Dr. Regi. S*
Abstract
Ancient Tamilaham the place of Chera, Chola, Pandyas and other minor chieftains had an authentic history on the basis of its vast literary sources and epigraphical evidences. From these one could draw and redraw the history of the Tamils, their culture, their society, their polity and their economic activities. In this research article the author has taken an effort to write the condition of Tamil women down from the Sangam period to the 19th Century. It is evident from this paper that though the women of India faced so many hardships, the women of TamilNadu encountered with less hardships comparatively. Eventhough they were fenced during the medieval period they are slowly coming up in the socil strata. Obviously their problems are multifaceted in the modern era.
The traditional homeland of the Tamils known as Tamilaham was a magnificent country. It extended upto the southern seas from Thiruvenkatam Hills.1 During the early age the Tamil country was divided into five distinct tracts. These tracts were called as “thinais”. They are Kurinchi, Mullai, Marutham, Neydal and Palai.2 Each realm is characterized by its own way of life. The mountains, forests, fertile areas, sea shore and arid lands, each evoked a specific set of people, gods, flora, fauna and day to day social situation.3
The Tamils at first a homogeneous community fell into classes or groups determined by their occupation, wealth, education, refinement, godliness, cleanliness etc., but all classes worked harmoniously. Untouchability, unapproachability and unshadowability were unknown to them. Men and women enjoyed equal liberal status and were mutually helpful. They went out for work during the day and lived together under their roofs at night. Matriarchy and Patriarchy prevailed in ancient times. The Tamils loved their home. There were heroes and heroines in Tamilaham and women were never less heroic than men. Heroic mothers are celebrated in the songs of Purananuru. Marriage was a matter of self choice. It was clearly given in most of the Sangham literature in general and Agananuru in particular.
In ancient Tamilaham sons and daughters had euqal shares in their parents property. The women of the aristocracy were regarded as gentle creatures the mothers of future rulers and they were equally learned and wise. However marriage of the aristaracy was frequently a disguise for a political alliance.4 The Queen as wife of the King and not in her own right took her seat on the throne along with the King only on public occasions and never wore a crown.5 Women were placed under no restraints in their social life and activities though modesty was considered the highest among their graces. The inscriptions give many examples of the women of the upper classes owning property in their own right and disposing of it as they chose.
During the Sangam period when Tamil learning was at its height, forty women poetesses had lived and left behind their valuable works.6 The most important among them were Avayyar, Natchellaiar, Kakkaippadiniar and so on. At that period there was no early-marriage, no Sati and no purdah. These we could find from the Sangam literatures.
During the course of time this situation continued with slight changes. Though the condition of women in North India underwent a drastic change, conditions in South India were of course different. As society was much more settled and was not subjected to the pressure of continuous invasion, the position of women underwent no serious deterioration.7 Eventhen, in the middle class Tamil households, the birth of a girl child was normally not welcomed and infact many families mourned for it. The new girl child was looked upon as a great piece of misfortune, whereas the birth of a male child was looked forward to and celebrated. At home women were taught that the first duty of a Hindu wife was to be the mother of sons. School education was basically meant for boys and they were sent to school with elaborate celebrations. In contrast, girls were most often not even taught basic reading and writing skills. Instead they were trained at home to become efficient wives and mothers.8
However some of the Princess of the royal family had influence on the public policy of ruling Princes. The best example of this kind was Kundavai Natchiyar, the sister of Rajaraja. Though Kings and nobles indulged in a plurality of wives, the monogamous family was doubtless the normal unit of social life. The employment of female labour in the less skilled occupations was perhaps quite as common as present. Sati or the self-immolation of a woman on the funeral pyre of her husband is occasionally mentioned in the inscriptions but the references are so few that it can hardly be regarded as a common practice in the Tamil country.9
The Tamil country had come under the control of Vijayanagar Empire in the middle of fourteenth Century A.D. 10 There was no drastic change in the socio economic and political fields. Though there were some minor changes in the society as a whole the social condition was stable. But there was no much improvement in the position of women. They were ignored in varous fields. The position of women became worse in low and middle class society. But the Royal class women enjoyed some privileges. Devadasi system, which came into existence during the Chola period, was legalised.
Marriage is one of the most important institutions in the social life of the people. During the marriage festivals of this period dowry was given to the bride groom as cash and jewels. It is called as “Sridhana”.11 Child Marriage was also in vogue. The girls were married at a very young age. Another social evil against the women was the practice of polygamy. This practice prevailed more among the royal and upper class. Beside the harem, concubinage was prevalent among the people, chiefly the officals and the rich.12 Widows had a worse condition in the society. They were prohibited from participting in all the auspicious ceremonies such as marriages, festivals etc. Their heads were shaven and were provided with limited food to live. Most of the widows seem to have put an end to their lives, by adopting Sati. This shows that the life of a widow was considered worse than death. During those unsettled days if she happened to die, her husband married another woman without any hesitation.
Eventhen the royal ladies got some education. Ganga Devi, author of Madhura Vijayam, who was wife of Kumara Kampanna and Tirumala Devi, author of Varadambika Parinayam were the best examples of women poetesses.14
This situation continued during the Nayak period too. Women in the Nayak period were divided into two types (i) the ordinary or family women and (ii) the courtesans.14 The family women would not take part in the social life. The courtesans appeared to have two types normally those were living independently and were dancing girls attached to temples, who were called ‘devadasis’.
The class of courtesans has always held a considerable place in Indian society. From pre-historic times the nautch-girl has been a great social attraction. Her public appearances were usually associated with religious festivls and she was generally an expert in music and dance. She mixed freely with men. She was under no obligation to observe the restraints imposed on matrons in their social intercourse. Her private company was given to select friends and her choice was guided at least as much by sentimental and aesthetic as by mercenary motives.15
During the later periods, many dancing girls were donated to temples. The earliest references to the girls dedicated to temples appears in a Tamil inscription dating back to the reign of Rajaraja, the great Chola monarch. It was clearly shown in the Prahatheeswara Temple inscription that nearly 200 dancing girls were donated by the King to the Big temple for this temple activities. In due course, they preferred the services to Kings, Princess and the priests than the Gods. The earnings of the courtesans attached to temples were surredered into the hands of the priests or other authorities of the temple for defraying the expenses of worship.16
In the beginning the British East India Company did not want to interefere with the affairs of Indian society. However, with the introduction of western education many Indians who had the access to western ideologies persistently urged the British Indian Government to enact laws in protection of women. Consequently the British Government passed social enactments. As a result the modern women got education, property and other rights on par with men.
References
1. Rajayyan, K., Early Tamil Nadu, History, Society and Culture, Madurai, 1993, pp.17-19.
2. Lakshmanan Chettiar, S.M.L., Tirunelveli Mavattam, (T1), Madras, 1963, p.6.
3. Pillai, M.S., The Kurunthogai, Madurai, 1976, pp.1-35.
4. Devaki Jain (e.d)., Indian Women, Government of India, 1975, pp.7-8.
5. Purnaligam Pillai, M.S., Tamil India, The South India Saiva Siddhanta Works Publishing Society Pvt. Ltd., Tirunelveli, 1945, pp.63-72.
6. Presodential address of Dr. (Mrs.) S. Muthulakshmi Reddi, the ex-Deputy President of the Madras Legislative Council, the fifth All India Women’s Conference, Lahore, January, 1931,pp.8-9.
7. Tara Ali Baig, Women of India, Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, 1959, p. 9.
8. Anandhi, S., “Middle class Women is Colonial Tamil Nadu, 1920-47”, Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 1992, pp.14-15.
9. Nilakanta Sastri, K.A., The Colas, Vol.II (Part I), Madras University Historical Series, No:10, University of Madras, 1937, pp.360-363.
10. Devakunjari, D., Madurai through the Ages, Madras, p.181.
11. Sathyanatha Aiyar, R., History of the Nayaks of Madurai, Madras, 1980, p.9.
12. Sathyanatha Aiyar, R., Tamilaham in the Seventeenth Century Madras, 1924, p.184.
13. Tara Ali Baig, op.cit., p.9-10.
14. Mahalingam, T.V., Administration and Social life under Vijayanagar, (Part II), University of Madras, 1972, p.128.
15. Nilakanta Sastri, K.A., op.cit., pp. 362-363.
16. Ibid.