Tamil Hindus

Tamil Hindus
தமிழ் இந்துக்கள்
	Tamil Aum symbol.
	Celebrations of Murugan by French Tamils in Paris.
Languages
	Majority; Tamil; Sacred; Old Tamil and Sanskrit
Religion
	Hinduism; Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism, Ayyavazhi, and folk religions

Tamil Hindus (Tamil: தமிழ் இந்துக்கள்) are the Tamil-speaking people who follow Hinduism.

Hinduism was the first religion to reach the ancient Tamil kingdoms. Tamil Nadu is home to one of the largest functioning Hindu temples in the world. Tamil influence was one of the contributing factors in survival of Hinduism in Sri Lanka and its spreading in South East Asia. Before the Vedic period, many of them followed the ancient Dravidian folk religion. The Hinduism practiced by Tamils today is a fusion of Vedic and Dravidian traditions. There are notable population of Tamil Hindus in Sri Lanka and in Indian states of Tamil Nadu, with small populations in Kerala and Karnataka. Though they are present in many countries as diaspora. During the Sri Lankan Civil War, many Tamils emigrated and Hindu temples were built abroad by the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora to maintain their religion, tradition and culture.[1]^: 98[2]

Religion

Perumal (Tamil: பெருமாள், romanized: Perumāl)[3] or Tirumal (Tamil: திருமால், romanized: Tirumāl pronunciation^ⓘ) is a Hindu deity and considered the most worshiped god in the Sangam literature.[4] Perumal is worshipped mainly among Tamil Hindus in South India, Sri Lanka, and the Tamil diaspora, who consider Perumal to be a form of Vishnu.[5] The Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam one of the temples dedicated to Perumal and is often listed as one of the largest functioning Hindu temple in the world.[6][7] The temple is an active Hindu house of worship and follows the Tenkalai tradition of Sri Vaishnavism of Hindus. There are many more temples for Maha Vishnu located in Tamil Nadu. Most of the 108 Divya Desams and 108 Abhimana Kshethrams of Lord Vishnu. Murugan is also one of the important gods and is considered by many to be the patron god of the Tamil language and Tamil people. There are a lot of temples dedicated to Murugan in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.[8] The Six Abodes of Murugan in Tamil Nadu are considered to be the most sacred abodes of Murugan and was mentioned in ancient Sangam literature. Most of the Tamil Hindus are followers of the Shaiva Siddhanta branch of Shaivism,[9] Vaishnavism, and Shaktism.[10] Many Tamils of rural regions have their village deities, and earlier had been followers of the Dravidian folk religion.[11]

Other Tamil deities includes Ayyanar, Karuppar, Muniyaiya, Mariamman.

Culture

Festivals

Thaipusam or Thaipoosam is the festival of the Tamil Hindus which falls on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai. The festival is celebrated by Tamil Hindus in various countries.[12]

Cuisine

Most of the Tamil cuisine is directly influenced by the Hindu culture, though there is a mixture of both a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian diet. Most of it has its influence of South India and Sri Lanka.[13] On special occasions, traditional Tamil dishes are served in a traditional manner, using banana leaves in place of utensils. After eating, the banana leaves are then used as a secondary food for cattle. A typical breakfast meal consists of idli or dosa with chutney. Lunch includes rice, sambar, Curd, kuzhambu, and rasam.[14] The Iyengars and Iyers often have very authentic cuisine with many customs and rituals.[15] Though many of them consume non-vegetarian, but not beef due to religious prohibition.[10]

References

Bradley, Mark (2018). "Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus and other Tamis in the Montréal diaspora". The South Asianist. 6 (1): 98–119. ISSN 2050-487X.
"Success story of a 'victim diaspora'". The Hindu. 28 December 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
Ramachandran, Nalini (3 September 2021). Gods, Giants and the Geography of India. Hachette UK. ISBN 978-93-91028-27-5.
Tieken, Herman (28 December 2021). Kāvya in South India: Old Tamil Caṅkam Poetry. BRILL. p. 186. ISBN 978-90-04-48609-6.
Cyclopaedia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia, Commercial, Industrial and Scientific: Products of the Mineral, Vegetable and Animal Kingdoms, Useful Arts and Manufactures. Ed. by Edward Balfour. [Dr.:] Scottish and Adelphi Press. 1873. p. 532.
Vater, Tom (2010). Moon Spotlight Angkor Wat. USA: Perseus Books Group. p. 40. ISBN 978-1-59880-561-1.
Jones, Victoria (2004). Wonders of the World Dot-to-Dot. New York: Sterling Publishing. p. 4. ISBN 1-4027-1028-3.
Shrikumar, A. (21 January 2015). "Tracing the roots of the Tamil God". The Hindu.
Ishimatsu, Ginette (1 October 1999). "The making of Tamil Shaiva Siddhānta". Contributions to Indian Sociology. 33 (3): 571–579. doi:10.1177/006996679903300304. ISSN 0069-9667. S2CID 144541494.
Venkatesan 2014.
Valk, Ülo; Lourdusamy, S. (2007). "Village Deities of Tamil Nadu in Myths and Legends: The Narrated Experience". Asian Folklore Studies. 66 (1/2): 179–199. ISSN 0385-2342. JSTOR 30030456.
"Vaikasi Visakam and Lord Murukan LALALALA". Murugan.org.
"Amma canteen: Where an Indian meal costs only seven cents". BBC News. 3 July 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
"Tamil Cuisine - Tamil Food". tamilnation.org. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
"11 Best Tamil Recipes". NDTV Food. Retrieved 9 September 2021.

Sources

Venkatesan, Archana (2014). "Tamils: Hinduism". Oxford Bibliographies Online. doi:10.1093/OBO/9780195399318-0049.

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[1] Bradley, Mark (2018). "Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus and other Tamis in the Montréal diaspora". The South Asianist. 6 (1): 98–119. ISSN 2050-487X.

[2] "Success story of a 'victim diaspora'". The Hindu. 28 December 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 27 May 2021.

[3] Ramachandran, Nalini (3 September 2021). Gods, Giants and the Geography of India. Hachette UK. ISBN 978-93-91028-27-5.

[4] Tieken, Herman (28 December 2021). Kāvya in South India: Old Tamil Caṅkam Poetry. BRILL. p. 186. ISBN 978-90-04-48609-6.

[5] Cyclopaedia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia, Commercial, Industrial and Scientific: Products of the Mineral, Vegetable and Animal Kingdoms, Useful Arts and Manufactures. Ed. by Edward Balfour. [Dr.:] Scottish and Adelphi Press. 1873. p. 532.

[6] Vater, Tom (2010). Moon Spotlight Angkor Wat. USA: Perseus Books Group. p. 40. ISBN 978-1-59880-561-1.

[7] Jones, Victoria (2004). Wonders of the World Dot-to-Dot. New York: Sterling Publishing. p. 4. ISBN 1-4027-1028-3.

[8] Shrikumar, A. (21 January 2015). "Tracing the roots of the Tamil God". The Hindu.

[9] Ishimatsu, Ginette (1 October 1999). "The making of Tamil Shaiva Siddhānta". Contributions to Indian Sociology. 33 (3): 571–579. doi:10.1177/006996679903300304. ISSN 0069-9667. S2CID 144541494.

[FOOTNOTEVenkatesan2014-10] Venkatesan 2014.

[11] Valk, Ülo; Lourdusamy, S. (2007). "Village Deities of Tamil Nadu in Myths and Legends: The Narrated Experience". Asian Folklore Studies. 66 (1/2): 179–199. ISSN 0385-2342. JSTOR 30030456.

[12] "Vaikasi Visakam and Lord Murukan LALALALA". Murugan.org.

[13] "Amma canteen: Where an Indian meal costs only seven cents". BBC News. 3 July 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2021.

[14] "Tamil Cuisine - Tamil Food". tamilnation.org. Retrieved 9 September 2021.

[15] "11 Best Tamil Recipes". NDTV Food. Retrieved 9 September 2021.

Hinduism in India
States	Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Tripura Uttaranchal Uttar Pradesh West Bengal
Union Territories	Andaman and Nicobar Islands Chandigarh Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Delhi Jammu and Kashmir Ladakh Lakshadweep Pondicherry
Communities	Assamese-Bengali Hindus Bengali Hindus Dalit Hindus Kashmiri Hindus Hindu-Muslim tribes Marathi Hindus Nepali Hindus Punjabi Hindus Sindhi Hindus South Indian Hindus Tamil Hindus