The Tiger has been an integral part of the Tamil culture for a very long time. As a symbol of bravery, it has been used by several Tamil kingdoms and political movements, as the Tamil people see bravery as an integral part of one’s identity. It is important to note that the Tamil culture is not tied down to one nationality, instead it is a language which unites people across various places including South India, Northern Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore and the large diasporic communities outside of these main hubs (particularly Germany, Canada and the UK). This identity is also relatively free of religious ties, with their being Hindu, Christian and Muslim Tamils across the world today. This module aims to give people a clear understanding of what the Tiger means to the Tamil culture and why it continues to be prominently used by Tamil people across the world even to this day.

Created for GER271 at the University of Waterloo. Dinojah Patkunarajah.

Sangam literature (சங்க இலக்கியம்) refers to ancient Tamil literature which dates back to the period between the 1^st to 4^th century CE. These literary works originated in what is now South India, which at the time was called Tamilakam. The poetry from this era was compiled into various anthologies, with the last two anthologies, Purananuru and Paripatal, focusing solely on concepts of heroism. Many of the poems on heroism are centered around the ancient Chola dynasty and its rulers, whose emblem was the Tiger. The following are two Sangam poems which mention the Tiger:

Purananuru 86
You stand against the pillar
of my hut and ask:
“Where is your son?”
I don’t really know
This womb was once
a lair
for that tiger
You can see him now
only on the battlefields
Poet: Kavarpentu
Translator: A.K. Ramanujan

Purananuru 190
May your days lack the friendship of those men without soul
who hold the wealth they have inside their closed fists
and try to cling to things, like the rat that waits
for the brief time between maturation and harvest
to take the grain that hangs low and with it stuff his hole!
But may your days have the friendship of those with strength
and undiminishing resolution like the hungry tiger
who will not eat a fierce boar then and there because
it fell to his left, but will on the next day
wake up famished on a great mountain and leave
his cave empty behind him to bring
down to his right side a massive bull elephant!
Poet: Pulavans
Translator: George L. III Hart

Question: What is the Tiger being used to symbolise in these pieces of literature? What emotions are the poets trying to evoke through the Tiger metaphor?

The Chola dynasty (Tamil: சோழர் குலம்) originated near the Kaveri River in Southern India and is thought to have lasted from 200CE until 1300CE. At the height of its power, the Chola Empire expanded to cover all of South India, Sri Lanka and as far east as the Maldives. Known for its maritime feats, the kingdom traded with the Srivijaya Empire, in what is now Indonesia, and China’s Song Dynasty. The ancient Tamil kingdom of the Cholas are the first known to have utilized the Tiger in their emblem.

Read the following article titled, “The lost empire explored: The Cholas once had great power, but the world has forgotten them” to get a better understanding of the history of the Chola dynasty.

The Cholas invaded and captured much of what is present day Sri Lanka under the auspice of their Tiger flag in the early 11th century. This explains why there is significant Tamil population in Sri Lanka, alongside the native Sinhalese population.

Question: How do you think the native Sinhalese population in Sri Lanka feel about the history of the Chola dynasty?

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) or Tamil Tigers were a militant organization formed in 1975, calling for a separate Tamil state in Sri Lanka. Since Sri Lanka’s independence from Britain in 1948, the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka has felt marginalised by the Sinhalese majority in the country. Laws making Sinhalese the only official language of the country and capping university enrolment based on ethnic population size reinforced the Tamil people’s feelings of disenfranchisement. Finally, violent riots in 1948 which targeted the Tamil population led to the Tamils officially calling for the independent Tamil state of Tamil Eelam. An initially peaceful movement, eventually became violent as several armed groups formed to fight for the cause. The LTTE was one such group, which eventually rose to the forefront of the fight. Known for its acceptance of female cadres and suicide bombings, the group was funded by the global Tamil diaspora. The armed fight between the Tigers and the Sri Lankan state came to a head in 2009 when the insurgent group was defeated and their leader, Vellupillai Prabakaran, killed.

The following is the LTTE’s flag:

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The jumping tiger in the middle of the above flag was adopted from the Chola Empire’s emblem to reflect the Tamil people’s martial history.

Watch the videos by Al Jazeera, called “Dining with Terrorists – Divided Island” Part 1 and Part 2.

Question: Respond to the question the documentary poses; are the Tamil Tigers terrorists or freedom fighters?

Velupillai Prabhakaran was the esteemed founder and leader of the LTTE. The Sri Lankan military declared his death on May 18th, which brought about the end of the 26-year conflict between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government. Born into a middle-class family from the fishing town of Valvettuthurai, he was inspired by his school teacher to take up arms against the injustices he felt the Tamil people were facing at the hands of the Sinhalese-run government. During the height of the LTTE’s control over northern Sri Lanka, Prabhakaran was the de-facto leader of the government that controlled this mainly Tamil populated region.

Read the following Times article about the life and legacy of Prabhakaran.

The above is a poster for an upcoming Indian biopic about the life of Prabhakaran, in which the critically acclaimed Indian-Tamil actor, Bobby Simha, will be taking on the role of the LTTE leader. The film is expected to be released some time in 2020 and is being directed and produced by a largely Indian-Tamil team.

Question: What are your thoughts on an Indian-Tamil team producing a film about the revolutionary Sri Lankan-Tamil rebel leader?

Canada is home to one of the largest Tamil communities outside of South Asia. Most of Canada’s Tamil diaspora are people who fled the ethnic tensions in Sri Lanka. The significance of the community is such that the Canadian House of Commons declared January as Tamil Heritage Month in 2016.

As a country home to a large Tamil population, the community has demanded that Canada step in to mediate the conflict in Sri Lanka. Protests at the Ontario Legislature and the House of Commons became the norm during the height of the civil war in 2009. The scale of the protests were such that on May 10, 2009 the Gardiner Expressway came to a standstill as crowds flooded the highway. The following is a video taken during the protest on the expressway:

Even after the civil war came to an end, the Tamil community in Canada remains active. Remembrance vigils called “Maveerar Naal” (Great Heroes’ Day) are held each year on November 27th. The event is a memorial to the members of the LTTE who lost their lives during the civil war. The Tiger flag is raised in these ceremonies. The following are photos from the 2018 Maveerar Naal proceedings in Markham, Ontario:

Question: What do the actions of the Tamil diaspora tell you about their affinity to the Tamil Tigers’ cause?

Pulliyattam literally means Tiger (Pulli) Dance (Attam) in Tamil. It is a Tamil folk dance wherein dancers are painted in bright yellow, red, white and black colours to evoke the sense of a Tiger. The dance is energetic, with the movements mimicking that of a Tiger with the accompaniment of drums to help dancers keep beat. Performances of Pulliyattam are often seen at cultural festivals and dates by to the Sangam time period.

Watch the following advertisement by Havells, an Indian electrical wiring company, which uses Pulliyattam to see their product.

As the video does not have subtitles, here is a short summary. The video shows a young boy running to tell the Pulliyattam dancer about the Dragon dancer. He states that the Dragon dancer looks fearsome and unbeatable. The Pulliyattam dancer confidently tells the little boy not to worry and that he’ll handle it. The video cuts to a competition between the Puliyattam dancer and the Dragon dancer, wherein the Puliyattam dancer comes out victorious due to his tail made out of Havells wires.

Question: How does the Havells ad reinforce what the Tiger represents to the Tamil community?