Knowing the food habitat is highly essential for complete historical erudition of each human community. Since, the food habit is the base for their inner character such as thoughts, actions, intellect which in turn influencing the outer personality. I will share the further information through this series.
In olden days, Tamilians used to have raw food out of their hunting which can be inferred from following line of Puranaanooru poem, “பச்சூன் தின்று பைந்நிணம் பெருத்த (pachoon thinru painninam peruththa”. Those peoples, in later period were identified as hunters’ community. Later on the period of using the skin/leather of those hunted animals, there comes the need to preserve and save those skins.
That was the place, where the term cooking (samaiyal) araises. Samaiyal is the word refers to pakkuvapaduthal (processing) or enhancing from one to another form.
They used to dry the animal skin under sunlight to remove excess wetness, which had to be pointed as the first step in cooking. On the continuation, there comes the habit of eating the dried (transformed) meat of animals, which is the well observed practice in today’s society too.
After acquiring the knowledge of fire, they used to have the meats which are heated in fire. This practice can be inferred from the following line of Puranaanooru poem,“கொள்ளி வைத்த கொழு நிணநாற்றம் மறுகுடன் கமழும் (kolli vaiththa kozhu ninanaatram marukudan kamazhum)”.This refers to heating in fire. The place where this heating took place is then termed as adukalai (kitchen). We also use the term ‘aduthal’ to refer the process of cooking.
After started living in open graze land, humans used to prepare thier food. It is the age, where the potteries and metal vessels came into usage. People belong to this period first tried and have the meat baked with water.
From the information gathered from ancient poems, ancient Tamilians used 4 types of stove for baking or cooking food which are listed as follows: முரியடுப்பு (muriyaduppu), ஆடுநனிமறந்த கோடுயர் அடுப்பு (aadu nanimarantha koaduyar aduppu), முடித்தலை அடுப்பு (mudiththalai aduppu), ஆண்டலை அணங்கடுப்பு (aandalai anangaduppu).
Similary, they named the baking vessels which were inferred from the poems. They are “இருங்கட் குழிசி (irungat kuzhisi)”, “சோறடு குழிசி (soaradu kuzhisi)”, “மேலும் புகர்வாய் குழிசி (maelum pukarvaai kuzhisi)”, “மான்தடி புழுக்கிய புலவுநாறு குழிசி (maanthadi puzhukkiya pulavunaaru kuzhisi)”, “வெண்கோடு தோன்றாக் குழிசி (venkoadu thoanraak kuzhisi)”, “முரவு வாய் ஆடுறு குழிசி (muravu vaai aaduru kuzhisi)” and “அட்டகுழிசி அழற்பயந்தாங்கு attakuzhisi azharpayanthaangku)”.
Very interesting information!!! Isn’t it??
After the conscious of land acquiring and maintenance, people used to manage cattle and feed them by grazing on that land. We can infer from the Puranaanooru poem about the usage of milk, curd and butter, ghee from the cattle’s are used in food of people. That must be time the taste entered in the food.
From the above inference so far acquired, one may easily come to conclusion, Tamilians were basically non-vegetarian. However, in later period, vegetarian food items plays inseparable role in their food habitat.
If they used vegetarian foods, what are they???
Further information in upcoming post.
Stay tuned!!!
Original – www.siththarkal.com
Translated by Lalithambika Rajasekaran
