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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Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood or K-Town, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, a widely spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a neighbourhood in Chennai, and Hollywood. The first Tamil silent film, Keechaka Vadham, was directed by R. Nataraja Mudaliar in 1918. The first Tamil talking feature film, Kalidas, a multilingual directed by H. M. Reddy was released on 31 October 1931, less than seven months after India's first talking motion picture Alam Ara.

By the end of the 1930s, the legislature of the State of Madras passed the Entertainment Tax Act of 1939. Tamil film industry established itself in Madras (now Chennai), previously primary hub for other South Indian film industries and Sri Lankan cinema. Over the last quarter of the 20th century, Tamil films established a global presence. While enjoying strong box office collections in the Tamil-speaking nations of Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia, Tamil films are also distributed throughout the Middle East, Oceania, Europe, North America, parts of Africa, and Japan. The industry also inspired independent filmmaking among Tamil diaspora populations in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, and the West. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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Portrait of Periyar on a postage stamp

Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (17 September 1879 – 24 December 1973), revered by his followers as Periyar or Thanthai Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician who started the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam. He is known as the 'Father of the Dravidian movement'. He rebelled against Brahmin dominance and gender and caste inequality in Tamil Nadu. Since 2021, the Indian state of Tamil Nadu celebrates his birth anniversary as 'Social Justice Day'.

Ramasamy joined the Indian National Congress in 1919. In 1924, Ramasamy participated in non-violent agitation (satyagraha) involving Mahatma Gandhi in Vaikom, Travancore. He resigned from the Congress in 1925 when he felt that the party was only serving the interests of Brahmins. He questioned what he felt was the subjugation of non-Brahmin Dravidians as Brahmins enjoyed gifts and donations from non-Brahmins but opposed and discriminated against non-Brahmins in cultural and religious matters. He declared his stance to be "no god, no religion, no Gandhi, no Congress, and no Brahmins". (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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