Portal:Tamils

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

The Tamils portal

The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar (Tamil: தமிழர், romanized: Tamiḻar, pronounced [t̪amiɻaɾ] in the singular or தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, [t̪amiɻaɾɡaɭ] in the plural), Tamilians, or simply Tamils (/ˈtæmɪlz, ˈtɑː-/ TAM-ilz, TAHM-), are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to India's southern state of Tamil Nadu, to the union territory of Puducherry, and to Sri Lanka. The Tamil language is one of the world's longest-surviving classical languages, with over 2000 years of Tamil literature, including the Sangam poems, which were composed between 300 BCE and 300 CE. People who speak Tamil as their mother tongue and are born in are considered Tamils.

Tamils constitute 5.9% of the population in India (concentrated mainly in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry), 15% in Sri Lanka (excluding Eelam Moors), 7% in Malaysia, and 5% in Singapore.

From the 4th century BCE, urbanisation and mercantile activity along the western and eastern coasts of Tamilakam -- what is today Kerala and Tamil Nadu -- led to the development of four large Tamil empires, the Cheras, Cholas, Pandyas, Pallavas, and velirs and a number of smaller states, all of whom were warring amongst themselves for dominance. The Jaffna Kingdom, and vanni chieftaincies inhabited by Eelam Tamils, was once one of the strongest kingdoms of Sri Lanka and controlled much of the north of the island. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

Tamil Nadu (/ˌtæmɪl ˈnɑːduː/; Tamil: [ˈtamiɻ ˈnaːɽɯ] ^ⓘ, abbr. TN) is the southernmost state of India. The tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population, Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, who speak the Tamil language, one of the longest surviving classical languages and serves as its official language. The capital and largest city is Chennai.

Located on the south-eastern coast of the Indian peninsula, Tamil Nadu is straddled by the Western Ghats and Deccan Plateau in the west, the Eastern Ghats in the north, the Eastern Coastal Plains lining the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait to the south-east, the Laccadive Sea at the southern cape of the peninsula, with the river Kaveri bisecting the state. Politically, Tamil Nadu is bound by the Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, and the union territory of Puducherry and shares an international maritime border with the Northern Province of Sri Lanka at Pamban Island. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

General images

Image 1Bharatanatyam dancers (from Tamils)
Image 2A Malbar temple in Réunion. (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 3Erwadi durgah in Ramanathapuram district is a major pilgrimage shrine of the Tamil Muslims. (from Tamils)
Image 4Katar, Tamil dagger which was popular throughout South Asia (from Tamils)
Image 5A Megalithic burial jar from north-western Sri Lanka, 5th-2nd century BCE, similar to South Indian and Deccan jars of the time. (from Tamils)
Image 6The Om symbol in Tamil script (from Tamils)
Image 7Murugan Temple, Sydney (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 8A 400 years old hero stone in Salem depicting bull-taming sport Jallikattu. (from Tamils)
Image 9 Virampatnam jewelry from funerary burial, 2nd century BCE, Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 10 Souttoukeny jewelry, 2nd century BCE, Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 11Tamil woman in traditional attire, c. 1880, Sri Lanka. (from Tamils)
Image 12The golden Vimana over the sanctum at Srirangam midst its gopurams, its gable with Paravasudeva image. (from Tamils)
Image 13Batu Caves temple built by Tamil Malaysians in c. 1880s. (from Tamils)
Image 14Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni, Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 15Tamil girls dressed in traditional attire, ca. 1870, Tamil Nadu, India. (from Tamils)
Image 16Tamil people in Medan, Indonesia (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 17Tamiḻakam during Sangam Period (from Tamils)
Image 18Sri Kandaswamy Temple, Brickfields, Malaysia. (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 19Grey pottery with engravings, Arikamedu, 1st century CE (from Tamils)
Image 20The Mahishasuramardhini cave bas relief at Mahabalipuram from 7th century CE (from Tamils)
Image 21Sri Kamakshi Ambaal temple in Hamm, Germany (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 22 Map of ancient oceanic trade, and ports of Tamilakam (from Tamils)
Image 23Sage Agathiyar, one of the contributors of Old Tamil literature. (from Tamils)
Image 24Aiyanar, guardian folk deity of Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 25Expatriate Sri Lankan Tamil children in traditional clothes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 26Meenakshi Amman temple, dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi, tutelary deity of Madurai city (from Tamils)
Image 27The New York City Metropolitan Area, including Central New Jersey, as well as Long Island and Staten Island in New York, is home to the largest Tamil American population. (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 28The hall in front of Ranganayaki's shrine, Srirangam, where Kambar is said to have recited his works on Kamba Ramayanam (from Tamils)
Image 29Distribution of Tamil speakers in South India and Sri Lanka (1981). (from Tamils)
Image 30Celebrations of Murugan by the Sri Lankan Tamil community in Paris, France (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 31Megalithic sarcophagus burial from Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 32The Tamil Chola Empire at its height, 1030 CE (from Tamils)
Image 33Tamil girls in Malaysia (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 34Krishna with his consorts Rukmini and Satyabhama and his mount Garuda, Tamil Nadu, India, late 12th-13th century (from Tamils)
Image 35One of the most popular overseas branches of Chennai-based Saravanaa Bhavan, the world's largest Indian vegetarian restaurant chain, is located in Edison, New Jersey, U.S. (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 36Two Tamil girls who follow Vaishnavaite Hinduism (from Tamils)
Image 37The Brihadeshswar Temple at Thanjavur, also known as the Great Temple, built by Rajaraja Chola I (from Tamils)

Selected biography - show another

Ashwin in 2015

Ravichandran Ashwin (pronunciation) (born 17 September 1986) is an Indian international cricketer. He is a right-arm off spin bowler and a lower order batter. Widely regarded as one of the most prolific off spinners of all time, he represents the Indian cricket team and was part of the Indian team that won the 2011 Cricket World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy. He plays for Tamil Nadu and South Zone in domestic cricket and for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Ashwin has 500 wickets in Tests and is the fastest bowler to reach 300 wickets in terms of number of innings. He has won ten Man of the Series awards in Tests, which is the highest by an Indian cricketer and the second highest overall. As an all-rounder in Test cricket, he bats down the order, has scored five Test centuries and is one of the only three players to have scored 3000 runs and taken 500 wickets in Tests. As of February 2024, Ashwin is the highest-ranked bowler in the ICC men's player rankings and the highest rated Indian bowler ever in Tests. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

Topics

Tamil People

Tamil People Countrywide: India • Sri Lanka • Canada • Malaysia • Singapore • South Africa • England

Related Ethnic Groups: Brahui • Gond • Kannadiga • Khonds • Kodava • Oraon • Malayali • Telugus • Tuluvas

Related indigenous Groups: Badagas • Toda • Kuruba

Tamil Nadu

Related portals

WikiProjects

Things to do

Add {{portal|Tamil People}} to the See also section of Tamil People-related articles.
Tag the talk pages of Tamil People-related articles with {{WikiProject Tamil civilization/Welcome}}
Join WikiProject Tamil civilization and list yourself as a Participant in the project.