viRaliyar (Musicians in the Near East)

[Sudalaimuthu Palaniappan]

In a message dated 2/4/2001 8:23:05 AM Central Standard Time,
naga_ganesan at HOTMAIL.COM writes:

>
>   >       entu kOTTu alkul mukiz nakai maTavaral
>   >       kUntal viRaliyar vazagkuka aTuppu E
>   >                                           - pati. 18:5-6
>  [No translation published, Listers can give it a try.]

There is no point in other listers trying to translate this. Clearly, Dr.
Ganesan chose these excerpts to buttress his case that "In Tamil sangam
poetry, the viRaliyar, the female minstresses are often described in erotic
terms, and they are said to be
scantily clad."

To evaluate if these excerpts indeed support his case, we have to know
Ganesan's understanding of these excerpts, not other listers'. So the lack of
any published translations is immaterial.

>  [...]
>   >
>   >       aTi varunta neTitu ERiya
>   >       koTi marugkul viRaliyar um E
>   >                                           - puRa. 139:3-4
>
>        "and for my dancing womwn too, waists as thin
>         as vines and their feet aching from the long climb"
>         (p. 88)
>
>   >
>   >       vIgku iRai taTaIya amai maruL paNai tOL
>   >       Entu ezil mazai kaN van2aintu varal iLa mulai
>   >       pU tukil alkul tEm pAy kUntal
>   >       min2 izai viRaliyar nin2 maRam pATa
>   >
>   >                                            - pati. 54:3-6
>  [No translation published]

See above. It will be good if Ganesan can give us his understanding of the
excerpt.

>   >
>   >       izai aNi polinta Entu kOTTu alkul
>   >       maTavaral uN kaN vAL nutal viRali
>   >
>   >                                            - puRa. 89:1-2
>   >
>
>     "Woman of the caste of bards! With your shining forehead
>      and your eyes darkened by collyrium, with your simple
>      simple manners and your sloping mons glowing with a
>      string of pearls, ..." (p. 64)
>
>  The words used here in the description of the dancers are
>  alkul 'mons pubis' and mulai 'breast'.

I am increasingly getting dismayed at the lack of proper philological
analysis of Tamil texts and the resulting misunderstanding of Tamil
literature and culture. alkul refers to a person's hip region beginning below
the narrowest portion of the body where it curves outward and then slopes
inward as thighs. The profile of this part of the woman's body is compared to
the hood of the cobra as well as chariots. Ornaments and clothes are worn
over this portion of the body. Often ill-informed scholars have interpreted
this as "mons pubis". There is no evidence that in CT usage, it referred to
"mons pubis".

Hart and Heifetz translate "alkul" as "hips and thighs" in reference to the
wives of a brahmin praised in puR.166 in puR. 339 as "hips" in reference to
some non-viRaliyar women . But in other places like puR. 240 they translate
alkul as "mound of love" in reference to the wives of a chieftain, in puR.341
 as "sloping mons" in reference to a warrior's daughter or as in puR.389 as
"zones of love" in reference to the women of a chieftain's family. This
second set of translations is unwarranted.

>  I guess in the
>  agricultural civilization around the beginning of CE,
>  fertility was significant to the society, and dancers
>  added auspicious lustre to the kings and heros of war.

This is not germane to the issue at hand.

>
>  Since 'alkul' and 'mulai' are employed, the scholar
>  Prof. J. V. Chelliah wrote his logical conclusion:
>  >"The songstress seems to have been quite naked, as otherwise
>  >her whole body could not have been described."
>  >(J. V. Chelliah, Pattupattu, SISS society, Madras, 1962, p. 55)
>

I see no logic in the conclusion of either Chelliah or Ganesan. It is yet to
be shown that the words "mulai" and "alkul" are not used in the descriptions
of non-viRaliyar women. In any case, I have already shown examples of the use
of alkul in connection with other women. So there is simply no basis to
single out the viRaliyar as being described in erotic terms or as scantily
clad.

Regards
S. Palaniappan