Portal:Tamils

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

The Tamils portal

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...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

View of the Arunachalesvara temple towers from the Arunachala hill

Arunachalesvara Temple (also called Annamalaiyar Temple) is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva, located at the base of Arunachala hill in the town of Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu, India. It is significant to the Hindu sect of Shaivism as one of the temples associated with the five elements, the Pancha Bhuta Sthalams, and specifically the element of fire, or Agni.

Shiva is worshipped as Arunachalesvara or Annamalaiyar, and is represented by the lingam, with his idol referred to as Agni lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Unnamalai Amman or Apithakucha Ambal. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th-century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam. The 9th-century Shaiva saint poet Manikkavasagar composed the Tiruvempavai here. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

General images

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

Selected biography - show another

Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran (19 May 1939 – 13 February 2014), commonly known as Balu Mahendra, cinematographer, director, screenwriter and film editor who worked in various Indian film industries, primarily in Tamil and Malayalam cinema. Born in Sri Lanka, Mahendran developed a passion for photography and literature at a young age, after witnessing the shoot of David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) during a school trip in Sri Lanka, he was drawn towards filmmaking. After graduation he joined as an Aerial photographer in the Sri Lankan Government. In 1966, he moved to India and gained admission to the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) to pursue a course in motion picture photography. Upon completion of his diploma, he entered Malayalam cinema as a cinematographer in the early 1970s.

After working in over 20 films as a cinematographer, Mahendra made his directorial debut in 1977 with the Kannada film Kokila. Since then, he directed over 20 films in a span of 36 years. Along with Bharathiraja and Mahendran, he is regarded as a trendsetter in Tamil cinema. Widely regarded as an auteur, Mahendra usually scripted and edited his films apart from shooting them. He was the recipient of six National Film Awards (including two for Best Cinematography), five Filmfare Awards South and several state government awards. During the tail end of his career, he established a film school in Chennai, which offers courses in cinematography, direction and acting. Following a brief phase of poor health, Mahendra died of cardiac arrest in February 2014. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

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

Related portals

WikiProjects

Things to do

Add {{portal|Tamil People}} to the See also section of Tamil People-related articles.
Tag the talk pages of Tamil People-related articles with {{WikiProject Tamil civilization/Welcome}}
Join WikiProject Tamil civilization and list yourself as a Participant in the project.