LANGUAGE IN INDIA

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Volume 21:7 July 2021
ISSN 1930-2940

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The Place of Tiruvasagam and Tiruppugazh among
the Tamils in Mauritius (in Tamil)
Dissertation

Meenakkanni Manikum
B.A. (Hons.) Tamil (Full Time)

A Brief Introduction

Tiruvasagam ('sacred utterance') is a devotional Saiva literature with 658 poems composed in simple and yet eloquent Tamil by Manikkavasagar. G. U. Pope who translated Manikkavasagar’s devotional poems into English, suggests that Manikkavasagar lived in the 7th or 8th Century CE. Some others have suggested 10th or 11th Century. Tiruvasagam is devoted to the praise of Siva. Poems from Tiruvssagam are sung in the coronation of Thai Kings in Thailand. Tiruppugazh (‘Divine Glory’ or ‘Holy Praise’), another important devotional, is devoted to the worship of Lord Muruga and was composed by Arunagirinathar in the 15th Century CE.

These two devotionals rejuvenated the sect of Saivam (also called as Saiva Samayam in Tamil) in the world of the Tamil people. These two books are popular and known just as the didactic works Tirukkural and Naladiyar.

The life history of the poets Manikkavasagar and Arunagirinathar and their backgrounds are not well known to the Tamil people of Mauritius. However, the Tamil people of Mauritius are quite well versed in telling the stories of Lord Sivaperuman (Lord Siva) and Murugapperuman (Lord Muruga). These two gods are also popularly well known in Mauritius as Adisechan (Lord Siva) and Kandar (Lord Muruga). The reading of Tiruvasagam and Tirupugazh is done in the Tamil community’s temples or places of prayer. Thus, these books are also glorified by the practitioners of Saivism in Mauritius.

One thing that this researcher has noted is that Tiruvasagam is not sung assigning it glory in contrast to Tiruppugazh or the other Tevaram songs in the Temples of Tamil people in Mauritius. However, Tiruvasagam is well known in death ceremonies. As Tiruvasagam contains songs/poems of joy, sorrow, sadness, self-inquiry, seeking forgiveness, etc., the singing of Tiruvasagam as part of death ceremony fits in well with the situation. Tiruppugazh songs are sung during the well-known ceremony of cavadee performed almost every month of the Tamil calendar in Mauritius.

These devotional books or literatures form part of the Mauritian school syllabus and widely popular music festivals. In highly acclaimed song competitions and as staged performances of dances with high world standard, these songs are sung. Mauritians of all ethnic groups admire such performances, as these devotionals, apart from the mellifluous tone, describe the human nature as well as environmental nature present in Sangam Literature. These songs have been put into music and vocalist performances started in Mauritius by a great performer as well as vocalist named Renganaigi Pappaya Naidu.

The dissertation written in Tamil Tiruvasagam and Tiruppugazh in Mauritius contains the following chapters:

Chapter 1 Introduction. This chapter describes the structure of the dissertation, explains the goals of the dissertation, and presents the implications of the title, and the methods used, etc.

Chapter 2 presents a description of the Bhakti period in Tamil literature and Tamil history. It presents the various Hindu sects followed in Tamilnadu, focuses on the sacred books of Tamil Saivam, and presents information on Lord Siva and Lord Muruga as found in the literary works, etc.

Chapter 3 presents the description of the role of Tiruvasagam and Tiruppugazh in Tamil Temples in Mauritius, their use in death ceremonies, the teaching of these texts in Tamil classes in Mauritius, and presentation of Tiruvasagam and Tiruppugazh in competitions and fine arts presentations.

Chapter 4 offers the details of the findings of the research. This chapter discusses the following:

i. Among the general public, identification of those who had learned Tamil in school, etc.
ii. The role of Tiruvasagam in the life of Mauritius Tamils.
iii. The role and use of Tiruvasagam in death ceremonies.
iv. Ideas and opinions about Tiruvasagam among the Mauritius Tamils.
v. The role of Tiruppugazh in the life of Tamils among the Mauritius Tamils.
vi. Ideas and opinions about Tiruppugazh among the Mauritius Tamils.
vii. The Status of Tiruppugazh in Mauritius.
viii. Tiruvasagam and Tiruppugazh among Mauritius Tamil students.
ix. Tiruvasagam and Tiruppugazh among Mauritius Tamil language teachers.

Chapter 5 Conclusions

Bibliography and References
Appendices

The author Meenakkanni Manikum is grateful to Dr. Umadevi Allaghery for her kind guidance and supervision in writing this dissertation.

This is only the beginning part of the dissertation. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE DSSERTATION IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Meenakkanni Manikum, B.A. (Hons.) Tamil
mmmanogaree@gmail.com
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