like the famous Rajapalayam, Kombai, Alangu Mastiff, Chippiparai, Kanni and Malayeri. Both the Alangu Mastiff and Malayeri are now extinct. Malayeri The Malayeri (hill climber) was a shepherd dog used by the tribals to herd sheeps. It was commonly found in the hills of Tamil Na...

Hanuman Most of you would have known about Hanuman, the Monkey God in the epic Ramayana. Hanuman is known for his strength, speed, ability to fly, devotion, friendship, sacrifice and loyalty. He is also known as Anjaneya, the son of Anjana. The worship of Monkey God exist in other religions too. China has Sun Wukong, Egypt had Thoth. The names are different. But there are alot of similarities in it. Thoth For example, Thoth is a mediator between good and evil just like how Hanuman was for Rama and Ravana. Thoth directs the movement of the heavenly bodies, Hanuman is able to control Shani (Saturn). Hanuman is known to be playful and prone to creating havoc. He burned the entire Lanka by jumping around after his tail was lit. Sun Wukong wrecked havoc in the Heavenly Kingdom. There are many more things which can be compared to reveal the similarities. Sun Wukong I believe that whether it is about Hanuman, Thoth or Wun Wukong, it is most probably referring to the s...

The 7 day/week system is currently followed globally.  It was used by ancient Hindus, Babylonians and many more. We need to also thank the Greeks and Romans for their contributions. I was suprised when I find out that there are also other cultures who do not have 7 days in a week. For example, the Javanese people have a 5 day/week calendar known as the Pasaran cycle.   Each day in our 7 day/week has its own name. Have you thought about its origins? The 7 days as we know today have their roots in astronomy. In fact, most of our religious events has its origins in astronomy. Humans realized that Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn are the 7 celestial objects which can be tracked by looking at the sky. Therefore, the week was broken into 7 days, each day named after a celestial object as shown below. These celestial objects were then personified as Gods. Sunday This is Sun's day.  The day is dedicated to the Sun God who rules the Sun. Hin...

Our DNA Gothra exist since ancient times. Gothra is known by many names across the globe. The Tamils call it gothiram or kilai. So what exactly is a gothra? In genetics, the Y-chromosome is passed down from father to son only. It is an unbroken chain which goes back to hundreds of thousands of years.  The Y-DNA is used to determine a person's paternal ancestry. This is a form of gothra too. It is a Genetic Gothra. In human genealogy, the gothra is represented as family names. This was started thousands of years ago by our ancestors. They had a purpose to give names to their gothra. It was done mainly to prevent inbreeding in the family. Besides India, the gothra system is common in countries like China. Chinese family names like Tan, Chua, Lee are all gothras. The Chinese traditionally use their gothra as prefix before their given name. For example, Chua Soi Lek, with Chua as the gothra and Soi Lek as the given name. Modern Chinese may use an English name and fol...

(Pictures taken from Google except for the Banyan tree) Hinduism is a world of its own. It is not a single book religion like the Abrahamic religions. It is actually a collection of various religions, philosophies, doctrines, rituals and practices. In Hinduism, worship of minor deities is also practiced. Although it is not part of mainstream Hinduism, it still plays an important part in the daily lives of many individuals and families. The worship of minor deities is much more common in rural areas. It is often more of a clan or family affair. The minor deities fall into different categories. One of it is a class of powerful spirits known as Muni. My family use to offer worship under this tree in Klang. My interest in Muni worship started at a very young age. I have always been a curious kid. I ask alot of questions.. I still am a curious person. Always looking for more clues and hopefully some answers. It is perhaps my late paternal grandmother, Letchumy, who ign...