“The art of Tamil storytelling is thousands of years old, with many folk tales becoming supporting stories in epics such as Shilappadikaram And ManimekalaI, says Professor Aru Ramanathan, a PhD scholar in folklore and former head of the Department of Folklore, Tamil University, Thanjavur. Ramanathan has written more than 55 books. “In 1981, I decided to publish an anthology of all the available folk ballads. This project was completed recently with the help of my student P. Sakthivel. The book is titled Tamizhar Kathai Marabu- Kathai Padalgal” says Ramanathan.
What is the difference between folk songs and folklore? “Folk songs are short, and do not necessarily have a story. Are called short songs.” kurunkathai. And ballads having more than 500 lines are called nedunkathai. Some contain 30,000 lines. Most ballads except a few Kummi Ballads are performed for the audience,” Ramanathan elaborates.
Book Tamizhar Kathai Marabu- Kathai Padalgal Pro. It is a compilation of all the Tamil folk ballads written by Ramanathan. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Temple worship has kept the ballad tradition alive through Villuppattu. “Villupattu ballads were mostly about temple deities. They started being written in the 18th century, and in one village I found 18 copies of Sudalai Madan ballads.”
“In the Kongu region, the ballads are presented to the accompaniment of the percussion instrument Udukkai. The Kaniyan Koothu artists of Tirunelveli have more than 35 ballads in their memory. In the areas around Tiruchi, the ballads are presented to the accompaniment of the Pambai. Therukkuthu, which has an important ballad performance, is now presented mostly in Chennai, Chingleput, Tiruvannamalai, Dharmapuri. Salem, Villupuram and Cuddalore, but there was a time when it was common in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu as well,” says Ramanathan.
Temple worship has kept the ballad tradition alive through Villuppattu, one of the ancient forms of oral storytelling accompanied by music. | Photo Credit: Courtesy: Wikipedia
At a time when newspapers were not easily available in villages, ballads kept people informed about disasters such as train accidents, fires, murders and suicides. He further added, “When such songs were presented the tappe (a percussion instrument) was played. Often these ballads were printed and sold where there was a large crowd of people.”
Pro. Aru Ramanathan has written more than 55 books on Tamil folk traditions. | Photo courtesy: R. Ravindran
When did ballads originate? “Scholar Vanamamalai says that folk ballads began in the 14th century. But most were written from the 16th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Ramappaiyan Ammanai was probably the earliest. Ramappaiyan’s time was 1623 – 1659 AD. Ramayana, Mahabharata ballads should be earlier, but we are unable to fix any date for them. The first printed ballads were Chithiraputhira Nayanar Kathai And Amravati KathaiPublished by Kondalkan Pulavar in 1868. By 1900, at least 65 ballads had been published.
A particular rhythm was used to express the idea of a ballad. In Desingurajan KathaiA meter indicating the gallop of the horse was used. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Was any particular meter used for the verses? “Ballad writers used meters that expressed the basic idea of the ballad. In Desingurajan KathaiThe meter suggests a horse galloping, which is appropriate, as the ballad is about Desingu’s valor on the battlefield.
Ramanathan explains that the ballad Velakkaran KathaiShows the author’s knowledge of geography among many other subjects. In Velakkaran KathaiAn Englishman (Parangidurai) asks a carpenter to build a ship for him. For the flag pole, he chooses a tree in which Senkidikaran lives because of Shiva’s boon. The ship is built in London and starts its journey from Dover Port and reaches Kayankulam in Kerala, where it is loaded with various things. But as he sets out on his return journey, Senkidikaran takes the form of an eagle, rocks the ship and overturns it. All the Englishmen on board the ship die, and by the grace of Senkidikaran they become gods.
“This ballad must have been written after 1869, as it mentions the Suez Canal, which was opened in 1869. The ballad mentions 79 places where the ship visits such as Corsica, Sicily, Naples, Greece, Cyprus and Beirut. This ballad was written by Mutthayya Nadar, son of Sivan Anainja Perumal Nadar of Poovviyur, close to Kanyakumari. Folklorist AN Perumal records that even today, offerings are made to Senkadaikaran (the Englishman on board the ship) during the puja, he utters a few sentences in English and imitates the shooting of the eagle. It was used for building ships.
Professor Aru Ramanathan, a researcher of folk songs and tradition, was the former head of the Department of Folklore, Tamil University, Thanjavur. | Photo Courtesy: B Velankanni Raj
Through ballads we learn that in some cases women, in violation of tradition, performed the last rites of dead relatives. Some ballads show us how certain customs continued through the centuries. In Purananuru (Verse 249), a widow covers the ground with a paste of cow dung, and then makes offerings lump For her dead husband. in folklore Kuruvi PattuWoman Kuruvi Before offering Prasad, the ground is also covered with a paste of cow dung. lump To his late partner. “So we find that the practices of the Sangam era continued many centuries later,” says Ramanathan.
While studying the origins of folk deities, Ramanathan found that there were more temples to female deities than to male deities, because more women died by suicide or were killed. Those who committed injustice against women feared that the dead women would take revenge on them, and so they immediately deified them as atonement!
“Ballads are a good source of history,” says Ramanathan, pointing out that British records such as Memoirs of Colonel WellsAnd Tinnevelly Gazetteer Portrayed Kattabomman as a negative character. After Kattabomman’s death, the British demolished his fort and exiled his family. Panchalankurichi, where he ruled, was shown in maps as a wasteland (paz nilam). But Kattabomman could not be erased from people’s minds. Stories and songs were sung about Kattabomman, and Koothu were enacted about him throughout South Tamil Nadu. “The ballads about Kattabomman give us his side of the story and should be included when the history of that period is recorded.”
From ballads we know that children started reading at the age of five or seven and we also know what subjects they were taught. eenamuthu pandian storyI say that when Eenamuthu was nine years old, he was taught difficult mathematics problems (Kodiya Kanakkugal). He completed his education when he was thirteen years old. Paramasivashivanu Pandiyar Kathai Tells us that at the age of seven a girl studied the multiplication tables. From pennarsiyar kathaiWe come to know that girls were also given military training.
The ballads show us that words from other languages have found their way into Tamil. Ramanathan says that Kullara in Kullara vandi (covered cart) probably comes from the Sanskrit word kulaya Means cage. Savurusangi is the Tamilization of Urdu jabarjangi meaning small cannon.
published – February 20, 2026 01:33 PM IST