Portal:Tamils

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The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar (Tamil: தமிழர், romanized: Tamiḻar, pronounced [t̪amiɻaɾ] in the singular or தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, [t̪amiɻaɾɡaɭ] in the plural), Tamilians, or simply Tamils (/ˈtæmɪlz, ˈtɑː-/ TAM-ilz, TAHM-), are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to India's southern state of Tamil Nadu, to the union territory of Puducherry, and to Sri Lanka. The Tamil language is one of the world's longest-surviving classical languages, with over 2000 years of Tamil literature, including the Sangam poems, which were composed between 300 BCE and 300 CE. People who speak Tamil as their mother tongue and are born in are considered Tamils.

Tamils constitute 5.9% of the population in India (concentrated mainly in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry), 15% in Sri Lanka (excluding Eelam Moors), 7% in Malaysia, and 5% in Singapore.

From the 4th century BCE, urbanisation and mercantile activity along the western and eastern coasts of Tamilakam -- what is today Kerala and Tamil Nadu -- led to the development of four large Tamil empires, the Cheras, Cholas, Pandyas, Pallavas, and velirs and a number of smaller states, all of whom were warring amongst themselves for dominance. The Jaffna Kingdom, and vanni chieftaincies inhabited by Eelam Tamils, was once one of the strongest kingdoms of Sri Lanka and controlled much of the north of the island. (Full article...)

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Indo-Roman trade relations (see also the spice trade and incense road) was trade between the Indian subcontinent and the Roman Empire in Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. Trade through the overland caravan routes via Asia Minor and the Middle East, though at a relative trickle compared to later times, preceded the southern trade route via the Red Sea which started around the beginning of the Common Era (CE) following the reign of Augustus and his conquest of Egypt in 30 BCE.

The southern route so helped enhance trade between the ancient Roman Empire and the Indian subcontinent, that Roman politicians and historians are on record decrying the loss of silver and gold to buy silk to pamper Roman wives, and the southern route grew to eclipse and then totally supplant the overland trade route. Roman and Greek traders frequented the ancient Tamil country, present day Southern India and Sri Lanka, securing trade with the seafaring Tamil states of the Pandyan, Chola and Chera dynasties and establishing trading settlements which secured trade with the Indian subcontinent by the Greco-Roman world since the time of the Ptolemaic dynasty a few decades before the start of the Common Era and remained long after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. (Full article...)

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General images

Image 1Distribution of Tamil speakers in South India and Sri Lanka (1981). (from Tamils)
Image 2 Souttoukeny jewelry, 2nd century BCE, Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 3Two Tamil girls who follow Vaishnavaite Hinduism (from Tamils)
Image 4The Mahishasuramardhini cave bas relief at Mahabalipuram from 7th century CE (from Tamils)
Image 5Krishna with his consorts Rukmini and Satyabhama and his mount Garuda, Tamil Nadu, India, late 12th-13th century (from Tamils)
Image 6Batu Caves temple built by Tamil Malaysians in c. 1880s. (from Tamils)
Image 7Tamiḻakam during Sangam Period (from Tamils)
Image 8Sri Kandaswamy Temple, Brickfields, Malaysia. (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 9Bharatanatyam dancers (from Tamils)
Image 10Sage Agathiyar, one of the contributors of Old Tamil literature. (from Tamils)
Image 11 Map of ancient oceanic trade, and ports of Tamilakam (from Tamils)
Image 12Grey pottery with engravings, Arikamedu, 1st century CE (from Tamils)
Image 13A Malbar temple in Réunion. (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 14A Megalithic burial jar from north-western Sri Lanka, 5th-2nd century BCE, similar to South Indian and Deccan jars of the time. (from Tamils)
Image 15Tamil woman in traditional attire, c. 1880, Sri Lanka. (from Tamils)
Image 16 Virampatnam jewelry from funerary burial, 2nd century BCE, Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 17Meenakshi Amman temple, dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi, tutelary deity of Madurai city (from Tamils)
Image 18The Om symbol in Tamil script (from Tamils)
Image 19Megalithic sarcophagus burial from Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 20The Brihadeshswar Temple at Thanjavur, also known as the Great Temple, built by Rajaraja Chola I (from Tamils)
Image 21Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni, Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 22Tamil girls dressed in traditional attire, ca. 1870, Tamil Nadu, India. (from Tamils)
Image 23Expatriate Sri Lankan Tamil children in traditional clothes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 24Sri Kamakshi Ambaal temple in Hamm, Germany (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 25The New York City Metropolitan Area, including Central New Jersey, as well as Long Island and Staten Island in New York, is home to the largest Tamil American population. (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 26The hall in front of Ranganayaki's shrine, Srirangam, where Kambar is said to have recited his works on Kamba Ramayanam (from Tamils)
Image 27A 400 years old hero stone in Salem depicting bull-taming sport Jallikattu. (from Tamils)
Image 28Tamil girls in Malaysia (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 29One of the most popular overseas branches of Chennai-based Saravanaa Bhavan, the world's largest Indian vegetarian restaurant chain, is located in Edison, New Jersey, U.S. (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 30Erwadi durgah in Ramanathapuram district is a major pilgrimage shrine of the Tamil Muslims. (from Tamils)
Image 31Tamil people in Medan, Indonesia (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 32The Tamil Chola Empire at its height, 1030 CE (from Tamils)
Image 33The golden Vimana over the sanctum at Srirangam midst its gopurams, its gable with Paravasudeva image. (from Tamils)
Image 34Murugan Temple, Sydney (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 35Katar, Tamil dagger which was popular throughout South Asia (from Tamils)
Image 36Aiyanar, guardian folk deity of Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 37Celebrations of Murugan by the Sri Lankan Tamil community in Paris, France (from Tamil diaspora)

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Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran (19 May 1939 – 13 February 2014), commonly known as Balu Mahendra, cinematographer, director, screenwriter and film editor who worked in various Indian film industries, primarily in Tamil and Malayalam cinema. Born in Sri Lanka, Mahendran developed a passion for photography and literature at a young age, after witnessing the shoot of David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) during a school trip in Sri Lanka, he was drawn towards filmmaking. After graduation he joined as an Aerial photographer in the Sri Lankan Government. In 1966, he moved to India and gained admission to the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) to pursue a course in motion picture photography. Upon completion of his diploma, he entered Malayalam cinema as a cinematographer in the early 1970s.

After working in over 20 films as a cinematographer, Mahendra made his directorial debut in 1977 with the Kannada film Kokila. Since then, he directed over 20 films in a span of 36 years. Along with Bharathiraja and Mahendran, he is regarded as a trendsetter in Tamil cinema. Widely regarded as an auteur, Mahendra usually scripted and edited his films apart from shooting them. He was the recipient of six National Film Awards (including two for Best Cinematography), five Filmfare Awards South and several state government awards. During the tail end of his career, he established a film school in Chennai, which offers courses in cinematography, direction and acting. Following a brief phase of poor health, Mahendra died of cardiac arrest in February 2014. (Full article...)

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Topics

Tamil People

Tamil People Countrywide: India • Sri Lanka • Canada • Malaysia • Singapore • South Africa • England

Related Ethnic Groups: Brahui • Gond • Kannadiga • Khonds • Kodava • Oraon • Malayali • Telugus • Tuluvas

Related indigenous Groups: Badagas • Toda • Kuruba

Tamil Nadu

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