Tamils are a Dravidian ethno-linguistic group who trace their ancestry to the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Union territory of Puducherry or to Sri Lanka. Tamils constitute 5.9% of the population in India, 15% in Sri Lanka, 6% in Mauritius, 7% in Malaysia and 5% in Singapore. The Tamil language is one of the world’s longest-surviving classical languages.
About Tamils in brief
Tamils are a Dravidian ethno-linguistic group who trace their ancestry to the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Union territory of Puducherry or to Sri Lanka. Tamils constitute 5.9% of the population in India, 15% in Sri Lanka, 6% in Mauritius, 7% in Malaysia and 5% in Singapore. The Tamil language is one of the world’s longest-surviving classical languages, with a history dating back to 300 BCE. Tamil cuisine is informed by varied vegetarian and non-vegetarian items usually spiced with locally available spices. Classical Tamil music is dominated by the Carnatic genre, while gaana and dappan koothu are also popular genres. Although most Tamil people are Hindus, many practice what is considered to be Dravidan folk religion, venerating a plethora of village deities. A sizeable number are Muslims and Christians. A small Jain community survives from the classical period as well. English historian and broadcaster Michael Wood called the Tamils the surviving classical civilisation. It is unknown whether the term Tamiḻarkaḷ and its equivalents in Prakrit, Damila, Dameda, and Dhamila was a self-designated designation by outsiders or a term denoted by outsiders. The most important Tamil author was the poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar, who wrote the Tirukkuḷ, a group of treatises on ethics, politics, love and morality widely considered the greatest work of Tamil literature. Tamil is an official language in Sri Lankan and Singapore, and in 2004, Tamil was the first of six to be designated as a classical language of India.
The Chola dynasty successfully invaded several areas in southeast Asia, including the powerful Srivijaya and the Malay city-state of Kedah. Tamil bronzes, especially the Nataraja sculptures of the Chola period, have become notable symbols of Hinduism. A major part of Tamil performing arts is its classical form of dance, the Bharatanatyam, whereas the popular forms are known as Koothu. Tamil culture and literature is still being learnt and practised despite globalization and globalization. The term Trakrakar is used to refer to the Tamil language and its literature despite the influence of Trakrit and its Trakra literature and culture despite globalization. Tamil Nadu is the most popular state in India to live in, with Tamil Nadu being the second most popular Indian state in the world after the state of Kerala. The state has a population of around 76 million and with a documented history stretching back over 2,000 years. The Jaffna Kingdom, inhabited by Sri Lanka Tamils, was once one of. the strongest kingdoms of Sri Lanka and controlled much of the north of the island. Tamil traders brought by Tamil traders to Southeast Asia, like the Grantha and Pallava scripts, induced the development of many Southeast Asian scripts such as Khmer, Javanese Kawi script, Baybayin and Thai. Tamil guilds and trading organizations like the Ayyavole and Manigramam played an important role in Southeast Asian trading networks.
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This page is based on the article Tamils published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 07, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
