Silambam martial art is thought to have originated
about 1000 BC and was brought to India by the sage Agastyamuni. The practice is mentioned in Sillappadikkaram and many other works of Shangham literature, and it dates back to the 2nd century BC, but oral folk stories date it back much further to over 7000 years. Tamil Nadu is the home to the historic martial art of Silambam. Its beginnings were in the early Dravidian period. The art was transformed from 1760 to 1799 under the leadership of Pulidevan and Veera Pandiya Kattabommam to combat the British. After them Silambam gained popularity across the nation and in its states. The word Silambam derives from the Tamil word Silam meaning hill. The term Silambambu refer to a particular type of bamboo from the Kurinjimala(Kurinji Hills) in present day Kerala. Thus, Silambam was named after its primary weapon, the bamboo staff. It may have earlier used for self defence and to ward off animals in the Kurinji Hills and later evolved into the present day martial art. The ancient city of Madurai formed a point of focus of Silambam’s spreading. The Tamil kingdom which encompassed Southern India and Sri-Lanka spread it throughout South-East Asia. Indian martial art and other related martial art practices suffered a decline after the British banned Silambam and promoted modern military training which favored firearms over traditional weaponry.