தென்னமெரிக்க தமிழர்கள் - South American Tamils

I was browsing in Amazon for books to kick off new year reading yesterday. One of the titles, "தென்னமெரிக்க தமிழர்கள்" (Thennamerica Thamizhargal-South American Tamils) struck me like a lightning. It had the effect of not only intriguing me but it also challenged my self-proclaimed Latin America expertise. How come I did not know the Tamil link to South America despite having spent twelve years in the region and read so many books on Latin America. So I ordered the book on kindle and read it immediately. It did not take much time to finish reading, since it is just 174 pages. The book, published in July 2017, is in Tamil language only. 

The author, Naveena Alexander, has tried to establish a link between ancient Tamils and the Meso Americans such as Olmecs, Aztecs and Mayas. He claims that the Tamils had discovered the American continent long before the Europeans  and much before the birth of Jesus Christ.  He believes that the Tamils had the capacity to travel long distance through the oceans, with their knowledge of the winds and ocean streams. He is of the view that the Tamils had established trade settlements in Meso American ( Mexico and the northern part of Central America) region. He has identified some similarities between the Tamil and Mesoamerican cultures. Pity..He has forgotten to mention the common role of ‘chillies’ in the spicy Mexican and Tamil food.

But the book has not done justice to the audacious title it bears. The author has given flights to his fancy based on speculations and conjectures, without any credible evidence to prove his theories. However, he has given an overview of the history and culture of Mesoamericans which is educative for the readers in Tamil language. 

I called the author who lives in Chennai. His real name is David J Praveen. I told him about my feeling about the book. He told me to wait till his next book on the Incas and other South American native Indians come out. He sees Tamil connection with the Indians of the Andean region too. He is enthusiastic about his discoveries and theories.  He recalls having read a Tamil book " South American Cholas". There is, of course, proof that the Cholas had conquered south east Asia but South America? hmm..

Praveen is a prolific writer and has authored over a dozen books on diverse topics such as artifice intelligence, e-commerce giants, Magic and Magicians,the streets of the colonial city of Madras and the mystery of Egyptian pyramids. His mission is to educate and provoke the curiosity of the readers in Tamil language. 

My curiosity, triggered by his book, took me to google for information on Tamil link to South America. I was not disappointed. A historian and General Secretary of Kanyakumari Historical and Cultural Centre, Mr S Padmanabhan has found striking similarities between South Indian and Mayan culture. He claims that the ‘Padala Logo’ ruled by Mahabali, as described by the Puranas, is actually Mexico. The Professor had found evidence to this theory during his field trips in Mexico. In a lecture in 2010, he has claimed that there is influence of Dravidian culture, particularly Keralite culture in Mayan architecture, domestic equipment and social and religious practices. He has called for research into the submerged Kumari continent and the Mayans.

Am I puzzled and confused after reading these? Not at all. In fact I see a clear and solid similarity between the South Indians and Latin Americans. That similarity is ‘Magical Realism”, the signature genre of Latin American literature. Magical realism blurs the line between imagination and reality. In fact, some Malayalee scholars have claimed that magical Realism was invented by O V Vijayan in ‘Khasakkinte Itihasam’, much before Gabriel Garcia Marquez. No wonder that the book “ one hundred years of solitude” was the best seller in Kerala at one time. More on this in my earlier blog http://latinamericanaffairs.blogspot.in/2016/08/malayali-adventures-in-land-of-marquez_16.html#links

Perhaps the theory of Magical Realism explains why the Tamils vote for actors to become chief ministers. They don’t seem to distinguish between the filmy magic and the political reality. 

In any case, the South India-South American link of Magical Realism promises to be an interesting area for research..