The oldest of the tribes who dwelt in Tamilakam were the Villavar and Minavar. The Villavar or bowmen (from the Dravidian word vil meaning a bow) inhabited hilly tracts and jungles and lived by the chase: and the Minavar or fishermen (from the Dravidian meen, a fish) subsisted by fishing and resided in the valleys and plains, or on the sea-coast. The two tribes were evidently a primitive race which was spread over the whole of India as they are still found in large nümber in Rajputana and Guzarat, where they are known as Bhils and Meenas, and in the Canarese country, where they are called Billavar.
These semi-barbarous tribes were conquered by the Nagas who were a very numerous and civilised race, and who at one time or other ruled a great portion of India, Ceylon and Burma. They were mentioned in the Ramayana, and the Naga capital, which probably lay in the heart of the Dekkan is described in that epic as follows :—
- Near Bhogavati stands the place
- Where dwell the hosts of the serpent race,
- A broad-wayed city walled and barred
- Which watchful legions keep and guard.
- The fiercest of the serpent youth
- Each awful for his venomed tooth;
- And throned in his imperial hall
- Is Vasuki who rules, them all.
- Explore the serpent city well.
- Search town and tower and citadel,
- Scan each field and wood that lies
- Around it with your watching eyes[1]
From the Mahabharata we learn that there were Naga kingdoms between the Jumna and the Ganges about the 13th century B. C. When the kings of the Lunar race of Aryas wanted to found a second capital near the spot where Delhi stands at present, they had to dislodge the Nagas who occupied it. Arjuna, the hero of the poem, in his banishment, is said to have married first Ulipi, the daughter of a Naga king, then Chitrangadai, daughter of Chitravahana, the Naga king of Manipura. Parikshit, the grandson of Arjuna was killed by Thakshaka, a Naga king, and hence Janamejaya, the son of Parikshit had to wage a long and bloody war with the Nagas and killed thousands of them. They appear again in history in the 6th century B. C. when a Naga dynasty ruled Magadha ; and it was during the reign of Ajatasatru, the 6th king of this race, that Gautama Buddha preached his new faith which soon found favour with the Nagas.[2] Tle Ceylonese historical works all, begin with an account of the Nagas. It appears from these works that in the 6th century B. C. there were powerful Naga kingdoms on the western coast of the island which was called Nagadwipa or Naga island on that account. The Naga capital was at Kalyani. The niece of the king of Kalyani was married to a Naga king of the Kanawaddamano mountain, which was evidently Kandamadanam, a hill near the modern Ramesvaram on the Indian coast, opposite to Kalyani. In the ancient sculptures at Amaravati and elsewhere which were executed more than eighteen hundred years ago, the human figures, which are represented with serpent hoods spread wide at the back of them, are Nagas.[3] Some fragments of the sculptures which were removed from the ruins at Amaravati may now be seen at the Government Museum, Madras. In these sculptures the Naga kings are distinguished by the hood of a five or seven-headed serpent at their back, Naga princesses by a three-headed serpent, and ordinary Nagas by a single-headed serpent. The artists who executed these sculptures with considerable labour and care seem to have imagined that the Nagas partook of the nature of serpents, and that their bodies were partly human and partly serpentine. The ancient Tamil poets appear to have shared this belief, for, they speak of the Nagas who were contemporary with them, as human beings, while at the same time they describe the ancient Nagas as serpents living underground. In describing the antiquity and wealth of Kaviripaddinam, the Chola capital, the author of the Chilappathikaram states that it was as ancient and famous as theMetropolis of the Nagas and the Naga-nadu.[4] It appears therefore that within the recollection of the Tamil people who lived eighteen hundred years ago, there was no kingdom older than that of the Nagas. Kaviripaddinam itself is said to have been an ancient seat of the Nagas who had "curved red lips, large bright teeth, a voice like thunder, who delighted in doing mischief and were always armed with the noose.”[5] Another poet describes the contest of two Naga kings for the sacred-seat of Buddha as follows :— “In the nether regions, two kings who ruled the Naga country contended for the seat, but neither was able to lift it off the ground; loath to give it up, with eyes all aflame and breathing fury, they led their great armies and fought a bloody battle. The great teacher (Buddha) then appeared before them and said ‘cease your strife, this seat is mine’; then he sat upon it and preached the law.”[6] The same poet states that the island of Manippallavam where the sacred seat was placed, was situated at a distance of 30 yojanas south of Kaviripaddinam.[7] He refers also to a town in Gandhara in Northern India, which in consequence of an earthquake “sank a distance of 400 yojanas to Naga-nadu.”[8] From these allusions it is evident that the Tamil poets of this period had a very hazy idea of the ancient Nagas and their country. They believed, in fact, that the Nagas inhabited Pâthâla or the lower world, far below the surface of the earth. Of contemporary Naga tribes and kingdoms they give a more satisfactory account. The first meeting of the Chola king Killi-Valavan and a Naga princess is thus described :-— [9] “One pleasant summer day when Killi who wears the long crown studded with sparkling gems, sought the shade of a green wood, he found a lovely damsel all alone in a bower which was fragrant with sweet-scented flowers. Wondering who she was, the monarch stood a while entranced, and the God of Love armed with the conquering bow, swiftly shot his flowery darts deep into the king’s heart. His eyes were charmed with her beauty : with ravished ears, he heard her musical voice: the perfumes of her person confounded his senses, and he who had commanded legions, now became her devoted slave. Full one month he spent with her in that grove in rapturous enjoyment. She told not who she was, nor whence she came, but at the end of that month, she disappeared as suddenly as she had met him at first. Yearning to meet her again, he who had smote many a rival king, now went in search of her, smitten by her matchless charms. He met a saint who could penetrate the caverns of the earth, or soar into the aerial regions,, or dive into the deep ocean; and having made the usual reverence prayed to the saint to find out the hiding place of her who was dear to him as his own life. ‘I know the princess’ said the saint ‘though I have not seen her myself, I have heard of her, listen thou O! monarch. There is a king, whose lance is ever victorious in war, and who rules Naganadu. His name is Valai-vanan and his wife is Vâsa-Mailai: their beloved daughter is the beauteous princess Peeli-Valai. At her birth a seer had foretold that a prince of the solar race would espouse her. Her son will come to you, but thou shalt meet her no more.” That the Chola king Killi-Valavan married, though for a time only, the daughter of a neighbouring Naga king appears to be a historical fact. But Cheethalai-Chaththanar, the author of the poem Mani-mekalai, who was a contemporary of Killi-Valavan has, with poet’s license, given a romantic account of the marriage, probably because he considered it degrading to a Tamil king to marry a Naga princess.
There were several tribes of the Nagas, such as the Maravar, Eyinar, Oliyar, Oviyar, Aruvâlur and Parathavar. Of these, the Maravar appear to have been the most powerful and warlike tribe, and most hostile to the Tamils. “Of strong limbs and hardy frames” says a poet “and fierce looking as tigers, wearing long and curled locks of hair, the blood thirsty Maravar, armed with the bow bound with leather, ever ready to injure others, shoot their arrows at poor and helpless travellers, from whom they can rob nothing, only to feast their eyes on the quivering limbs of their vctims.”[10] They were so numerous especially on the East Coast between the Kaviri and Vaigai rivers, where they are still to be found in large numbers, that they successfully resisted the armies of the Tamil Kings. “The wrathful and furious Maravar” says the Poet quoted above “whose curled beards resemble the twisted horns of the stag, the loud twang of whose powerful bowstrings, and the stirring sound of whose double headed drums, compel even Kings at the head of large armies to turn their back and fly.”[11] Their prowess in battle was so much valued by the Tamil Kings that they were enlisted largely in the Tamil armies. A Marava chieftain named Nalai-kilavan Nagan served the Pandya as a Minister and Commander in his army.[12] Another Marava, Piddank-korran, chieftain of a mountain called Kuthiraimali, was in the service of the Chera King.[13]
The Eyinar or Vedar were the most lawless of the Naga tribes. Cattle lifting and pillage and murder appear to have been th sole business of their life. Thy worshipped the dread goddess Kâli, and slaughtered buffaloes at her shrine, to secure her favor in their plundering raids.[14] Before starting on their expeditions they usually consulted omens in the chirping and flight of birds.[15] Their descendants are now known by the appropriate title of kallar or “thieves.” Dhirataran Murti-Eyinar the great chief of Viramangalam referred to in the plates of Jatilavarman, a Pandyan King of the twelfth century A.D. appears to have belonged to this tribe.[16]
The Oliyar were another tribe of the Nagas who, it is said, were conquered by Karikâl-Choia.[17] We find them in power as late as the eleventh century A. D. from an inscription at Mamallapuram [18] This inscription is dated in the 9th year of the reign of the Chola King Koppara-Kesari-Varmman alias Udiayâr-Sri.. Râjendna Déva who defeated Ahawa-Malla, the western Chalukya King (1040—1069 A.D.) at the battle of Kopa. It is the copy of a deed by which a piece of land was granted to the Varâha-Swâmi temple at Mâmallai-puram, and which was signed by the following Nagas, amongst other high officers ot the Chola-King :—
Amurnaddu Muvenda Velan
Olinagan Chandra Sekaran
Olinagan Narayanan
Indupuravan Sanga-Nagan
Uchan-Kilavan Muguli Nagan.
It appears from this deed that there were, besides the Olinagas, other tribes of the same race, such as Sanga Nagas and Muguli Nagas, in the eleventh century A. D.
Aruvalar was a local name of the Naga tribes who inhabited Aruva-Nadu and Aruva-Vadathalai. The Oviyar were a family of the Aruvalar tribe who ruled at Eyil-Paddinam, and were Kings of Mâvilankai about the middle of the second century A.D. when there was a temporary decline of the power of the Cholas and of other Tamil Kings. They are described by a Tamil poet as “Chivalrous and intrepid warriors, fierce as tigers on ‘the battle field." [19]The Oviyar were most probably the Basore Nagas alluded to by Ptolemy as Kings of Mélangae.[20] It appears from Ptolemy that at Uraiyur, the Chola capital also, the Cholas were displaced by the Sôre Nagas who were evidently the descendants of Chola and Naga families who had intermarried.[21] About this period the Nagas appear to have risen to power even in Ceylon, judging from the names of the following Kings of the country as given in the Mahâwanso[22]
- Mahalamana or Mallaga Naga ... 125 A.D.
- Kuhana or Chanda Naga ........ 173 A.D.
- Kudanama or Kuda Naga ........ 183 A.D.
- Kuda Sirina or Sri Naga ...... 184 A.D.
The Parathavar were a Naga tribe who occupied the sea coast and maintained themselves by fishing or by sea faring. They dived for pearls or for conch shells, and knew the charm to keep off sharks from that part of the sea, where they dived. They were most powerful in the country around Korkai in Then-pandinad; “well fed on fish and flesh and armed with bows, their hordes terrified their enemies by their dashing valour.” [23]
The Nagas, were skilled in many arts and especially in weaving. The Nagas of the Kalinga country were so famous in the art of weaving that the word kalingam in Tamil has come to signify a cloth. At the period which I describe, the Nagas inhabiting the Eastern Coast in the Pandyan territory were great weavers, and exported a large quantity of cloths and muslins. The fine muslins manufactured by the Nagas were highly prized by the Tamils and fetched fabulous prices in foreign countries. [24] Tamil poets allude to a famous chieftain Ay who offered to the image of Siva, one of these priceless muslins which had been presented to him by Nila-Naga.[25]
It was from the Nagas that the Aryas first learnt the art o writing; and hence Sanscrit characters are to this day known as Deva-nâgari.
While the fair skinned Aryas who had entered India through the Kabul valley, were settled in the Punjab, a horde of the yellow races who inhabited the central table land of Asia, appear to have passed southward through the numerous passes between Tibet and Nepal, and occupied the Gangetic Valley. Sanscrit writers name these yellow races Yakshas: Pali chroniclers called them Yakkos: and Chinese historians speak of them as the Yuhem. These yellow races being natives of the higher regions of the earth, considered themselves to be superior to the inhabitants of the plains, arid assumed the name of Daivaputras or “the sons of Gods.” They were intellectually and morally a superior race of people, and eventually spread over the whole of Bengal; and emigrated thence by sea to Southern India and Ceylon.
