Dravidian people

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For other uses, see Dravidian (disambiguation).
Dravidian
Total population

approx. 250 million  (2006)[citation needed]

Regions with significant populations
Image:Flag of India.svg India
           Tamil Nadu
           Kerala
           Karnataka
           Andhra Pradesh
Image:Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan
           Balochistan
Image:Flag of Malaysia.svg Malaysia
Image:Flag of Singapore.svg Singapore
Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
Image:Flag of Hong Kong.svg Hong Kong
Image:Flag of Fiji.svg Fiji
Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States
Image:Flag of Canada.svg Canada
Image:Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka
Image:Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa
Image:Flag of France.svg Réunion
Image:Flag of the Seychelles.svg Seychelles
Image:Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh (some parts where people speak Kurukh)
Language(s)
Dravidian languages
Religion(s)
Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Jainism, Buddhism
Related ethnic groups
Brahui people · Gondi people · Kannadigas · Kodava · Malayalis · Tamils · Telugus · Tuluvas

Dravidian people refers to a family of related ethnicities and populations that speak languages belonging to the Dravidian language family. Populations of speakers are found mostly in Southern India and some minor populations are found in Brahui[1]-speaking parts of Pakistan, Kurukh[2]-speaking parts of Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Contents

[edit] Origins of the word Dravidian

The English word Dravidian was first employed by Robert Caldwell in his book of comparative Dravidian grammar based on the usage of the Sanskrit word drāvida in the work Tantravārttika by Kumārila Bhaṭṭa(Zvelebil 1990:xx).Caldwell coined the term "Dravidian" from the Sanskrit drāvida, which was used in a 7th century text to refer to the Tamil language of the south of India. The publication of the Dravidian etymological dictionary by T. Burrow and M. B. Emeneau was a landmark event in Dravidian linguistics.

As for the origin of the Sanskrit word drāviḍa itself there have been various theories proposed. Basically the theories are about the direction of derivation between tamiẓ and drāviḍa. That is to say, while linguists such as Zvelebil assert that the direction is tamiẓ >drāviḍa (ibid. page xxi), others state that the name Dravida also forms the root of the word Tamil (Dravida -> Dramila -> Tamizha or Tamil).

There is no definite philological and linguistic basis for asserting unilaterally that the name Dravida also forms the origin of the word Tamil (Dravida -> Dramila -> Tamizha or Tamil). Zvelebil cites the forms such as dramila (in Daṇḍin's Sanskrit work Avanisundarīkathā) damiḷa (found in Ceylonese chronicle Mahavamsa) and then goes on to say (ibid. page xxi): "The forms damiḷa/damila almost certainly provide a connection of dr(a/ā)viḍa " and "... tamiḷ < tamiẓ ...whereby the further development might have been *tamiẓ > *damiḷ > damiḷa- / damila- and further, with the intrusive, 'hypercorrect' (or perhaps analogical) -r-, into dr(a/ā)viḍa. The -m-/-v- alternation is a common enough phenomenon in Dravidian phonology" (Zvelebil 1990:xxi) Zvelebil in his earlier treatise (Zvelebil 1975: p53) states: "It is obvious that the Sanskrit dr(a/ā)viḍa, Pali damila, damiḷo and Prakrit d(a/ā)viḍa are all etymologically connected with tamiẓ" and further remarks "The r in tamiẓ > dr(a/ā)viḍa is a hypercorrect insertion, cf. an analogical case of DED 1033 Ta. kamuku, Tu.kangu "areca nut": Skt. kramu(ka).".

Further another eminent Dravidian linguist Bhadriraju Krishnamurti in his book Dravidian Languages (Krishnamurti 2003:p2, footnote 2) states: "Joseph (1989: IJDL 18.2:134-42) gives extensive references to the use of the term draviḍa, dramila first as the name of a people, then of a country. Sinhala inscriptions of BCE [Before Christian Era] cite dameḍa-, damela- denoting Tamil merchants. Early Buddhist and Jaina sources used damiḷa- to refer to a people of in south India (presumably Tamil); damilaraṭṭha- was a southern non-Aryan country; dramiḷa-, dramiḍa, and draviḍa- were used as variants to designate a country in the south (Bṛhatsamhita-, Kādambarī, Daśakumāracarita-, fourth to seventh centuries CE) (1989: 134-8). It appears that damiḷa- was older than draviḍa- which could be its Sanskritization."

Based on what Krishnamurti states referring to a scholarly paper published in the International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics the Sanskrit word draviḍa itself is later than damiḷa since the dates for the forms with -r- are centuries later than the dates for the forms without -r- (damiḷa, dameḍa-, damela- etc.). So it is clear that it is difficult to maintain Dravida -> Dramila -> Tamizha or Tamil.

The Monier-Williams Sanskrit Dictionary[3] lists for the Sanskrit word draviḍa a meaning of "collective Name for 5 peoples, viz. the Āndhras, Karṇāṭakas, Gurjaras, Tailaṅgas, and Mahārāṣṭras".

Dravidian languages are spoken by more than 200 million people. They appear to be unrelated to languages of other known families like Indo-European, specifically Indo-Aryan, which is the other common language family on the Indian subcontinent. Some linguistic scholars incorporate the Dravidian languages into a larger Elamo-Dravidian language family, which includes the ancient Elamite language (Haltami) of what is now south-western Iran. Dravidian is one of the primary linguistic groups in the proposed Nostratic language system, linking almost all languages in North Africa, Europe and Western Asia into a common family with its origins in the Fertile Crescent sometime between the last Ice Age and the emergence of proto-Indo-European 4-6 thousand years BC.

Dravidian grammatical impact on the structure and syntax of Indo-Aryan languages is considered far greater than the Indo-Aryan grammatical impact on Dravidian. Some linguists explain this anomaly by arguing that Middle Indo-Aryan and New Indo-Aryan were built on a Dravidian substratum.[4]

[edit] Concept of the Dravidian people

The term Dravidian is taken from the Sanskrit term Dravida, historically referring to Tamil[5]It was adopted following the publication of Robert Caldwell's Comparative grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian family of languages (1856); a publication that established the language grouping as one of the major language groups of the world. Robert Caldwell was a Catholic missionary and used the term Dravidian to refer to the people of South India.[6]

However, over seventy-three languages are presently listed as Dravidian[7]. Further, the languages are spread out and cover parts of India, Pakistan,South Western Iran, South Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.[8].

[edit] Linguistic classification

Main article: Dravidian languages

The best-known Dravidian languages are Tamil (தமிழ்),Kannada (ಕನ್ನಡ), Malayalam (മലയാളം), Telugu (తెలుగు), and Tulu (ತುಳು). It can be noted that one Dravidian language, Brahui (بروہی), is spoken in Pakistan, and minor tribal languages are used in Nepal and Bangladesh.

There are three subgroups within the Dravidian linguistic family: North Dravidian, Central Dravidian, and South Dravidian, matching for the most part the corresponding regions in the Indian subcontinent.

  • Gonds: A prominent group of Dravidian speaking Tribal people the Central region of India.
  • Kannadiga: These people belong to South-Dravidian subgroup. Mostly found in Karnataka , Tamil nadu and Maharashtra.
  • Kurukh: These people belong to North-Dravidian subgroup. Found in India and Bangladesh. It is the only Dravidian language indigenous in Bangladesh.
  • Malayali: The people of Kerala belong to South-Dravidian linguistic subgroup.
  • Tamil: These people belong to South-Dravidian linguistic subgroup. Mostly found in Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia.
  • Telugu: These people belong to South Dravidian subgroup (formerly classified with the Central Dravidian but now more specifically in the South Dravidian II or South Central Dravidian inner branch of the South Dravidian (Krishnamurti 2003:p19)). Mostly found in Andhra Pradesh also in Orissa and Tamil Nadu.

[edit] Origins

Main articles: Proto-Dravidian and Dravidian homeland
Image:Dravidische Sprachen.png
Areas in South Asia populated by Dravidian peoples

Kamil V. Zvelebil has suggested that the proto-Dravidians of the Indian subcontinent arrived from the Middle East, and may have been related to the Elamites,[9] whose language some propose be categorized along with the Dravidian languages as part of a larger Elamo-Dravidian language family. However, S.A. Starostin has disputed the existence of an Elamo-Dravidian language family.

According to a view put forward by geneticist Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza in the book The History and Geography of Human Genes, the Dravidians were preceded in the subcontinent by an Austro-Asiatic people, and followed by Indo-European-speaking migrants sometime later. The original inhabitants may be identified with the speakers of the Munda languages, which are unrelated to either Indo-Aryan or Dravidian languages. However, the Munda languages, as a subgroup of the larger Austro-Asiatic language family, are presumed to have arrived in the Indian subcontinent from the east, possibly from the area that is now southwestern China, so any genetic similarity between the present-day speakers of the Munda languages and the "original inhabitants" of India is likely to be due to assimilation of the natives by Southeast Asian immigrants speaking a proto-Munda language.

Some linguists believe that Dravidian-speaking people were spread throughout the Indian subcontinent before the Aryans settled there. In this view, the early Indus Valley civilization (Harappa and Mohenjo Daro) is often identified as having been Dravidian. [10]. According to them, it is now considered likely that the collapse of Indus Valley civilization was caused by environmental change (drought), which then encouraged the migration of the nomadic Indo-Aryans into the area. In that perspective, it is therefore more likely that the Dravidian speakers of South India were already living in the region and were merely one of the groups little affected by the initial Indo-Aryan migration[citation needed][original research?].

Some scholars like J. Bloch and M. Witzel believe that the Dravidians moved into an already-Indo-Aryan-speaking area after the oldest parts of the Rig Veda were already composed (see Bryant 2001: chapter 5)}[page # needed]

This theory might be supported if a higher antiquity of the Indo-Aryan languages could be established. However, since this theory is mainly a linguistic hypothesis, the Dravidian influence on Aryan languages need not necessarily be equated to a movement of populations.[citation needed]

[edit] Genetic classifications

Main article: Indian genetic studies

The genetic views on race differ in their classification of Dravidians. According to population geneticist L.L. Cavalli-Sforza of Stanford, based on work done in the 1980s, almost all Indians are genetically Caucasian, but Lewontin rejects the label Caucasian. Cavalli-Sforza found that Indians are about three times closer to West Europeans than to East Asians.[11] Dr. Eduardas Valaitis, in 2006, found that India is genetically closest to East and Southeast Asians with about 15% more genetic similarity than to Europeans; he also found that India could be considered very distinct from other regions.[12] Genetic anthropologist Stanley Marion Garn considered in the 1960s that the entirety of the Indian Subcontinent to be a "race" genetically distinct from other populations.[13][14] Others, such as Lynn B. Jorde and Stephen P. Wooding, claim South Indians are genetic intermediaries between Europeans and East Asians.[15][16][17]

Studies of the distribution of alleles on the Y chromosome,[18] microsatellite DNA,[19] and mitochondrial DNA[20] in India have cast overwhelming doubt for a biological Dravidian "race" distinct from non-Dravidians in the Indian subcontinent. This doubtfulness applies to both paternal and maternal descent; however, it does not preclude the possibility of distinctive South Indian ancestries associated with Dravidian languages.[21]

[edit] Political ramification

[edit] India

Main articles: Aryan Invasion Theory (history and controversies) and Dravidian movement

Some Indians believe that the British Raj exaggerated differences between northern and southern Indians beyond linguistic differences to help sustain their control of India. The British Raj ended in 1947, yet all discussion of Aryan or Dravidian "races" remains highly controversial in India. It is now widely believed that the British used this only as their 'Divide and rule' blueprint for taking over the region.[22]The British also used this "theory" of perceived differences between so-called "Aryans" and "Dravidians" to propagate racist beliefs concerning the inherent "inferiority" of the Dravidians when compared to the "Aryans," thus justifying their colonization of South Asia (since the British identified themselves as "Aryans")[23]

[edit] Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, the current ethnic conflict and the civil war are further complicated by the view that the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils belong to two different ethnic and linguistic families. Sinhalese (like Dhivehi) is an Indo-Aryan language that exists in the southern part of South Asia.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ tamil language on Encyclopedia Britannica
  2. ^ Kurukh language on Encyclopedia Britannica
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (2003) The Dravidian Languages Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-77111-0 at p. 40-41.
  5. ^ |url=http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl2022/stories/20031107000807300.htm|}}
  6. ^ P. 678 Dancing With Siva: Hinduism's Contemporary Catechism, By Himalayan Academy, Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, Master Subramuniya.
  7. ^ Ethnologue study
  8. ^ Dravidian language family study
  9. ^ Zvelebil, Kamil V. 1974. "Dravidian and Elamite - A Real Break-Through?", Journal of the American Oriental Society 94.3 (July-Sept.): 384-5.
  10. ^ Stone celts in Harappa
  11. ^ Robert Jurmain, Lynn Kilgore, Wenda Trevathan, and Harry Nelson. Introduction to Physical Anthropology. 9th ed. (Canada: Thompson Learning, 2003)
  12. ^ Valaitis, E., Martin, L. DNA Tribes. 2006. January 22, 2007. [2]
  13. ^ Garn SM. Coon. On the Number of Races of Mankind. In Garn S, editor. Readings on race. Springfield C.C. Thomas.
  14. ^ Robert Jurmain, Lynn Kilgore, Wenda Trevathan, and Harry Nelson. Introduction to Physical Anthropology. 9th ed. (Canada: Thompson Learning, 2003)
  15. ^ Jorde, Lynn B Wooding, Stephen P. Genetic variation, classification and 'race'. Nature Genetics. Department of Human Genetics. 2004.
  16. ^ Bamshad, M.J. et al. Human population genetic structure and inference of group membership. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 72, 578−589 (2003).
  17. ^ Rosenberg, N.A. et al. Genetic structure of human populations. Science 298, 2381−2385 (2002).
  18. ^ [3]Entrex PubMed: A prehistory of Indian Y chromosomes: evaluating demic diffusion scenarios
  19. ^ Entrez PubMed: Polarity and temporality of high-resolution y-chromosome distributions in India identify both indigenous and exogenous expansions and reveal minor genetic influence of Central Asian pastoralists
  20. ^ Entrez PubMed: Human mtDNA hypervariable regions, HVR I and II, hint at deep common maternal founder and subsequent maternal gene flow in Indian population groups
  21. ^ Sitalaximi, T "Microsatellite Diversity among Three Endogamous Tamil Populations Suggests Their Origin from a Separate Dravidian Genetic Pool" Human Biology - Volume 75, Number 5, October 2003, pp. 673-685
  22. ^ Nelson, Robin (2003). Antinomies of Modernity: Essays on Race, Orient, Nation (in English). Duke University Press, 37-38. ISBN 0822330466. 
  23. ^ van der Veer, Peter. Conversion to modernities: The Globalization of Christianity (in English). Routledge (UK), 130. ISBN 0415912733. 

[edit] References

[edit] External links

es:Drávida fr:Dravidiens hi:द्रविड़ प्रजाति hr:Dravidi it:Dràvida ml:ദ്രാവിഡര്‍ nl:Dravidiërs ja:ドラヴィダ人 pl:Drawidowie ru:Дравиды simple:Dravida sk:Drávidi sv:Dravidfolk ta:திராவிடர் ur:دراوڑ

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