Tamil Nadu witnessed a spirited debate on the practice of women wearing the thaali as early as in 1954.
While the attempt to debate the subject led to a minor blast near a television channel office on Thursday, it was an explosion of articles that marked the discourse then.
Erudite articles were written by Tamil scholars Ma. Rajamanickam and Ma. Po. Sivagnanam, the latter an authority on Silappathikaram who earned the title Silambuchelvar.
Ma. Po. Si argued that the custom of wearing the thaali was prevalent as early as in the period of Silappathikaram (dated by most scholars around the 2{+n}{+d}century CE). The epic refers to Kannagi, the heroine, giving up all her ornaments except her thaali .
‘Mangala Aniyirpirithani magizhaal ,’ he quoted poet Ilango as saying to drive home the point that wearing the thaali alone made her happy after her separation from Kovalan.
Ma.Po.Si. wrote an essay on Tamil marriage, now part of the book Tamizhar Thirumanam , which seeks to repudiate Rajamanickam’s argument, advanced in a lecture in Madurai, arguing that there was no evidence to show the practice was in vogue between the Sangam period and the 10th Century CE.
Rajamanickam wrote nine articles in the Sunday magazine of Tamil daily Tamil Nadu on a request from Karumuthu Sundaram Chettiyar. It was compiled as Tamizhar Thirumanathil Thaali .
Rajamanickam disagreed with Ma.Po.Si’s interpretation that mangala ani referred to the thaali, recalling Adiyarkku Nallar’s explanation that it was just an auspicious ornament and had no other meaning. Another anonymous commentator, writing an explanatory note, said mangala ani would mean natural beauty.
“Kannagi remained a natural beauty without wearing any ornaments,” Rajamanickam said, while pointing out that there was no reference to Kovalan tying a thaali to Kannagi during their wedding, even though the epic describes the ceremony in great detail.
Ma. Po. Si. sought to turn the tables on Rajamanickam arguing that Ilango left out the thaali from the description because it was a known element of Tamil culture and not a Vedic custom that required explanation.
As the debate progressed, Tamil scholars were divided into two groups, expressing solidarity either with Rajamanickam or Ma.Po.Si.
Another great scholar, Avvai Duraisami Pillai, and poet Kannadasan fully agreed with Rajamanickam, who noted that wearing the thaali probably began in the 11th century and that it was supported by Kandapuranam, Periyapuranam, Thakkiyaka Parani, Kambaramayanam, Nambi Thiruvilayadal and Paranjothi Thiruvilaiyadal .
