Ancient Tamil Travellers: Avvaiyar, Egypt, and Wealth

Recent buzz about Tamili or Tamil-Bhrami script found in Egypt gives us lots to think about the nature of ancient Tamil travellers, especially when referring to Tamil literature

Female Tamil poet Avvaiyar says திரைகடல் ஓடியும் திரவியம் தேடு (Kondrai Vendhan 39)

Seek wealth, even if one must ride across the waves. 

We can interpret this thousand year old poem as:

Seek wealth, even if that meant leaving home, crossing oceans, and embracing difficulty.

These four words had me thinking for hours. 

Where were all the places ancient Tamils travelled to?

How far were they willing to go? 

Who was typically crossing oceans? Was it just traders or did young folks go out seeking opportunities just how we leave our hometowns or countries today? 

What immediately came to mind was the recent news about the Tamili inscriptions discovered in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. While Tamil inscriptions have been found in Egypt before, this discovery is particularly striking. Nearly twenty inscriptions identified across six tombs, deep within the Nile Valley, giving us inland evidence of Tamil travellers moving beyond trading port cities into other civilizations.

This very news brings me back to Avvaiyar’s poem. 

Seek wealth. 

But what is wealth?

You see, both Thiruvalluvar, from nearly two thousand years ago, and Avvaiyar centuries later, expand the idea of wealth far beyond land or money.

Across Tamil texts, love, honour, friendship, rain, education, patience, etc. are all treated as forms of wealth.

In Kural 400, Thiruvalluvar says learning is the most important form of wealth:

கேடில் விழுச்செல்வம் கல்வி யொருவற்குமாடல்ல மற்றை யவை

Learning is the lasting wealth,all other forms of wealth are not its equal.

This makes me wonder:

Beyond trade, how were we engaging with the global population? 

Who were we learning from and sharing our ideas with? What did those exchanges look like a thousand years ago?

These are the very conversations we have in the Tamil Literature Study Group.

Together, we explore, breakdown, and discuss short ancient Tamil works, treating them not simply as texts to translate, but as clues to piece together parts of ancient Tamil thought, society, and everyday life.

The final beginner-friendly cohort for this year begins Saturday, March 7th.

If you’ve been wanting a space to discuss, and explore Tamil literature in English, regardless of your Tamil language skills, reserve your spot today.