Tamil Poetry is the Key to Understanding History

It’s no shock that humans passed down knowledge through oral tradition. 

For centuries ancient Tamils shared history and ancestral knowledge through poetry, dance and story-telling. This of course makes sense as stories and songs are much easier for people to remember.  

These orally passed down traditions and history were inscribed onto palm leaf manuscripts then recently printed as books. 

What I find fascinating is that the Tamil Literature or இலக்கியம் [ilakkiyam] that we read today is just a written version of oral tradition explaining the Tamil way of life, knowledge, and historical events. 

And it is still in poetry form! 

Through Tamil Literature we can learn many things such as:

• how the lives of Tamils differed based on the regions they lived in including what they ate, the daily tasks, and what they celebrated

• how love, family and marriage was viewed (trust me, it gets spicy!) 

• historical events based on mentions of king, wars or disasters.  

  and much, much, more. 

So where do you start if you want to read Tamil Literature?

In my opinion there really is no “right” place to start.

A quick internet search of “Tamil Sangam Literature” will provide you with lists of various Tamil texts and an outline of what is discussed. I recommend reading whatever you find interesting! 

Some English translations can be found online for free via Project Madurai.

This was the opening article in my May 2024 monthly newsletter.

To receive my free newsletters sign up here.