Laméca file

Song in the construction of tamil South Indian history and identity

1. Maraintu Iruntu - What is the Secret?
2. Inimel Avarkkum - From Now On
3. Kaiyil Panam Illamal - Without Money in Hand
4. Ella Arumaigalum - My all-knowing all-seeing Lord
5. Pazham Ni Appa - You are the Fruit
6. Nadamadi Tirinda - You Used to Get About Quite Well
7. Ethukkittanai Modi Tan - Why This Love Quarrel?
8. En Palli Kondir - Why are You Stretched Out on the Ground?
9. Jagajjanani - Mother of the Universe
10. Taye Yasoda - Oh Mother Yasoda
11. Vazhi Maraittu - My View is Obstructed
Musical examples
Sources

Abstract
Study and analysis of a series of songs can help us understand how people view their past, how they practice religion and visualize their relationship with the divine, how their sense of humor works, their political and social struggles, how they deal with gender and class or caste discrimination, their sense of national and regional identity, their artistic and aesthetic preferences, their attachment to language, their views on love, how they tell stories, how they play, how they dream.

By Dr Matthew Allen
Professor of Music, Coordinator of Asian Studies, Wheaton College, Massachusetts (U.S.A.)
Acknowledgement: Many thanks to Ms. G. Sulochana and Dr. Prathiba Natesan for assistance with song translations.

© Médiathèque Caraïbe / Conseil Départemental de la Guadeloupe,  2016-2020