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In this episode, we perceive scenes from a wild mountain country, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 336, penned by Kabilar. Set in the hills of ‘Kurinji’, the verse speaks in the voice of the confidante to the man, insisting that he avoid the dangerous paths at night and passing on a subtle message within.
பிணர்ச் சுவற் பன்றி தோல்முலைப் பிணவொடு
கணைக் கால் ஏனல் கைம்மிகக் கவர்தலின்,
கல் அதர் அரும் புழை அல்கி, கானவன்,
வில்லின் தந்த வெண் கோட்டு ஏற்றை,
புனை இருங் கதுப்பின் மனையோள் கெண்டி,
குடி முறை பகுக்கும் நெடு மலை நாட!
உரவுச் சின வேழம் உறு புலி பார்க்கும்
இரவின் அஞ்சாய்; அஞ்சுவல்-அரவின்
ஈர் அளைப் புற்றம், கார் என முற்றி,
இரை தேர் எண்கினம் அகழும்
வரை சேர் சிறு நெறி வாராதீமே!
The verse opens with ‘பிணர்ச் சுவற் பன்றி’ referring to ‘a wild boar with matted, rough hair on its neck’ in the company of a ‘தோல்முலைப் பிணவு’, which means ‘its female with skin-thin breasts’. Often in Sangam poems, we see these boars in association with ‘millet fields’ and here too, there’s a reference to ‘கணைக் கால் ஏனல்’ or ‘thick-stemmed millets’. Like the wild boar and its mate, we glimpse another couple in the verse in ‘கானவன்’ or ‘hunter’ and ‘புனை இருங் கதுப்பின் மனையோள்’ or ‘his wife with neatly combed, dark tresses’. The phrase ‘குடி முறை பகுக்கும்’ meaning ‘sharing with people proportionately’ is a significant indicator of social customs amongst mountain dwellers, which we will explore shortly. The hills are teeming with life, for in addition to the wild boar, we also encounter the ‘உரவுச் சின வேழம்’ or ‘powerful, raging elephant’, ‘உறு புலி’ or ‘a tiger’, ‘அரவின் ஈர் அளைப் புற்றம்’ or ‘the moist mound of a snake’ and finally ‘இரை தேர் எண்கினம்’ or ‘a group of bears in search of prey’. Now, that we have seen the trailer of this wildlife documentary, let’s delve in to see the full picture!
The man and lady had been leading a love relationship and the man was trysting with the lady by night. Although the lady relished his company, she was anxious about the dangers in the man’s path. Understanding her friend’s heart, the confidante says to the man, “Since a male boar with a matted mane, accompanied by its mate with skinny breasts, devoured copious amounts of his thick-stemmed millets, a hunter waits near a well-hidden spot in the rocky path, and aims his arrow at this white-tusked male. Then, he gives that flesh to his wife with dark and well-dressed tresses, who cuts the pieces and shares it with her neighbours equitably. You come from such a land of soaring mountains, O lord! On a night when a strong, male elephant waits with rage to attack the tiger before it, you come walking without fear. But, I fear that! Surrounding like rain clouds, a sleuth of bears in search of prey, dig up the moist mounds where snakes reside. Pray, do not come walking in such narrow paths through the mountain!” With these words, the confidante gives voice to the lady’s fear about the dangers in the man’s path and subtly persuades him to seek the lady’s hand in marriage.
Time to reflect on this movie! The first thing we see is a rough-maned wild boar and its thin breasted female. These two characters are romping about in a millet field. In a fit of raving hunger, they are chomping off the hard-grown millets. Little do they realise the danger that awaits them! This millet field belongs to a hunter and in this fact, we see the convergence of two different lifestyles – that, of a hunter-gather and an agriculturist. This shows that the Sangam people, especially in the mountain country, were going through a period of transition, when they were giving up their nomadic hunting life to settle down and become mountain farmers. But can that hunting instinct that has evolved over thousands of years vanish in a few hundred? This, we see in action in the hunter, as he waits hidden near a rocky path, where he knows the male boar would walk by. He achieves what he set out to do and slays the stealer of his crop with his arrow. Taking that carcass home, he hands it over to his wife. Unlike a modern mindset, where one hoards things for oneself, this fine lady cuts up the pieces of meat and shares it with all her neighbours. The egalitarian attitude of sharing one’s spoils, which is a characteristic of hunter-gathers, seems to have existed in this community of mountain dwellers then. The way she shares is not just an equal cut to all her neighbours but a share according to their need. Kudos to the thoughtfulness and justice that can be inferred in such a life! Returning to the verse, the confidante describes this series of incidents as if only to describe the man’s mountain country.
The confidante then talks about the time of night when a raging elephant waits to attack a tiger before it and says that the man seemed oblivious to such dangers for he walked during that very hour to tryst with the lady. Although the man seems to indicate no fear, the lady worries for him, the confidante says. From the tiger and elephant, the confidante turns her attention to a group of bears. Incidentally, I learnt today that a group of bears is called a ‘sleuth’, another word for a ‘detective’! True to their name, this group of bears seem to be investigating a mound. The confidante describes their movements with the picturesque simile of dark rain clouds surrounding the mountains. What mound is that and who lives within? As we have seen in other Natrinai poems, this is a mound built by termites, a favourite food of these bears and in addition to those hardworking termites, snakes live there too.
The confidante has taken us on this wildlife tour only to indicate the danger the man faces every night. She ends by placing a request to the man to avoid these treacherous mountain paths. So, is she asking the man to stay away from the lady? Nay, in that scene involving the hunter and his wife, the confidante has placed a metaphor for how the man will bring wealth from his exploits and how the lady would run her household by sharing that wealth among those who seek from them. The confidante has intricately woven within, a subtle message pressing the man to choose the path of permanent happiness by seeking the lady’s hand in marriage! While marriage is the theme that seems to dwell on these ancient minds, we have been entertained with not one, not two, but three different scenes from a wild country, which packs within the intriguing life of animals, including that social animal that goes by the name ‘human’!
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