Earlobe Stretching - Forgotten Culture of Tamil People

My father's eldest sister, Pichaiammal of Sivagangai district, Tamil Nadu. She was born in the 1930s and is probably among the last of the few Tamil women (Maravar) who have stretched earlobes. 

Culture changes according to time. Up to the previous generation, it was normal for Tamil women to practice earlobe stretching. 

Usually, a girl will be given a pair of heavy pair of earrings by her parents just before her wedding. The heavy pair of earrings displays their wealth. 

Some of these earrings weighs around 16 gram. These earrings are quite heavy and over the time, the weight stretches the earlobes. It is considered as a mark of beauty. Some also believe that the longer it stretches, the longer her life will be.

A scene from Angkor Wat that shows two group of people involved in cock fighting. The ones on the left have stretched earlobes. 
Source: http://www.oldworldwandering.com/

The earrings used by the Tamil women to stretch their earlobes are known as Thandatti and Pambadam. The word Pambadam comes from the Tamil word for serpent, Pambu. The Pambadam is shaped like a Cobra's hood.

Cobra is known as Naga in India. The Naga worship was very popular in ancient Tamil Nadu and also in other parts of ancient India. Today, Naga worship has been absorbed into mainstream Hinduism. 

Naga worship as part of Hinduism
Source: www.hinduwebsite.com

The ancient Naga worshippers were known as Nagar in Tamil language. Usually in English, we just call them as the Nagas. The Nagas were once spread all over the Indian subcontinent. 

Pambadam is probably a leftover of this ancient Naga culture. 

Apart from the Tamil people, earlobe stretching was also practised by other communities such as the Kenyah tribe of Borneo and the Masai tribe of Africa. 

We are not sure if they were part of the ancient Naga culture. Like the Tamils, these tribes also stretch their earlobes for the same purpose of beautifying themselves. 

Please take a look at the pictures below which I found in the internet. 

Reference:
Earring: Ornamental Identity and Beauty in India
by Waltraud Ganguly

Snake Earrings of India: Their social, religious and sumbolical context
by Waltraud Ganguly

A pair of Thandatti
http://www.saffronart.com/

A pair of  Pambadam
Source: http://www.saffronart.com/

Tamil woman with stretched earlobes
Source: http://m5.i.pbase.com/o2/75/648575/1/140360075.ss6OnPZc.Pambadam.jpg

Tamil woman with stretched earlobes
Source: http://m9.i.pbase.com/o1/75/648575/1/139707189.U9CcoU22.5xPambadamSnakeearringsinTamilNadu.JPG

Masai woman with stretched earlobes
Source: lavera-photo-stories.com

Masai woman with stretched earlobes
Source: dpreview.com

Kenyah woman with stretched earlobes
Source: Ardi Sayuti @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/adventure-borneo/3662246879/

Chetti vs Chettiar - Are Those in Malacca Confused?

There has been a lot of argument lately from the Malacca Chetti community in Facebook. They claim that Chetti and Chettiar are not the same. What they probably meant was the Peranakan Indian community and the Nattukottai community are not the same although both calls themselves as Chetti.

What is a Chetti?

Chetti is a titular surname used by the merchant castes of South India. When we say merchant castes, we are referring to a class of people categorised as Vaisyas in the Hindu Varna system. They can even be bankers, money lenders, businessmen, traders. 

Their surname is spelled as Chettu, Chetti, Chetty, Chitty, Setti, Setty, Shetty, Seth. Although the spelling and pronunciation may differ from one region to another, it carries the same meaning. North Indians from Rajasthan who came to do business in Tamil Nadu are generally called as Seth-ji.

The Chetty mentioned here is a Telugu Chetty. It does not refer to the Malacca Chetti.
PICTURE CREDIT: chennaidailyfoto.wordpress.com

The word Chetti in the Chettinad cuisine usually refers to the Nattukottai Chetti community of Karaikudi. It does not refer to the Malacca Chettis.
PICTURE CREDIT: http://www.tripadvisor.com.my/Restaurant_Review-g186338-d737343-Reviews-Chettinad_Restaurant-London_England.html

There are many castes in South India which use Chetti as their titular surname. Here are the list of examples:

24 Manai Telugu Chetti
Balija Chetti
Devangar Chetti
Elur Chetti
Kottar Chetti
Kuruhini Chetti
Moundadan Chetti
Nattukottai Chetti
Pathira Chetti
Pudukadai Chetti
Sadhu Chetti
Sozhia Chetti
Sundaram Chetti
Telugupatty Chetti
Valayal Chetti
Wynad Chetti

The word Chetti has been in existence in South India even before any Chetti men migrated to Malacca in 15th century AD. The Malacca Chetti have their roots in India. Because this is where their male ancestors came from.

We are unsure of which Chetti group migrated to Malacca. It must have been a few men from one of the Tamil speaking Chetti group. This is because the influence of Tamil in their religious practice can still be seen.

These Chetti men then married the local Malay women of Malacca, producing offspring of mixed races. This is why many of our Malacca Chetti friends don't look like South Indians. Some look like Chindians.

Recently, there were some individuals in Facebook who claim that Chetti and Chettiar are not the same. I believe this confusion happened because they don't understand Tamil language.

The word Chettiar is nothing but a more respectful version of the word Chetti. It is customary for Tamils to include the suffix "ar" behind the surnames so that when mentioned, it will sound more respectful.

This is how Chetti became Chettiar, Mudali became Mudaliar, Reddi became Reddiar and Nayak became Nayakar (Naicker).

When we say Chetti, it can refer to any South Indian merchant caste, not necessarily Malacca Chettis alone.  The word Chetti is still popular as a surname in South India and Sri Lanka. It is not exclusively a product of Malacca.

The Malacca Chetti community are under the false impression that the word Chettiar only refers to the other Chetti castes such as the Nattukottai Chetti who arrived in then Malaya during the British period.

Some of them get angry with us Indians in Malaysia when we use the word Chettiar on them.

What the Malacca Chetti community does not realize is, when we call them Chettiar, we are only using the more respectful version of the word Chetti. Furthermore, when speaking in Tamil, certain words has extension for the sake of better conversation.

In Tamil, we usually say "Chettia-re, nalla irukinggala?"
We don't say "Chetti, nalla irukinggala?"

Similarly, we usually say "Reddia-re, saptacha?"
We don't say "Reddi, saptacha?"

Perhaps the Malacca Chetti community will stop getting angry with us Indians if they understood Tamil language better. 

If you noticed something in the beginning of this article, I referred to the entire community as Peranakan Indians. This is actually the correct term for the community instead of Malacca Chetti.

Why so?

Peranakan Indians are descendants of Indians who left India, settled down in the Straits, intermarried with local Malay women, speak Malay language instead of their native Indian language, follow Malay customs and even wear Malay traditional attires but remained as Hindus.

The Malay word Peranakan is from the Tamil word "pira naakan" which means "he who speaks foreign tongue". 

The Peranakan Indian community are divided into several families, each with its own surname. These surnames were actually the caste titles of their Indian ancestors. Here are the list of surnames in their community:

Chitty
Pillay
Naiker
Rajah
Padayachi
Mudaliar
Pathar
Konar
Kullen
Pandaram

Of these 10 surnames, Chitty is the only surname of Vaisya origin. The others are non-merchant surnames. Let's take a look at the other surnames:

Pillay - Also spelled as Pillai. Used by people of the Vellalar castes. The Vellalars are traditionally agriculturist.

Naiker - Also spelled as Naicker or Nayakkar. Used by people of Telugu and Kannada origin. The surname came into existence after the formation of the Vijayanagra empire in the 14th century AD. A Naicker is a military commander.

Rajah - May not refer to any castes. Could be a common Indian name. 

Padayachi - Also spelled as Padayatchi. Used by people of the Palli(Vanniya) and Paravar(Parathavar) castes. The surname is used by soldiers.

Mudaliar - Also spelled as Mudali, Moodley, Muthaliar. Used by people of the Vellalar and Kaikolar castes. Traditionally agriculturist, government officers and ministers.

Pathar - Also spelled as Bathar or Pattar. Used by goldsmiths.

Konar - Also spelled as Kon or Kone. Used by people of the Idaiyar (Yadava) caste. The Yadavas are shepherds and cowherds. 

Kullen - Also spelled as Kollan. Used by the blacksmiths.

Pandaram - Used by non-Brahmin village priest.

This shows that 9/10 surnames in the Peranakan Indian community are not of Chetti origin. They originated from other castes. The original Vaisyas do not use these surnames.

An important leader of the Malacca Chetti community

These castes would have arrived in Malacca along with the merchant Chettis. Since there were no other Hindu Tamil community in Malacca at that time, they would have intermarried with the Chettis or even Malays and merged as a single community centuries later.

The other Tamil community that lived in Malacca during that time were Muslims. They are largely from the Marakayar caste. Tun Ali is from this community.

The Malays would have then just called all these Hindu Tamils collectively as Chetti for ease of identification. This is because of all Hindu Tamils in Malacca, the Chettis were the most dominant ones.

This is just like how they used to call every Indian as Keling although most of us are not from Kalinga.  

Similarly, we call Sikhs as Banggalis (Vanggalis) although they are actually Punjabis and not Bengalis. This is because they all arrived from Bengal port.

So locals who do not understand the origin of foreigners often use terms which they are comfortable with. This is just a misconception of identity created by them.

The word Chetti then got stuck with the entire community because they all adopted the same Malay custom and intermarried with each other. But in reality, 9/10 of these families are not of real Chetti origin. They would have had male ancestors from other castes. 

This is the only possible way for non-merchant caste titles to exist as surnames in a merchant Peranakan community.

Research proves that the correct term to address this community is Peranakan Indians. Of the 50 families, only 6 are Chitty. They are the original Malacca Chetti who are descendants of Chetti (Chettiar) men from India. Somehow, the word Chetti was wrongly applied to the rest of Peranakan Indians. It is a misnomer. Image taken from the book Peranakan Indians of Singapore and Melaka by  By Samuel S. Dhoraisingam

I hope the Peranakan Indians or as they prefer to be called, the Malacca Chettis, understand this aspect of their history instead of getting upset with the other Tamil speaking Indians in Malaysia for calling them as Chettiars.

Whether we call them as Chetti or Chettiar, it has the same meaning in Tamil language. It is just that the later sounds more respectful. 

The Hero and His Divine Spear

Thaipusam has just ended. The festival at Batu Caves was well managed especially when compared with the previous years. So I will say that this year's Thaipusam festival is something I enjoyed.

One of my blog reader, Ganesh Reddy, requested me to write something for Thaipusam. Since I was quite busy during the last few days, I could not do it. I took a break from writing.

There is something in my mind which I want to share with others. It is about the hero of Thaipusam, Muruga himself and his divine spear.

Like the other Devas in Hinduism, Muruga has many names. He is also known as Skanda. There was a time when people even considered Muruga as Alexander The Great. 

This is because Alexander was also known as Sikandar in Persian and Urdu. The Arabs and Malays call him Iskandar Zulkarnain. But Muruga or Skanda worship started even before Alexander's time.

The cult of Muruga is known as Kaumaram. One of the important aspects of Kaumaram is the Vel worship. The Vel is the divine spear which Muruga used to kill the Asura named Surapadman. 

Murugan receiving the Vel from his mother Sakthi.
PICTURE CREDIT murugan.org

Vel worship is an ancient form of worship. The Veddah tribe of Sri Lanka also have a form of Vel worship.

Muruga is considered by the Tamils as their God of War. He is the commander of the heavenly army. His mother Sakthi in the form of Durga is the Goddess of Victory. She is also associated with war. Durga has 9 main forms called NavaDurga. The 5th form is called SkandaMata, Mother of Skanda.

Tuesday is both Durga and Muruga's day. Tuesday is the day of the planet Mars and like the Romans believed, Mars is the planet that represents war. 

Mars is a red planet. Muruga is known as Seyyon or Senthil. The word Se (Che) here means Red and Muruga was portrayed as a red god on a blue peacock during ancient times. These are all somehow connected to astronomy.

Muruga received the Vel from Sakthi in the Tamil month of Thaai during the Poosam (Pusya) nakshatra. In Indian astronomy and astrology, a nakshatra is one of the 27 sectors on the path of the Sun on the celestial sphere. To make it sound simple, we can consider it as a form of astronomical coordinate system.

So our astrologers will calculate the coordinates each year and decide when exactly the event happens. For the year 2015, the month of Thai started on 15 January 2015. Poosam of Thai began on the night of 2 February 2015 up to the evening of 3 February 2015. There are more calculation involved to determine the exact moment. 
(I am not an expert in this so I cannot elaborate further.)

The Poosam nakshatra is in the Cancer constellation.

Indian zodiac: 3°20' -16°40' Karka

Western zodiac: 29°20' Cancer - 12°40' Leo

PICTURE CREDIT: Wikipedia

This is the moment Muruga received the Vel which he later used to kill Surapadman. So we celebrate it grandly each year as Thaipusam. 

Prior to this event, his father Siva destroyed the three Asura cities of Tripura during one of the Poosam nakshatra. So that event was celebrated as Tripura Samharam.

Eventually the son's event became more popular than the father's event. 

After receiving the Vel, Muruga goes to war with Surapadman. He camped in 6 different places. The 6 battle camps of Murugan are Tiruthani, Swamimalai, Palani, Palamuthircholai, Tiruparankunram and Tiruchendur. These 6 places are known as Aaru Padai Veedu.

There are actually many types of Vel. Devaraya Swamigal mentioned several different Vels in his Kandha Shasti Kavacham. Each of these Vels have its own meaning. It is invoked for different purposes.

AlahuVel
AnaiyaVel
ArulVel
AyilVel
ChaturVel
IniyaVel
KanagaVel
KarunaiVel
KathirVel
MunaiVel
MuranVel
MurugaVel
NalVel
ParuVel
PeruVel
PunithaVel
SevVel
ThiruVel
VadiVel
VajraVel
ValVel
VetriVel
YethirVel

Muruga was actually born from Siva's third eye. Therefore he is the wisdom of Siva. Even till today, Muruga devotees chant AroHara. Hara means Siva.

His Vel which was given by his mother Sakthi, is actually made from her own power. Therefore, the Vel also called as SakthiVel is an embodiment of Sakthi herself. 

When we worship Muruga and his Vel, we are actually worshiping both Siva and Sakthi. 

According to our sacred geometry, the upward triangle represents Siva. The downward triangle represents Sakthi. The union of the upward triangle with the downward triangle forms the hexagram.

The hexagram is the symbol of Muruga. Therefore, Muruga is none other than the representation of SivaSakthi.

The Roti Canai Story

Roti Canai.
PICTURE CREDIT http://tomsaleebastravels.blogspot.com/

Roti Canai is a very popular dish in Malaysia. We Malaysians just love it. We even have various versions of Roti Canai. Roti Bom, Roti Pisang, Roti Sardin, Roti Telur, Roti Planta etc. 

It is generally assumed that Roti Canai got its name from Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu. 

So did Roti Canai really get its name from Chennai?

Parotta
PICTURE CREDIT http://www.yamu.lk/place/chennai/

Roti Canai is actually the modified Parotta. This dish is quite popular in South India. However, it is not a native South Indian dish. The dish is said to come from North India. Some claim that it was introduced by those from Middle East. 

Parotta may have entered India via North India or via Kerala. Because Kerala is exposed to the Arabian Sea and many traders from Middle East used to trade in Kerala.

There is also another theory that suggest that the main ingredient to make Parotta, the Maida flour, was introduced to South India only during WW2. Maida flour is a wheat flour and wheat was first cultivated in the Middle East.

I am not very sure about the authenticity of such theories but the Middle East-Kerala theory makes more sense. 

We are not sure who introduced Parotta in Malaya (now Malaysia). It could have been the Tamils or Malayalees, it could have also been others from India or even someone from the Middle East.

The Malays had several words for metal works. When working on the metal, the blacksmith will hammer the metal, flatten it, then cut into half, forge it, hammer it, flatten it, then cut into half....the process is repeated.

This process is known as canai in the Malay language.

Similarly, the cook who prepares the Roti Canai will smash the dough, spread it, fold it into half, smash it, spread it, fold it into half.....the dough takes a beating similar to the metal in a blacksmith's workshop.

This is how Parotta became Roti Canai in Malaysia. Instead of a layered piece of round bread like the Parotta, we made our Roti Canai appear folded. 

This is the story of Roti Canai and it has got nothing to do with Chennai because back in the olden days, Chennai was known as Madras. 

UPDATE1
(The origin of Madras or Chennai can be read at the links below)

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Chennai-is-a-Telugu-word-nothing-Tamil-about-it-Historian/articleshow/34640530.cms

http://www.rediff.com/news/interview/historian-jbp-more-theres-no-word-like-chennai-in-tamil/20140826.htm

UPDATE 2
Dr.Jayabarathi's input on the word Canai having a Tamil origin. As mentioned, it is not a corrupt form of Chennai. It is the process of beating the dough.

The Mandailing Tunnel of Bukit Nanas

Yesterday, The Star published an article about the discovery of a tunnel in Bukit Nanas (Pineapple Hill), Kuala Lumpur. A copy of the article can be read at the link below:

http://www.thestar.com.my/Metro/Community/2015/01/19/part-of-bukit-nanas-secret-tunnel-made-public/

This tunnel is said to be dug by the Mandailing people during the Klang War which happened during 1867-1874 AD. Mandailings are an ethnic group related to the Malays and Bataks . They are from Sumatra and they have paternal family names. 

Their family names are known as marga, a Sanskrit word signifying people of same origin. Marriage between two people of the same marga is forbidden. The Marga is their Gothra.

The Klang War involved many different ethnics. Although today they are called as one Malay race in Malaysia, back in the olden days, they divided themselves as Malays, Bugis, Acehnese, Mandailings, Javanese etc. The Klang War also saw the involvement of the Hakkas and Cantonese of the Chinese community.

I wonder if the Indians were involved in this war. Perhaps I should do some research about this war.

Since the tunnel was dug by the Mandailing people, I decided to call it the Mandailing Tunnel. I visited the place today. It was closed so I could not go inside. It is said that the tunnel leads to the Klang River which is just a hundred meters away from the tunnel entrance.

Someone once told me that the Klang River has few underground streams in KL. Perhaps this tunnel is connected to one of those streams which then leads to the main river. 

The archaeological department should conduct some study. Not only on the tunnel but also the Bukit Nanas forest. Perhaps they can find remains of old kampungs and a few tools including weapons used by the Mandailings in the Klang War.

I hope I can someday go inside the tunnel to see it for myself. Here are some pictures which I took this morning.

This place is located right beside Wariseni, near Monorail Bukit Nanas.

Entrance

Location of the tunnel entrance and the present day nearest access to Klang River

Minoan Bulls and Basque Goddess - A Possible Tamil Connection?

SOURCE: Dr. N. Lahovary in "Dravidian Origins and the West", published by Orient Longmans, Bombay, 1963

Spain is known for its sports involving bulls. They have bullfighting, bull leaping and bull chasing. Each are different. They may have inherited this from the earlier Minoan civilization which existed in the island of Crete.

Probably the Spaniards and Minioans shared the same culture during ancient times. We don't know. 

Like the Spaniards, we Tamils also have a few sports involving bulls. It is collectively called as Jallikattu and there are few variations in this sport.

There is a region in Spain known as Basque. The Basque language of Spain (and parts of France) is different from other European languages. Some scholars believe that it may be related to ancient Tamil language.

The Basque people have a goddess named Maari. She is their goddess of weather. Similarly, we Tamils too have a goddess named Maari. She is also our goddess of weather. The Tamil word Maari is synonymous with heavy rain. 

Maari of Basque has two sons, Atxular and Mikelatz. 
Maari of Tamils also has two sons, Muruga and Ganesa. 
(Tamil Maari is seen as a form of Sakthi)

When Christianity entered the Basque world, the worship of native Maari was replaced with Mary. The Tamils who converted into Christianity worship the same Mary. Despite change of religion, the cult of Maari has somehow survived in a new form. 

The original native cult of Maari is still very popular among the Tamils who mostly remained as Hindus.

There seem to be some connection between the people of ancient Basque-Spain-Minoa and the Tamils. Hopefully some day, with the blessings of Maari, we will find the missing link.

(Pictures taken from Google. Credit goes to various people who uploaded them)

Bull Leaping

Bull Fighting

Bull Chasing

Bull Leaping

Minoan Bull Leaping

Minoan Bull Leaping

Minoan Bull Leaping

Jallikattu

Jallikattu

Jallikattu

PROOF POSITIVE: A seal made of stone, found at Mohenjodaro, depicting “jallikattu” (bull-baiting) that was prevalent in the Indus Civilisation. The seal, about 4,000 years old, is on display at the National Museum, New Delhi.

ROCK CUT: A painting of bull chasing on a massive rock surface at Karikkiyur in the Nilgiris. These pictures, according to specialists in rock art, are dateable to 2,000 B.C. to 1,500 B.C. Karikkiyur is the biggest rock art site in south India, with the rock surface teeming with about 500 paintings.

The stone sculpture depicting a bull taming event at Salem District Museum

Maari of Basque

Maari of the Tamils

The Cambodian Who Ruled Tamil Nadu

Bokator - The traditional martial art of Cambodia.
https://500px.com/photo/2107465/cambodia's-martial-arts-by-visions-of-indochina

The Pallava kingdom once ruled a large area in Tamil Nadu. They had their capital in Kanchipuram which is located in the Thondai region of Tamil Nadu. Thondai region is made of northern Tamil Nadu and southern Andhra Pradesh.

The identity of the Pallava dynasty is a mystery. It is generally accepted that they were Persians who migrated to India. In a few centuries, they moved from North India to South India. 

They served under existing dynasties such as Satavahanas and Cholas as vassals. They later become powerful enough to create a kingdom of their own in 275 AD.

Although not Tamil in origin, they eventually became Tamilized. This is because they intermarried with local Tamil royalties for many generations. The Pallavas also colonized areas in South East Asia and created dynasties in what is today Indochina. 

One of the Pallava kings, Simhavishnu reigned around 550 AD. He is credited for creating a strong Pallava empire by subduing many kings of southern India. He has also sent naval expedition to Sri Lanka and South East Asia. 

About 6 generations after Simhavishnu, Parameswaravarman became the king of Pallava during 720-730 AD. However, Parameswaravarman died battling the Chalukyas. He left no heir.

Someone had to replace him as the new king. The Pallava royal council came up with a solution. The solution was to get someone from the same lineage as the deceased king to become the new Pallava king.

Simhavishnu who lived 6 generations earlier created colonies in Southeast Asia. He had a brother named Bhimavarman. 

Bhimavarman became the king of Kambujadesa which is also known as Chen-La covering Cambodia, Laos and parts of Thailand. So the Pallava bloodline survived in Southeast Asia thanks to Bhimavarman.

When the royal council went to Kambujadesa, a descendant of Bhimavarman was ruling there. His name was Harivarman. By this time, the Pallava bloodline in Kambujadesa would have become Cambodianized. Either fully or partially. 

Harivarman had a few sons and the youngest son, Nandivarman, agreed to become the new Pallava king. He then travelled back with the royal council to Kanchipuram and gets himself crowned there.

Nandivarman is the Cambodian prince who ruled Tamil Nadu as the Pallava king. His rule ended in 796 AD.