 History Discussion

The Sangam Society of

South India
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The Sangam literature are the source of
information about the socio-economic life of
the South Indian people.

It provides information regarding the

classification of the people, various
occupations, dress and food habbit, status of
women, religion, cultivation, trade and
commerce.

Descriptions of the Sangam literature are

corroborated by the Chinese traveller Hiuen
Tsang who made substantial observations on
the social life of the Tamil.
Image Source: media.web.britannica.com/eb-media/00/143800-050-
357CE202.jpg
The Sangam social structure rested on
traditional caste systems and occupations. The
literature speak of farmers, shepherds, hunters,
fishermen, blacksmiths, weavers, carpenters,
merchants, shippers and priests. The Brahmins
of Sangam society were ideal priests. They acted
as the chief advisor to the kings as scholars and
philosophers. They also worked as puroliitas,
astrologers, ascetics, judges and ambassadors.

Though the Brahmins played a constructive role

in society and administration, the Sangam
society was not priest-dominated. The other
castes also enjoyed considerable respect in the
society. The Vaisyas were engaged in
agriculture, trade and commerce. The
fishermen were traders of fish and used boats.
Textile goods were produced by the weavers.
They also contributed to agriculture. Hiuen
Tsang who made a perceptive observation of
the Sangam society said about agriculture, “The
soil is fertile and regularly cultivated, and
produces abundant of grain.

There are also many flowers and fruits. It

produces precious gems and other articles. The
climate is hot, the character of the people
courageous. They are deeply attached to the
principles of honesty and truth, and highly
esteem learning, in respect of their language
and written characters, they differ but little
from those of Mid-India.”

The Sangam literature provides information

regarding the status of women and their
marriage. The women were not equal with men
in the society. Sati system was prevailing in the
Sangam age. There were also women ascetics
and courtesans. Different kinds of marriages
were performed in different social classes.

Some marriages which had no ritual and

formalities could be performed with the consent
of the bride and bride groom without the
knowledge of parents. Other types of marriages
were performed with rituals. Religion played a
positive role in Sangam social life. People
worshiped nature and indigenous gods.

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In sangam society the people were accustomed

with burnt bricks and lime for the construction
of buildings. The literature describe regarding
multistoried building, streets and gates. The
people of various classes used different dresses
and ornaments. Flowers and perfumes were the
favourite needs of women. Both vegetarian and
non-vegetarian food were used in those days.
Intoxicants were used on limited occasions as
an entertainment item.
In Sangam literature, there are references to the
educational system. There were Vedic
education and astronomy for the Brahmins,
military training for royal families,
mathematical lessons for merchants and art
education for artisans. Professionalism was
highly developed in fine art, painting, dance,
drama and music.

It is known from the Sangam literature that the

people of South India were great innovators in
the fields of agriculture and commerce. As early
as the first century of the Christian era, they
could know the season of the monsoon rains
and adjusted their cultivation of different crops
according to seasonal variations. They could
irrigate their rice fields for greater production.

According to monsoon trends they also

adjusted their navigation in high seas. The
Tamil navigators were adventurous enough to
across the Indian Ocean for trade and
commerce in Indonesian Islands. They
constructed ports and harbors for shelter of
incoming and outgoing sailing boats. It is
indicated in the classical Western literature that
the Greek and the Roman merchants used such
ports in South India. The discovery of Roman
coins proves of trade relations between South
India and the Roman world. The Tamil word
arici was the root of the western word rice.

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