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The Tamil Plutarch
A Summary Account of the Lives of the
Poets and Poetesses of Southern India and Ceylon
Simon Casie Chetty, First Published in 1859,
Second Revised Edition published by Asian Educational Services in
1982
From the Preface by the Author, 15 August 1859:
"Of the languages of the Scythian family, Tamil confessedly
occupies the most distinguished rank, and it is peculiar to the people of
that part of India, which was formerly under the sway of the Chera, Chola
and Pandiya kings and of those of the eastern and northern provinces of
Ceylon.
The name Tamil, signifying " sweet," is characteristic of
the language. Indeed it is one of the most copious, refined, and polished
languages spoken by man, as correctly observed by an accomplished
Orientalist. (Taylor's Preface to Dr. Rotler's Tamil and English
Dictionary, part iv.) ....
Few nations on earth can perhaps boast of so many poets as
the Tamils. Poetry appears to have been the first fixed form of language
amongst them; for as has been remarked by Abbe Dubois, " they have not a
single ancient book that is written in prose, not even the books on medicine
", and hence the poet formed the inalienable part of the philologist, the
theologian, the philosopher, the astronomer, the physician, etc. (Abbe
Dubois' Description of the People of India, p. 260.)
The inducements held out to poets and the rewards bestowed
on them by the long line of Pandiya kings, who graced the throne of Madura
from the ninth century before to the fourteenth century after Christ, were
most liberal, and might have done honor even to the court of Augustus.
These kings had three different Sangams, or Colleges
established in their capital at three different periods, for the promotion
of literature, more or less corresponding in character with the Royal
Academy of Sciences founded by Louis XIV at Paris, and made it a rule that
every literary production should be submitted to their Senatus Academicus,
before it was allowed to circulate in the country, for the purpose of
preserving the purity and integrity of the language.
It may be well imagined how favorably these Sangams operated
on the talent and genius of the nation. From every part of Southern India
poets crowded into the Sanga-mandapam, or College hall to recite their
compositions and the successful candidate besides winning the smiles of
Royalty was rewarded with something more enduring and substantial as will
appear from Vamshasu'da'mani Pandiyen presenting a purse of gold to the poet
Tarumi, alla Kule'sa Pandiyen honoring the poet Iddeika'der by the
gift of a young elephant and a horse, besides gold, and fertile lands.
Neither were the kings of Chera and Chola backward in
patronising poets; for they had a certain number of them always attached to
their courts, and the names of Peruma'Kothari Chera and Kulo'tunga Chola
are still celebrated, the former for his unbounded munificence towards the
poets in general, and the latter towards the poet Ottaku'ter, the author of
the war-chant called Kalingattu Parani.
There can be no doubt that an infinite number of works in
the different departments of sciences and literature were composed during
this brilliant age; but in the early part of the fourteenth century when the
Muhammedan hordes poured into Southern India, and Prakrama Pandiyen was led
away captive to Delhi, the Tamils had to deplore the loss of almost all
their literature; for those ruthless fanatics amongst other outrages
ransacked all the libraries in the country, and committed to the flames "all
that genius had reared for ages." ....
It had long been my intention to offer to the public an
account of the Lives of our Poets, but the difficulties which presented
themselves in procuring materials for the work owing to the absence of
biographical records in Tamil either ancient or modern, was more than I had
calculated upon, and I almost resolved to give up the undertaking in
despair. Finding however that the traditions current among the people,
carefully collected and scrupulously detached from fictitious and ornamental
additions such as oriental imagination delights in could afford the desired
information, I was induced to direct my attention to that source of
knowledge, and the result with all its imperfections is now before the
public.
This work, being the first attempt of the kind, must be
notwithstanding all my vigilance necessarily subject to many inaccuracies
and defects, for which I solicit the indulgence of the reader and the
critic...."
Among the Chetties rose a great Tamil scholar - 200th birth anniversary
of Simon Casie Chetty will be celebrated today at Kalpitiya
Kasipillai Manickavasagar, 25 March 2007
Simon Casie Chetty, the first civil servant of Ceylon was a member of
the Legislative Council, judge, scholar and prolific author. His 200th birth
anniversary is being celebrated today at his school in Kalpitiya near
Puttalam. The programme will include the release of the reprints of three of
his English books, unveiling his portrait and a commemoration meeting. He
was indeed a multi-faceted personality.
The parchment scroll
detailing the biographical data of Simon Casie Chetty prepared for posterity
by M.H.M. Naina Marikar, M.P. for Puttalam and Deputy Minister was unveiled
at the New Puttalam Law Courts complex on October 19, 1984. The inaugural
address on this occasion was delivered by Dr. Nissanka Wijeyeratne, former
Minister of Justice.
The History of the Colombo Chetties written by Shirley Pulle Tissera,
and the History of Colombo Chetty Community written by A.T.S. Paul confirm
that "the ancestors belonged to a small community that hailed from Alwar in
the Tinnevely district in South India, who were Tamil-speaking Hindus. One
of them, Casper Casie Chetty migrated to Ceylon in the middle of the
Portuguese period, became a Catholic, and was known to be living in Colombo
with his wife in 1620. The grandfather of Simon, Adrian Casie Chetty became
a Protestant and a member of the Dutch Reformed Church.�
Chetty VS
Setthi
The Colombo Chetty Association (CCA) in its historical
souvenir has made an etymological declaration of the word Chetty, that "it
is interpreted as Setthi in Pali, Hetti or Situ in Sinhalese and Etti in
Tamil. Therefore, any reference to Setthi or Situ would mean Chetty. This is
important because in all historical records this Community is referred to as
Setthi or Situ".
At the same time, the Tamil Lexicon published under
the authority of the University of Madras in six volumes in the early 1930s
and reprinted in 1982, etymologizes on page 1583 of volume 3 that the term
Chetty originated and derived from the Prakrit word Setthi. It is worthy to
note that the Prakrit and Tamil words sound alike and that the Tamil word
Chetty originated and derived from the Prakrit word as proved by the Tamil
Lexicon. Incidentally, the suffix-like Pulle is Pillai in Tamil meaning
child, and Appa is father.
Prakrit and the Middle Indo-Aryan
languages began as vernacular dialects and eventually developed distinct
styles. These dialects were distinguished by regional names. In Malayalam
Chetty is Cetti, and in Kanarese and Telugu it is Jetti. Some scholars
restrict Prakrit to the language used by the Hindu and Jain writers, while
some others include the Buddhist languages such as Pali and Inscriptional
Prakrit.
The Souvenir also mentions that "the ancestors of the
Colombo Chetties first moved from the North Western parts of India to
Malabar and Coramendal coast�, but it is yet to be ascertained with
evidence. The President of the CCA Reggie Candappa admitted this fact thus:
�Occasionally, articles have appeared in the local press giving a vague
insight into the origins of our community.�
The souvenir also states
that they came to Ceylon from Madura and Nagapatnam as well. Supporting it,
A.T.S. Paul says in his book that �The advent of the Colombo Chetty
community from Nagapatnam, India is well documented from 1663 during the
reign of King Rajasingha II of Kandy, and the Governorship of the Dutch,
Ruckloff Van Goens. With the arrival of the Westerners in search of the
riches of the East, the Chetties of India used the opportunity to further
their trade. Tandava M.P. Aserappa, a wealthy ship owner, arrived in his own
vessel from Nagapatnam with his brother Arthurunarayan. He was a Hindu. On
his conversion to Christianity he took the name of Anthony Pieris Aserapa.
Incidentally, the Tamil language was termed Malabar in most of the
translating of the Bible into Tamil and it was the word used to denote the
Tamil language by the early foreign missionaries.
Speaking of the
origin of the Colombo Chetties S.P. Tissera says: "The Colombo Chetties
belong to the Vaisya Caste. The Vaisyas compose the nobility of the land,
and according to the classification made by Rev. Fr. Boschi they were
divided into three distinct tribes or castes. The highest sub-division being
the Tana Vaisya or merchants, followed by Pu Vaisya or Husbandmen and Ko
Vaisya or Herdsmen. The Tana Vaisyas are commonly called Chetties.� It is
the Tamil term Chetty that associates the Colombo Chetties with the reputed
Tana Vaisya caste, and Dharmasiri Senanayake, then Minister observed at the
opening of the CCA Exhibition that �The Chetties and the Tamils have some
cultural links� (Dinamina 11.10.95)
As per the Tamil Lexicon, Chetty
is Vaisya or mercantile caste. It is the title of a trader, wrestler,
prize-fighter and the Hindu God Skanda. Chettinadu is a landmass of 1700 sq.
km and consists of 74 towns and villages. There is neither a separate
country as such nor a government for it. Yet, since the Chetties were
industrious and philanthropic, their territory has been dignified after
them. The bulky Madurai Tamil Great Dictionary produced in 1937 mentions 12
categories of Chetties and the list includes the Tamil word ETTI,
respectably ETTIAR which has been referred to above in the etymological
declaration.
Simon Casie Chetty
In this illustrious community was born Simon Casie Chetty, the
greatest Tamil scholar the Colombo Chetty community ever had. He writes in
the preface dated August 15, 1859 to his classical work the Tamil Plutarch:
�Of the languages of the Seythian family the Tamil confessedly occupies the
most distinguished rank and, it is peculiar to the people of that part of
India, which was formerly under the sway of the Chera, Chola and Pandiya
kings and of those of the eastern and northern provinces of Ceylon. The name
�Tamil� signifying �sweet� is characteristic of the language. Indeed it is
one of the most copious, refined, and polished languages spoken by man, as
correctly observed by an accomplished Orientalist Taylor. Few nations on
earth can perhaps boast of so many poets as the Tamils. Poetry appears to
have been the first fixed form of language amongst them; for as has been
remarked by Abbe Dubois, �They have not a single ancient book that is
written in prose, not even the books on medicine.�
Simon�s father
Gabriel was born in 1779, but his father had an early death and his maternal
uncle Abraham Muthukrishna, Chief Tamil Mudaliar of the Governor�s Gate
brought up Gabriel and caused him to study Dutch. However, as the capture of
the island by the British gave importance to English, Gabriel studied
English and Governor North appointed him as one of the Tamil translators to
the Government from which post he rose to the position of Mudaliar of
Kalpitiya and settled down there after marrying Marie, daughter of Simon de
Rosario and held several offices of trust in the Dutch East India Company
Service.
Their son Simon Casie Chetty was born in Kalpitiya on March
21, 1807 and baptized in Colombo as an Anglican. Simon attended the Tamil
school at Kalpitiya and subsequently another. Somewhat like Srilasri Arumuga
Navalar who at a young age, tutored his Principal in Tamil at the Jaffna
Central School of Rev. Dr. Peter Percival, Simon taught Tamil to Lt. Smith
who also had literary achievements. He agreed to teach English to Simon.
This was the beginning of Simon the scholar. Dr. Nissanka Wijeyeratne
speaking of Simon said: �Later he was to master, besides his native Tamil,
English, Sinhalese, Sanskrit, Hebrew and Arabic and had a fair knowledge of
Portuguese, Dutch, Latin and Greek.�
Simon�s father died on 2.8.1837
and he was appointed Mudaliar and a Proctor. Mr. Mooyart was the Assistant
Government Agent and District Judge of Puttalam and he engaged Simon in his
literary pursuits. The Christian missionaries beginning with the Methodist
Mission were received in Jaffna by the Mooyarts. In 1839 he completed a
church at a cost of 250 pounds and more than half of it was paid by him.
At the age of 17 Simon was appointed Interpreter to the Puttalam Courts,
later to the Office of Assistant Collector. His later appointments were:
Collector of Chilaw and Maniyagar of Puttalam and Attorney to the Government
was in addition to these Offices. During this period he maintained and
conducted a free Tamil School at Kalpity for 50 students.
Simon married his cousin of the Wesleyan Mission in 1839. The
following year he had the acquaintance of Mrs. Foster, wife of the Commander
and this accomplished lady and a lover of literature helped Simon in his
literary research for about nine years. Simon Casie Chetty was appointed a
Tamil Member of the Legislative Council when this office was rendered vacant
due to the death of Coomaraswamy Mudaliar. He held this office for seven
years and then resigned. On his retirement from the Legislative Council due
to heavy expenses he was made the First Ceylonese Civil Servant and also a
member of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1845. He proceeded to Chilaw as
District Judge which office he held until his death on November 5, 1860 at
the age of 53. Before his death he became a Catholic.
Simon Casie
Chetty was a prolific writer and author of 12 published monographs and seven
manuscripts. The Ceylon Gazetteer was his Magnum Opus � his great work, and
it is the one that was displayed together with his portrait in the 75 cents
postage stamp released on National Heroes Day of 1989.
