Kumari KaNdam by P.Prabhakaran- A reviewமரபு விக்கி இருந்துKumari Kandam by P. Prabhakaran: A Review By Dr K. Loganathan, Malaysia 5-4-12 A few days ago I received a book Kumari KaNdam written by P. Prabharan with a personal request that I write a review of it so that another edition more comprehensive than the present can be written and published. Fascinated I spend a few days reading the book amidst my various other commitments. Overall let me say this: despite the nonacademic character of the book written more for the general public than for the erudite scholars, the book is quite revolutionary where a new picture of not only the origin of Tamils, the Dravidians but also the whole lot of Indians is being articulated with a reasonable amount of the necessary evidences. For many centuries we have been fooled by the European Indologists into thinking that it was Vedic Aryans who founded the Indian culture, these Sk speaking Aryans are ultimately related to the Europeans etc and that the Dravidians contributed virtually nothing to enrich Indian culture. Though this view changed somewhat after the discovery of Indus Valley Civilization, there is still reluctance to accept it as a civilization founded by the Dravidians, This uncertainty follows because of the undeciphered nature of the Indus script. Now against this view , there is another articulated by many in the forums of Akandabaratam, Meykandar and Tolkaappiyam and so forth where it is proposed that the Dravidian folks hailed from Sumeria and that while the South Dravidians arrived through the sea route the North Dravidians arrived in the Punjab area through the land route and became the Vedic Aryans and so forth. This short book articulates this view for the first time where the author boldly rejects all other views as historically unjustifiable. Thus we have here a NEW understanding of the History of Ancient India being proposed and which does full justice to the Dravidian folks who have remained marginalized by the Europeans who hijacked the Vedas and Sk language into the European fold. I provide a review of this book in some details so that the author can come up with another edition so that it is not only more substantial but also quite appealling to both the general public as well the critical scholars. The Title and Contents: This a small book of only 154 pages written in popular journalistic style quite suitable for the general public. It has the main title of Kumari KaNdam with a subtitle The Origin and Spread of the Tamils It is divided into 27 brief chapters some just a page and some 5 or 6 pages so that the reading is not very demanding. The first 5 chapters deal with the traditional accounts of the Kumari Kandam linking it with Lemuria Gondwana Land and so forth and which are rejected and shown that the classical account of the Three Academies the first in the sunken Kumari identified as Lemuria and so forth is untenable and that the account really described a FOREIGN origin of the CaGkam Tamils and that they are in fact emigrants who colonized S,India and that they originated from Sumeria. It is this view that has been irksome to the Tamil scholars who loath to see them as colonizers of a kind. The chapters beginning with the sixth to the sixteenth deal with the Sumerian origins of the CaGkam Tamils in greater details by looking at the various cultural and other similarities. The chapters from the 17th to 24th deal with the concept of CaGkam and how the same institution with the same name is also found quite widely in Sumerian literature and how the Sumerians in fact colonized both North and South India both through the sea route and land route. The final two chapters deal with the possible spread and later emigration of Dravidian folks from Crete and Indus to the whole of India I shall deal with these themes one by one and where I hope to highlight the good points as well as point out the necessary revisions to make the whole book not only more readable but somewhat more academic so that even the critical scholars will appreciate this account of ancient Indian History something that does full justice to the Dravidian folks.
To continue Kumari Kandam by P. Prabhakaran: A Review-2 The book proper (in Tamil) begins with the question: What landmass could have been the Kumari mentioned in the ancient Tamil texts and where the first SaGkam was located? Here the classical Tamil scholars for more than hundred years have maintained that kumari is in fact a large landmass at the southern end of Tamil Nad but thousands years ago sunken by a massive flood deluge Tsunami or something like that. They supported this view by citing various geological studies related continental shifts that occurred millenniums ago. They affirmed that this fabulous Kumari is in fact the Gondwana land, the Lemuria and so forth. Some also maintained that the Tamils who founded the SaGkam culture are in fact native to the Indian subcontinent, an autochthonous group of people who developed the SaGkam culture in the Indian soil itself. Now without going into the details it is clear that these views that presuppose geological events millenniums ago cannot be the Kumari of the First SaGkam, a literary academy where scholars assembled and sanctioned the literary productions as meritorious and so forth. While Prabhakaran rejects such fabulous views and mentions that a careful study of the traditional accounts of the Academies in the classical texts suggests that Kumari was not a landmass that was submerged by a deluge but rather a landmass or in fact a nation ABANDONED for some political reasons where the ancient Tamils were forced to emigrate and move out from the native place and colonize another area, here the extreme part of South Indian. He rightfully points out that SaGkam Tamils could not have developed the SaGkam culture so sophisticated in the Indian soil itself where there are no traces of the earlier and primitive stages of development. The oldest SaGkam text is Tokaappiyam, a massive treatise in Linguistics of a very sophisticated kind where the earlier phases of its development are not available at all, even as parts of it. Here he should mention that the earliest records of literary activities goes back at most to 800 BC or so and where only some brief inscriptions in Brahmi script have been discovered. This indicates that while there may have been many natives quite indigenous there but the culturally sophisticated SaGkam Tamils could not have arrived there before about 1000 BC or so. When they came they must have brought along with them a very matured literary culture out of which came the CaGkam classics and so forth. Here if they came from Sumeria, there is the problem of explaining how the script is NOT the cuneiform script but rather Brahmi. Here I feel that the actual references to Kumari in PuraNaanRru Kalittokai Silappatikaram IRaiyanar Akapporul and so forth could have been given in full and from them it is drawn out that the CaGkam Tamils were in fact immigrants and that Kumari was not swallowed by a deluge but rather a nation that was abandoned for some reason or other. Now I feel also it should be pointed that Kumari of these accounts being the location of the First CaGkam cannot be a landmass before 5000 BC or so as the CaGkam was a literary academy and writing came to be perfected only around 5000 BC or so. And since it was the Sumerians who perfected the cuneiform script and developed a very matured literary civilization the likelihood is that the CaGkam Tamils are descendents of these Sumerians who colonized TN and continued their literary culture in this new soil. For these reasons the various accounts of Tamil scholars like PavaNar and Appadurai and so forth who maintained that Kumari is in fact a southern sunken landmass can also be rejected. Prabhakaran rightly mentions that there are no marine archeological evidences for such a claim. Loga To continue Kumari Kandam by P. Prabhakaran: A Review-3 We now come to chapters 6 to 8 where the main theme of the Sumerian origins of the CaGkam Tamils is discussed. Having shown that Kumar is not a large landmass submerged by floods or deluge, he suggests that it was a landmass where the ancient Tamils lived and developed their culture. Kumari was a nation that was abandoned for a some reasons or other and they were forced to migrate and finally colonize the present day S. India and continue their culture and which constitutes the CaGkam culture of the Third Academy. Now what can be the place of origins where the ancient Tamils developed their culture to a magnificent level prior to coming down to S. India? Three areas are suggested: Sumerian Crete and Indus Valley Civilization. First he considers Sumeria as the most likely place of origin as it was the first civilization that developed agriculture ushering in the birth of settled life leading to the formation of permanent settlements, the Ur or Purams and led to the formation of city states. The Sumerian culture was a culture of city staes and which later led to the formation of empires that brought together many cities under the rule of a single person. He also goes on to discuss in details how the Sumerians also developed the cuneiform script to write on clay tablets, invent burnt bricks to build massive hill-like temples called Ziggurats and so forth. He also discusses many cultural parallels between the Sumerian and Tamils by pointing out themes in Gilgamesh epic which are also reflected in Indian puranas such as Macca PuraNam etc. I shall comment oh these later in a separate post. While all these are important it is unfortunate that he fails mention here the fact that the Sumerians called their country Kumari or Kaur and which clinches the fact that Sumerians are in fact the Kumari Tamils of the classical literature who also had various kinds of CaGkams (Su, sag-gam) about which I will also comment later in a separate post Here I repost the passage from Udug Hul as something he can quote in full in his revision and which will affirm the Sumerian origins of the CaGkam Tamils >>> Next we take up the issue of Tamil SaGkam that is intimately related to the historical account of Kumari where it is said to be the location of the first Tamil SaGkam, the Academy. Prabhakaran deals with this issue in the chapters 19 and 20 where he also quotes my studies but only partially, Now first we notice that he mentions the occurrence of the word SaGkam (Su sag-gam) in Sumerian literature in a tale about EnKi a text running to more than 400 lines, He mentions that there was a SaGkam for the astronomers or astrologers for them to sanction some new proposals related to calendar constructions and so forth, He also mentions some of my studies where sag-gam as such is mentioned. In all these there are a number of inadequacies that can be addressed in the revised edition. I list them as follows: 1. There are NO original Sumerian texts given with translations and transcriptions into both English and Tamil such as the way I do. I quote here a sample of my studies which is only partially mentioned by Prabhakaran : >>> I feel that such a discussion of the linguistic issues is quite important to convince the skeptics about the claim and which is quite sophisticated, something integral to Tamil culture long before the academies of the Greeks. 2. The second point is related to the absence of sufficient discussions on Sumerian being Archaic Tamil that I have dealt with quite extensively. In connection with this I have rejected the Constructive Linguistics of Protoforms and developed elements of Evolutionary Linguistics to substantiate my claim that Sumerian is Archaic Tamil. Here an important thing that Prabhakaran could have done is to provide a list of basic lexicon along with a sample of sentences that are clearly recognizable as Tamil but certainly an Archaic Form. The following sample is an illustration of this: உளுகள்ளே மோஅன்னை நிக்துசேய் 2.u-su-du inim pa-e ag-de ஊ சூடு எனம் பார் ஏ ஆக்கிடே 3. Sul-gi lugal Uri-ma-ke சூல்கி, உளுகள் ஊரிம்மக்கே 4. a-na za-mi-bi-im kalag-ga-na sir-bi-im ஆன்ன சாமீபியம் கல்ஆக்கன்ன சீர்பியம் 5. gal-an-zu nig sag-bi-se e-a-na mu-da-ri-bi-im கலஞ்-சு நிக சான்பிசே ஏயன்ன முதரீபியம் 6. sa-bal-bal-a egir-u-da inim su a-bal-e-de சான் பால்பால எதிருட எனம் சொல் அபர் ஈதே 7. kala-ga dumu Nin-sun-ka-ra காளைக(கால-க?) தமு நின்சங்கர 8. gestu egir-ra-bi igi-se mu-un-na-tum கெஸ்த்து எகிற்றபி இஇஙிசேய் முன்ன தோம் 9. a lu-sir-ra di-se mu-un-e ஆ உளுசீர இஇடிசே முன் ஏ 10. dim-ma nig sag-ga sa-ta DU-a ni-bi i-il-e திம்ம நிக சாங்க சாய்த்த DU-அ நீபி ஈ இயலே Cultural Continuities We have seen that there are linguistic similarities, that in fact Sumerian is Archaic Tamil a matter that Prabhakaran can improve upon in his next edition. Now I shall come to the theme of cultural continuities between Sumerian and Dravidian that he deals with mainly in chapters 7 and 13. In Chapter 7 he gives an interesting and quite complete summary of the massive Gilgamesh Epic and brings out many themes there are reflected in many puraNas n India, in Macca PuraNa Bagavath PuraNa and so forth. While these are fascinating and which are matters that need to be studied more extensively, but he fails to point out how the essence of the Gilgamesh Epic constitutes the very foundation of the philosophic culture of not only the Dravidians but the whole of India. The main theme of the epic is man attaining Moksa like the Flood Hero Jiusudra and enjoy being among the gods, beyond the cycle of births and deaths. But Gilgamesh fails in this but manages only longevity through eating some herbs from the depth of a sea and enjoy immortality through an extraordinary feat that makes his name go into History, Now the whole of Indian philosophic tradition differs from that of the West in being Moksa-centered where even the word Moksa may be derived from the Su. mus meaning to depart , go away etc. In Suruppak’s NeRi(Su nari) this theme is described as crossing a mighty and turbulent river and which immediately reminds us of TirukkuRal: piRavip peryGkadal niintuvar niitar Only he who reaches the Feet Of BEING will ever cross the vast ocean of births(and deaths) Now Gilgamesh enjoying longevity through eating some herbs from the sea may be the theme of Indian medical systems the Siddha and Ayur Veda. This is also the theme central to Yoga which is also present in Sumerian literature. Jainism in Gilgamesh Now another shortcoming in Prabhakaran’s treatment is that there are elements in the Epic that are distinctively early Jainism, a matter that is available in the Table 12 of the epic. I have pointed out this in the following study: https://sites.google.com/site/sumerutamiltex/jainism-in-sumeria The Gods and Temples He deals with this theme in the 13th chapter and I must say immediately that it is woefully inadequate. I have written quite extensively and have pointed out that almost all major Hindu gods are available in Sumerian literature where In-Anna has become Durga KoRRavai Uma Parvati and so forth, The god Sipa(siva) as also Enlil also called Se-ir-ma-al who is obviously the Dravidian Tirumaal(VishNu). It is possible that En Merukar is the later day VeeL Murukar but earlier known as Assalugi and so forth. Of outstanding importance in connection with this is the Exaltations of In-Anna( that I call Sirbiyam) and Kes Temple Hymn by En Hudu Anna. The Sirbiyam incorporates Icon Thinking which is the foundation of Bakti culture so central in Agamic Hinduism which centers on Image Worship. The Kes Temple Hymn as well as the 40 odd Sumerian temple Hymns show how even in those distant days the temple-centered Agamism was already well developed. It is this Agamism which is continued to this day not only among the Dravidians but Indians as a whole where temples continue to be erected wherever Hinduism takes roots. Some of my studies on this theme are available in the following Google Site: https://sites.google.com/site/sumerutamiltex/jainism-in-sumeria Vedism and Sumerian Solar Cosmology This theme has been studied quite extensively by Alexandar Jacob who has written two different books on it. I have also pointed out how the Fire Worship of Rig Veda is a continuation of the Fire Worship in Sumeria but where it was only a part of temple rituals as it is even to-day. I have even pointed out how the word Yajna may be derived from the Sumerian ejen meaning fire, fire festival and so forth. These studies are available at the following site: https://sites.google.com/site/sumeriantamil/cosmology-of-fire Prabhakaran reiterates the possible arrival of Sumerians through the land route and settling in the Punjab area and who sang the Vedas that constitute now a valuable corpus of literature of ancient India. Though they may not be the most ancient Literature in the world where that place is now taken over by the Sumerian, but nevertheless quite fascinating as it records many interesting developments of the initial Solar Cosmology of the Sumerians. On their way through Persia they might even have contributed to the birth of Zoroastrianism and other similar cults. All these along with Zend Avesta in relation to Sumerian literature are matters for future scholarship. Sumerian Origin of Dravidian Philosophies. Now I must mention here that I have embarked upon a massive and immensely challenging job of writing the History of Dravidian Philosophy(in Tamil) where I locate the beginnings in Sumerian literature. The work is in progress and I have already written the fifth chapter where I bring together the literary corpus relating the Sumerian and Dravidian which constitutes the contents of chapter Five(in Tamil) available at the site: https://sites.google.com/site/ulagansbooks/hist-of-drav-phil-tamil/a5-chap-5 Let me conclude this brief note by saying that Prabhakaran has begun a kind of comparative study of ancient Indian and Tamil literature in relation to Sumerian that is sure to unfold many new insights into the origins of not only Dravidian but also the Indian Culture as a whole. Loga To continue Kumari Kandam by P. Prabhakaran: A Review-6(Final) We now come to the final post of this review, a great pleasure to read and comment. Prabhakaran has very boldly asserted the colonizing of ancient TN by the Sumerians and who re-created their CaGkam culture in the new soil. There is an abundance of evidences both linguistic and cultural to establish this view quite firmly. Now this truth raises the question: What made the ancient Sumerians displaced from Kumari, the ancient Sumer possibly the country of the First Cagkam, to choose TN as the landmass to colonize and continue their culture almost in tact? Prabhakaran suggests not only that the Sumerians had ancient connections with TN through trade and so forth but it was also the famous Tilmun of Gilgamesh Epic, the Paradise Hymn and so forth He provides many arguments to establish that Tilmun was not the Indus Valley civilization as thought by Samuel Kramer followed with Dr Clyde Winters but in fact the ancient KeraLa from where they imported Teak wood and so forth. He provides an analysis of some seal images to support his claim. Now while it may be possible that the Sumerians were aware of TN even during the third Millennium period, I doubt very much it was in fact Tilmun, the Paradise. TN at that time was probably populated some tribal people and had no magnificent cities like those in the Indus to deserved to be called a Paradise etc and a land quite thickly populated. What is Tilmun ? Tilmun was not the Indus called Meluhha and certainly not TN which began to be colonized only around 800 BC or so, Now I suggest the following as a possibility worth investigating further. The Paradise Hymn mentions that it was the place where EnKi dances the dance of Bliss(Su nad< Ta. Nadam) with NinSikilla ( the pure virgin) and which is certainly the Dance of Bliss of Siva-Sakti. Thus Tilmun is the same as Tillai ManRu, the metaphysical place where originates all, the primordial Ground where all are created and through the Dance of Siva-Sakti. Here the etymology of Tilmun helps. We can analyze this into Til- Mun where Su, til, ti means to live, exist etc and Su. mun: earlier, primordial, ancestral etc. These words are still available in Tamil as ti-ti, til(> tin) and Ta, mun as in mun-oor etc. Thus Tilmun is the place of origin, the primordial ground of all creations etc. Now the meaning of the “place of Origin” suggests that it could the Oasis in Persian Gulf that was flooded in stages forcing the people to migrate towards Sumeria and establish the literary culture of the First CaGkam there. After the Sumerians settled in their new found Land of ancient Iraq perhaps they called this sunken Oasis parts of which might have been still there Tilmun meaning the Land of Origins, the Land of the ancestors etc. This may also explain why places like Bahrain etc were identified as Tilmun and so forth. This sunken Oasis as large as Britain could have some links also with S.India and hence also known to them The Culture of Crete Now Prabhakaram also points out many cultural similarities between the Minoan culture in Crete and Dravidian culture by focusing upon the worship of Zeus that he identifies with siva and Bull worship that comes along with it. He also provides pictorial evidences for the famous Bull Fight, the Jalli Kaddu as another cultural feature common to the Tamils and the people of Crete who in fact served as the model for the birth of Greek cultue, Al these are of absorbing interest and must be followed up with many more such studies. Here I must mention that the obvious connections of Dravidian culture with Egyptian and the African Nubian should not be overlooked. There has always been migrations of people from East Africa where recently African Art objects were found in Eastern costs of Sri Lanka dated around the 11th cent AD. Here I must mention that Snake cult presents an interesting cultural similarity between the East Africans and Dravidians. The Nubian culture was essentially a culture of Snake-cult where interestingly enough this cult is widespread along the coasts of KeraLa. The Indus Prabhkaran also points out the people of Indus could have also migrated and settled in the Deep South along with the Sumerian and so forth. But I find his discussions of the Indus civilization can be further improved upon. While the script may be undeciphered but the various statues and busts suggest clearly Black People with Negroid features as the people who developed the magnificent city culture there. The figure of the Dancing Girl is sufficient to show that the main population was the Dark-skinned Dravidian folks and not at all the fair-skinned Aryans or mongoloids, Concluding Remarks. Let me conclude this review by really congratulating Prabhakaran for his courage and boldness in articulating the view that the CaGkam Tamils were not native to the soil of TN but rather immigrants who continued their magnificnet culture originally forged in Sumeria. This goes against the view of the native scholars who have also denied any connection with Vedic Aryans. It turns out that both are descendants of the Sumerians and hence ultimately the same group of people and hence no basis at all for the politically well entrenched Aryan-Dravidian divide. I hope Prabhakaran comes with a revised edition incorporating some of my suggestions here. I also hope many other scholars will take up such studies and bring out further not only the Sumerian connections of the Dravidians but also the Vedic Aryans. Loga
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