“Thumi”, A Word Coined by Kambar and its usage in other Literature

Abstract

A language is an assemblage of words, usually evolved over hundreds of years. The progression of Tamil as a language, however, has been over thousands of years. A word in Tamil is not just a stand-alone, it is an archival embodiment of the culture, civilization and history of the period during which it originated for usage. Consequently, when the usage of a Tamil word is forgotten, it implies that the culture, civilization and history of the period of its origin is also lost. Kambar must have, realizing this, recorded a multitude of words in his epics. Many of the words he has so recorded have the distinctiveness of their usage having been lost before his time. He has also recorded words originated during his era. One such word is “Thumi”. The present research aims to examine with references as to whether the word in fact originated during Kambar’s era? What does the word mean? Have literary works before Kambar’s era, used the word? If so, in what meaning was it used? How has the word been used in literary works subsequent to Kambar’s era?