Origins of Tamils?[Where are Tamil people from?] PART: 33

 Compiled by: Kandiah Thillaivinayagalingam]-


Other than famous Nin-dada case,We found another case from the same period.A man named Irra-malik came home to find his wife,Ishtar-Ummi,making love with another man.Rather than commit violence on the spot,Irra-malik kept his head.He tied Ishtar-Ummi and her lover to the bed with rope and dragged them to the assembly for trial.

Although the case record is short in details,It appears that the assembly
took the evidence in front of them-the two lovers tied and wriggling on the bed-as proof that adultery had taken place.The assembly first ruled that her pubic hair be shaven-Whether this was merely to humiliate her or to prepare her for a life time slavery,We do not know.It make sense that adultery should have been forbidden,as husband wanted to be assumed that their children were actually their own.As far back as the sumerian kingdom of Eshnunna,in about 1770 BC,no forgiveness was permitted.The day, a wife,is seized in the lap of another man,she shall die,she will not live.However later mesopotamian cultures allowed husbands to parden their wayward wives.

Rivers were also involved when wives were accused adultery without solid proof. Here woman could clear herself of suspicion by having herself thrown into the water.If she survived,she was declared innocent.If she sank,she was guilty.In one case that unfolded in the sumerian kingdom of Mari,an unnamed woman made a detailed public statement just before the start of her "River Ordeal".She declared that she had indeed had sex with a father and his son before marrying the father. After her wedding,while her husband was away,the son came back to her to demand sex once again.

"He kissed me on my lips" she reported."He touched my  reproductive organ".She insisted ,however that they never past the heavy petting stage.Moreover she scolded her aggressive stepson for coming after her,telling him that she would never do her, husband "unforgiveable harm" by letting him possess her again.Her declaration reads like she doubted that she would survive the river,but the Gods apparently believed her story.She floated. 



We also found a peculiar methods/ordeal were used to resolve cases in the ancient Tamil country,Here  the plaintiff to thrust his hand into a pot containing a cobra. If the cobra bit him, he was guilty and he was sentenced: if the cobra did not bite him,  he was found innocent.

During the pakthi movement under nayanars and alvars,We heard about "Anal vaatham" & "Punal vaatham" too,followed by Fire Ordeal by Kambar in his "kamba ramayanam"

Summoned by Rama, through Hanuman, Sita arrives at the battlefield,after Rama killed Ravana.Rama was very angry & asked Sita:

‘It was not to save you
that I bridged the sea,
cut down to their root these rakshasas
with their lightning-bright swords,
destroyed them utterly—
only to clear my self of blame
I came to Lanka.
You who left me have lived so long
eating the flesh of living things
—sweeter to you than amrutam—
drinking plentifully of toddy.
Answer me now: what feasts
will you prepare, fit for us?"

What more should I say?Your conduct cuts at the very root of
understanding. What can you do now but die? Or go your own way,
wherever you choose,’ said Rama,further.She summoned Lakshmana & told:"Light the fire",for prove her faithfulness to Rama.

"Her jewels heavy upon her breasts and arms,
she called out, ‘Lord Agni!
If I have erred in thought or deed
let your fury burn me!’
She turned and bowed to her husband,
He who wears the tulasi garland."

[Please note that she only told "If I have erred in thought or deed",but not bodily.Also you can find a double standard for men versus women: that women are supposed to prove their faithfulness to men, but the behavior of absent men is never questioned.] 

Though there were no court scene as in Silappathikaram in Sangam literature,Akananuru 256 & 262,clearly mentioned about Punishment and Sentences given by king court for offences such as cheating a girl & a theft.respectively.

"............................................................
Despite that, it has become gossip, which is
greater than the uproar that arose in the
assembly of noble people, on the day when
they tied an unjust man to a tree branch with
tender sprouts and poured water on  his
head, a man who enjoyed the beauty of a
young girl with a fine forehead, and swore he
did not know her,
but the wise knew otherwise, in
Kallūr town with ancient fame, filled with
sugarcane fields and groves with abundant
flowers that are delightful to the eyes"-Akananuru 256...



PART :34 WILL FOLLOW IN NEXT WEEK 

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