Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from 2018

Manabharana Is Not Malay (Manabharana Bukan Melayu)

In recent times, an alarming narrative has emerged within the Malaysian blogosphere, suggesting a historical event that appears to be a misinterpretation or perhaps a deliberate misinformation campaign. The claim revolves around a so called Malay prince named Manabharana from Srivijaya, purportedly attacking and conquering the Chola kingdom. This misleading story has gained traction and is spreading like wildfire across various social media platforms. The need to address and rectify such inaccuracies is crucial not only for the sake of historical accuracy but also for fostering a responsible and informed online community. To delve into the matter, it is essential to clarify that historical records reveal the existence of multiple individuals named Manabharana throughout history. However, a nuanced understanding reveals that all these figures were Tamils (Damila) hailing from the Pandya kingdom, with references to their exploits documented in Tamil inscriptions and Sri Lankan chronicles...
Post a Comment
Read more

How To Find Your Kula Deivam?

*DISCLAIMER-Article written from a believer's perspective.  One of the most common questions I get from my readers is  "How do I find my Kula Deivam?" Kula Deivam is the patron deity of your lineage. Some families have more than 1 deity.  The easiest way to know your Kula Deivam is of course by knowing the ancestral village of your patrilineal lineage (father's side).  Usually the Kula Deivam shrines will be in the ancestral village. If the family has migrated to several villages, then the shrine will usually be in the main village where the family originated from. Knowing your caste or clan background is also helpful in finding out more about your Kula Deivam. For females, they have an advantage. They also inherit the Kula Deivam from their matrilineal lineage (mother's side). So if you are a woman, your mother's Kula Deivam (from her mother) will continue to be present throughout your life. If you are married, your husband's Kula Deivam (from...
18 comments
Read more

Konsep Marga Dikalangan Masyarakat Mukkulathor

Mungkin ramai rakyat Malaysia sudah pun tahu bahawa kaum India mempunyai pelbagai etnik yang berdasarkan bahasa ibunda. Kaum India di Malaysia boleh dibahagikan kepada pelbagai etnik: Tamil Telugu Malayali Punjabi Gujerati Kannadiga Bengali Marathi Seperti yang anda sedia maklum, etnik Tamil adalah majoriti di kalangan kaum India . Kebanyakan etnik-etnik India di Malaysia adalah dari India selatan. Kaum Tamil yang populasinya kini mencecah hampir 80 juta di seluruh dunia sebenarnya mempunyai banyak suku. Kira-kira 364 suku termasuk yang asalnya bukan Tamil kini menetap di Tamil Nadu. Setiap suku ini mempunyai asal-usul yang berlainan walaupun kini mempunyai bahasa ibunda yang sama. (Rujukan People of India Vol XL. Anthropological Survey of India) 18 suku Tamil bersifat keibuan (matrilineal), sama seperti suku Minangkabau di Nusantara. Contohnya suku Maravar, Illathu Pillaimar, Sonagar dan Nanjil Vellalar. Boleh dikatakan hampir kesemua suku keibuan ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Kali, MahaKali & Katteri - Are They The Same?

The word Kali has two meanings. One meaning is dark and the other is the feminine of Kala (time). Generally in Hinduism, particularly in the Sakta religion, Kali is the name of the goddess. There are actually more than 1 Kali. Kali is one of the 7 Matrika devis which are actually the Sakti (power) of individual deities. They are worshipped as virgin devis and they are not consorts of the associated deities.  Brahmi (power of Brahma) Maheswari (power of Maheswara) Kaumari (power of Kumara Muruga) Vaishnavi (power of Vishnu) Varahi (power of Varaha or Yama) Mahendri (power of Indra) Chamunda (power of Durga) Varahi is an interesting deity to be studied as she also exist in Buddhism as VajraVarahi. She is associated with both Varaha (Vishnu) and Yama. Although she is sow faced (VarahaMukhi), her attributes are associated with the lord of death. She has many forms but the most commonly worshipped form is the one with a buffalo as vahana. As the power of Yama, she is often ...
2 comments
Read more

Muruga - The God of War

The Ram used to be the Vahana of Muruga before he upgraded it to Peacock. I call it an upgrade because the Peacock can fly ;) Muruga appeared from the third eye of Siva in the form of a very bright spark. Some say he was transferred by Agni (Fire). Some say he was Agni himself. Hence Muruga is also called as Agnibuh. Like Muruga, Agni also has the Ram as his Vahana. Qualities like anger, ferociousness, aggressiveness are considered as fiery qualities. Hence it is associated with Agni. There is another word for this. It is called Murka. The Malays still use phrases like "Baginda murka dengan...." when the king is angry or displeased. Fiery qualities are the hallmark of a warrior. The ancient Greek god of war is Ares. Ares was also known as Mars in the Roman world. Mars is the red planet. Sunday (Sun), Monday (Moon), Tuesday (Mars), Wednesday (Mercury), Thursday (Jupiter), Friday (Venus), Saturday (Saturn). Muruga is worshipped on Tuesday, the day of Mars. Muruga...
Post a Comment
Read more

Popular posts from this blog

The Indian confusion - Race, Caste, Clan & Surnames

Before you read, keep in mind that this was not written with the intention to divide the people. It was written with the intention to explain the meaning of each group. The write up on my journey in Bali is still in progress. I have to transfer some image files in order to upload them. So I thought of writing about the biggest confusion in the Indian Malaysian community. It is a sensitive one too. But clarification should be given. Else, when are we going to understand it? To my friends of other races who happened to read my blog, this will probably be enlightening as many may not be aware of our demographics. First of all, there are two main classification for us in Malaysia. Indian & Ceylonese. Many assume it to be a homogenous race like Chinese, but it isn't. The Chinese have many languages but they have a common language called Mandarin. They also have one writing script. This is what makes the over 1 billion Chinese worldwide as a homogenous race. Ancient Chinese ...
103 comments
Read more

Dogs of Tamil Nadu

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...
92 comments
Read more

How To Find Your Kula Deivam?

*DISCLAIMER-Article written from a believer's perspective.  One of the most common questions I get from my readers is  "How do I find my Kula Deivam?" Kula Deivam is the patron deity of your lineage. Some families have more than 1 deity.  The easiest way to know your Kula Deivam is of course by knowing the ancestral village of your patrilineal lineage (father's side).  Usually the Kula Deivam shrines will be in the ancestral village. If the family has migrated to several villages, then the shrine will usually be in the main village where the family originated from. Knowing your caste or clan background is also helpful in finding out more about your Kula Deivam. For females, they have an advantage. They also inherit the Kula Deivam from their matrilineal lineage (mother's side). So if you are a woman, your mother's Kula Deivam (from her mother) will continue to be present throughout your life. If you are married, your husband's Kula Deivam (from...
18 comments
Read more