TAMIL FOLK SAYINGS ON AGRICULTURE

A Study of the folk knowledge of agriculture in Indian Tradition 

I. Introduction

The major effort today in the area of Science and Technology (as well as in all other areas of learning) is in the sector of Modern Western Science and Technology, around which almost all our education, research and training is organized. The traditional Indian systems of Sciences and Technologies (as well as other branches of learning) have remained comparatively less known. A small section of political activists have been speaking of “learning from the people” and its importance, though its precise meaning and significance in operational terms is rarely spelt out and is perhaps yet to be worked out. But by and large, the view thatprevails amongst the modern educated, is that there is no worthwhile knowledge with our people that can be characterised as Science and what prevails is a jumble of fact and superstition. This seems in essence a continuation of the “Outsider’s view’’ or mode of thinking where everything is examined only for possible “exploitation” - be it natural resource, knowledge systems or even people and stamped as useful or useless or fact or superstition or prejudice, using Western concepts, methods and requirements as the yardstick to go by.

Knowledge of traditional Sciences and Technologies exists not merely amongst experts or Pandits and in the classical scholarly texts, but also with our innumerable farmers, artisans and craftsmen who are its day to day practitioners. Such knowledge may prevail and get propagated in many forms—such as folk songs, rites, rituals, proverbs, riddles and by the traditions by which farmers and artisans have propagated their arts and sciences over successive generations. Folk knowledge of this kind can give valuable insights into various areas of knowledge as also the ethos, wisdom and thinking of our people. However, a majority of the available material in this area is the work of Western Scholars and suffers from the preconceptions and limitations of the extent European notions and biases.

In 1894, an English missionary John Lazarus published a dictionary of Tamil Proverbs and in the preface to this publication, he states that “...When I began to go about among the Tamil People in order to preach and converse, I noticed how largely they made use of proverbs in their daily talk, while I was unable to quote freely in return and thus lost ground in argument or illustration. This led me to the study of Tamil Proverbs...If the present work succeeds in awakening an interest in this branch of Tamil Scholarship and thereby leads to a better and more correct knowledge of the people and their inmost thoughts I shall look upon my labor of years as amply repaid’'. Similarly another missionary Herman Jensen (who published a classified collection of Tamil in proverbs in 1897) states the preface to his book that “By a good knowledge of Indian Proverbs one is enabled as it were to feel the moral pulse of the Indian people and a sound insight into the proverbial literature of India is like getting a microscope by which one can look deeply into the recesses of the native heart”. He also quotes the following passage of Rev. J. Long from his ‘‘Eastern Proverb and Emblem” - “But it is to the missionary that the value of an extensive acquaintance with Chinese Proverbs is of the highest importance.. A proverb will often serve to rouse the flagging attention of a congregation or to arrest it at the commencement of a discourse. A proverb will often produce a smile of good nature in an apparently ill natured audience and so to call forth a kindly feeling which did not seem before to exist”.

These collections of proverbs (such as the dictionary of Lazarus) suffer from the limitation that they merely compile the proverbs with no reference being made to the specific context, place or occasion of their use. The interpretation or their meaning is often attempted without paying heed to the actual users—their modes of discourse, understanding or idioms.

There is a need for us to look into such knowledge from our own viewpoint, not only for its technical content, but also to understand its internal structure, how the knowledge system is organised and practiced and its linkages to the rest of our society. We recognise the limitations of the currently available material. Nevertheless we here present a selection of proverbs from the published literature to give some indication about the nature and scope of this material, and to get pointers for future work. In particulars we intend to examine proverbs in Tamil, related to agriculture and compare this knowledge with the available textual knowledge on agriculture. Needless to say, this selection of proverbs does not by any means completely indicate the extent of folk knowledge of agriculture but only represents one particular aspect of it.

II. An overview ‘of Tamil proverbs on Agriculture

 Proverbs in Tamil Literature

Though proverbs by their very nature are part of oral tradition, even amongst the most ancient Tamil Literature, there are compilations of proverbs as well as profuse use of proverbs and references to them. The most ancient Tamil Grammar Tholkappiyam (1) assigns a formal status to proverbs. In the Prouladhigaram we find the definition "Mudumozhi is that which conveys its intent and meaning being possessed of the qualities of subtlety, brevity, clarity and simplicity”. The commentator Nachinaarkiniyar remarks that Pazhamozhi — (which is currently the more common Tamil term for Proverbs) is synonymous with the term Mudumozhi. The oldest collection of Tamil proverbs now available to us is the text, Pazhamozhi Nanooru, by the poet Moonrurai Arayanar. This is a text belonging to the last Tamil Sangam period and forms part of a group of 18 texts called Padinen Keezhka- nakku. It consists of 400 verses composed in the venba metre which has 4 lines to a verse. In each verse the last line is a proverb, the first two lines are an explanation of its meaning and the third line is a form of address. Yet another text belonging to this group of Padinen Keezhkanakku is the Mudumozhi Kanchi composed by Koodaloor Kizhar. This has ten groups of verses, each of which has ten cryptic statements of advice, namely Mudumozhi or proverbs. Other texts of sangam period such as Ahananooru and Purananooru refer to proverbs and also use them. In the composition of Saivaite and Vaishnavite saints also proverbs are often used—such as in Pazhamozhi Pathikam of Appar, Neethal Vinnappam and Tiruvachakam of Manikkavachakar, the verses of Peria Thirumozhi, and Ramayanam of Kamban. Aside from these, the songs of Siddhas also abound in proverbs.

In a much later period there evolved the style of Sathakas i.e. composing groups of hundred verses, of which several had a proverb in each stanza such as the Thandalaiyar Sathakam of Padikkasu Pulavar.

In the past fifty years there has been a variety of literature about proverbs. These range from compilations of proverbs which may be alphabetical or classified Subjectwise or less often collection of proverbs on specific subjects, such as agriculture or medicine.* The earliest collection of Tamil Proverbs on Agriculture was compiled and annotated in 1896 by C.K. Subba Rao who was sub Asst. Director of Agriculture in Madras Presidency. This list of 867 proverbs was published in the Bulletin of the Dept. of Agriculture (Madras) in 1912. In 1978, ila. Se. Kanda- samy of the Coimbatore Agricultural University published a book in which he listed these proverbs along with a small number of new ones that he had gathered.** In the following section the discussion on Agricultural proverbs has been based mainly on Subba Rao’s compilation and partly on Proverbs drawn from the work of John Lazarus. The proverbs cited under each topic are merely representative and in general a much larger number and variety of proverbs are to be found in relation to each area.

1. The profession, its risks and the qualities needed of a farmer

Agriculture is proclaimed to be the greatest of all professions since it forms the basis for all other activities.‡ If farming ceases nothing else can proceed.¹ Wisdom and learning depend on a Nazhi* of rice.² It is only those who live the life of farmers who truly live—others merely plod along on their trail.² Generally farmers are urged to farm as a sacred duty and not give it up, though it is often not lucrative. Farming brings in no more than bread.⁴ Accounts may be kept in household matters but not in farming.⁵ If the farmer does his accounting, (he will see that) not even an ulak is left for himself.⁶ (ulak - a small measure of volume). At the same time the great risks involved in the profession are highlighted.’ A farmer's life can be ruined by a breeze.⁷ There is also a humorous proverb where a farmer exclaims on seeing a Digambara Sanyasi (A sanyasi who does not wear clothes) — Possessed of ten yokes of oxen, | lost even my ploughshare; how many yokes did you possess that you have lost even your loincloth?.’⁸ The qualities that are needed for being a successful farmer are spelt out in several proverbs (eg) personal involvement in farming.’ A crop is lost by not caring, a horse is lost by not riding and a loan is lost by not asking⁹ (for repayment.) 

2. Land and its Nature

There is an abundance of proverbs that speak about the nature of various types of land depending on its location in the village, proximity to irrigation source, elevation, types of vegetation on it, etc. It is considered very important for a farmer to have all land collected in one piece and not scattered. Even if the land is inferior, it is better as a single piece.¹⁰ Regarding the location of land with respect to irrigation source or in different parts of the village sometimes there are contradictory proverbs, highlighting positive as well as negative aspects of a type of land. A son born in Uttara as well as land in the border of the village are both auspicious¹¹. On the other hand: In a land that borders the village, no crop is left for the farmer.¹² Thus while land that borders a village may be considered good since it is close by and can be easily supervised, its drawback is that the crop is pilfered by wayfarers. The field by the road side will be worth only the straw.³

In general low lying ground is preferred to high lying ground and land close to the sluice is considered superior. Even if there is (risk of) floods, cultivate on low ground.¹⁴ But proximity to irrigation source is considered more important : A high field close to the main sluice is superior to a low field irrigated by a minor sluice¹⁵ (i.e further away). Between Nanjai (wet) and Punjai (dry) land, Nanjai is considered-superior. Dry land yields one crop, wet land two.¹⁶ Wet land near the sluice and dry land near the hill¹⁷ (are good). New dry land and old wet land¹⁸ (are good).

The nature of land can also be known from the type of plants growing on it. Wet land in which arai (A type of green Marsilea quadrifolia) grows and dry land in which aragu (a type of grass also called hariali, Cynodon dactylon) grows are good¹⁹. The soil in which Karandai (Sphoeranthus indicus) grows is the best and that in which kolinji (wild indigo plant cultivated as green manure crop) grows is middling.²⁰ Wet land on which arai grows (see above), red soil on which aragu grows (see above) and black soil on which Korai (a kind of a grass Cyperus bulbosus) grows are the best of their kind.²¹

About the relative merits of various kinds of land it is said : Though but a kani* choose KarisaI²² (i.e black cotton soil). He who tills alar land will reign, he who tills sandy land will go to ruin.²³ No one was ever ruined by trusting Kalar land and nobody ever profited by trusting sandy soil²⁴ (Kalar - also alkaline soil). Seed own in saltish soil and the life of a soldier in a battlefield are both uncertain.²⁵ No one thrives by tilling sandy soil and no one is ruined by ploughing clay.²⁶ Though planted a thousand times the red soil is not exhausted.²⁷ Plough only land that is free from stone and have dealings only with the man who keeps his word.²⁸

Some methods are also suggested where the quality of land can be changed by suitable treatment. For example if the soil is excessively salty : Apply perandai (a small plant whose shoots are used in cooking—Cissus quadrangularis L) to reclaim salt land.²⁹ Margosa (Melia azadirahta) leaves will improve salt land.³⁰ To remove saltishness in land use margosa oil cake.³¹ To remove the saltishness of a kalam** of land mix the seeds with six palams*** of margosa oil cake and sow.³²

3. Weather and Meteorology 

There are literally hundreds of proverbs about weather and this forms a very large body of proverbs relating to agriculture. There are proverbs about rain and its forecast, lightning, thunder, cloud-formations, winds, rainbows, insects and their movements and the significance of each of these for crops and also specific proverbs about the qualities of each one of the twelve months of the Indian calandar. (For a brief description of terms used in Tamil corpus on Meteorology, see Appendix II)

(a) Rain : Rains are required for good crops and indirectly for all prosperity. If the sky fails the earth will fail.³³ If the sky fails, charity will fail. A continuous drizzle is preferable to heavy rain at intervals.³⁴ Unseasonable rain like untimely food is not useful.³⁵

(b) Rainbow : If a rainbow appears in the east in the evening or west in the morning, it will rain.³⁶ A rainbow in the west indicates rain in the east.³⁷ A rainbow in the east indicates floods in the west.³⁸ A rainbow in Ani forebodes no rain in the next month.³⁹

(c) Clouds : Some general statements are found — usually morning clouds do not lead to rain, while evening clouds and clouds in the horizon, or North East etc. lead to rain. The morning cloud, the gathering together of asses and a southernly breeze in the evening are signs of no rain.⁴⁰ If the sky becomes dark near the horizon there will be instant rain.⁴¹ If the sky is uneven with clouds as the bed of a river there will be immediate rain.⁴² If it be cloudy in the North East there will be breaches in the tank bund⁴³ (i.e. heavy rains). Thunder in the morning, sun at noon and clouds in the evening are forerunners of rain.⁴⁴

(d) Winds : In general - South winds and North winds make crops excellent.⁴⁵ In the rainy season, Ani, Adi and Avani, the proper direction for the wind is considered Westerly and South wind is held to be disastrous. The Westerly wind is accompanied by rain.⁴⁶A South wind in Adi makes the whole country tremble.⁴⁷ If South winds blow in the rainy season, sell your bullocks and purchase sheep⁴⁸ (i.e. there will be no ploughing needed due to rain failure). Similarly East wind is also held to be bad. With East winds in Avani, and West winds in Aipasi it is useless even to dream of rain.⁴⁹ In general rain is also said to be indicated by strong winds, Northern winds and winds from several directions. Strong winds foretell rain as excessive familiarity begets enimity.⁵⁰ If the North wind blows it will surely rain.⁶¹Instant rain follows winds blowing from many directions.⁵²

(e) Lightning : In general lightning seems to be indicative of rain particularly at dusk, or in the North Eastern direction or during the rainy season. The more the lightning heavier the rain.⁵³ Lightning in the North East makes even a bullock tremble.⁵⁴ Lightning in dusk gives early morning rain^53.. Similarly about lightning in the rainy season : If there be lightning near the horizon in Ani/Aippasi open your granary⁵⁶. (i.e. get ready to sow since rain is expected).

Simultaneous lightning at opposite sides is said to forebode very heavy rain. If there be lightning simultaneously in Elam? (Ceylon) and Kongu (parts of present day Salem, Coimbatore and Kerala) - (here It indicates opposite directions) — shift the folds on low ground to the high ground.⁵⁷ As an exception, lightning in South-west is said to be a false indicator of rain. In fact the Southwest corner is called’ the corner that sets the bullock laughing.⁵⁸ It is said that a foolish farmer expects rain when he sees lightning in’ the Southwest; and prepares to plough; but the bullock laughs since he knows that it is only a false indication of rain!

(f) Thunder

Thunder is correlated with rain depending on the season. Generally thunder in summer indicates. rain while in rainy season it does not. Thunder in summer and lightning in rainy season bring heavy rain.⁵⁹ If there is thunder in the rainy season and lightning in hot weather, there will be no rain.⁶⁰ Regarding particular months in the rainy season it is said, lighting in Chitrai and thunder in Margazhi are bad.⁶¹ If it thunders in Aippasi grass will grow at the bottom of the well.⁶² (i.e. rains will fail). If it thunders in: Thulams (i.e. Aippasi) take to the picottah⁶³ (a water raising device). In rainy season an exception seems to be Avani in which thunder is said to be good. If there is thunder in Avani there will be crops everywhere.⁶⁴

(g) Behaviour of insects; animals; trees; etc.

Movements of insects and sudden appearance of certain insects are correlated to weather. The movement of certain insects like beetles, butterflies, white-ants, ants; and dragonflies can predict rain. The. flight, of; beetles augurs rain at a distance.⁶⁵ A large swarm of white butterflies foretells floods.⁶⁶ If ants move to higher ground with eggs, it will rain.⁶⁷ Some insects indicate rain or its ceasure depending on their behaviour. Thus if winged white-ants should come out in the morning, heavy rains will cease.⁶⁸Excessive rain follows if white-ants take wing in the evening.⁶⁹ Similarly, if the dragon fly flies: low, it will rain without fail.⁷⁰ If the dragon fly flies high, rain will cease.⁷¹

Similarly the correlation of weather with the behaviour of some animals and plants is noted. If frogs croak rain will follow.⁷² If the crane seeks high-ground, it will rain.⁷³ If the cattle (cast a type of) look at the sky it will rain.⁷⁴lf the Jamun fruits well, the country will flourish.⁷⁵

(h)Weather during various months

There are a large number of proverbs about the qualities of various months, effects of prevalence and absence of rains during these months or specific periods of the months, the suitability or otherwise of the months for a variety of agricultural operations, etc. A few representative proverbs are cited below. Rain in Chittrai is considered too early and thus bad for crops. Chittrai rain will reduce the yield.⁷⁶The rains are considered welcome if they set in during Vaikasi and Ani. If in Vaikasi there is enough rain to keep ploughing; the tamarind will blossom abundantly.⁷⁷If there benorainin Ani, there will be none for sixty days afterwards.⁷⁸Drizzling in Ani and rain in Avani.⁷⁹Thus in a good season rain should definitely set in by Ani and should be marked by more rain in Adi and

Avani and very heavy rain in Purattasi and Aippasi and end with Karthigai. Heavy showers fall during Purattasi.⁸⁰Continuous rain in Aippasi.⁸¹Heavy rain in Karthigai.⁸² This month also marks the end of rainy season. There is no rain after Karthigai and no donor, to match Karna.⁸³Normally there is no rain in Margazhi and rain in this month, or after, is considered undesirable.There is no rain after the beginning of Margazhi just as there is no army after the Bharatha War.⁸⁴Rain in Marghazhi is of no use to the land.⁸⁵ Summer commences in Thai.⁸⁶The dew in Masi will even soak, through a terrace.⁸⁷Rain in Panguni is ruinous in several ways.⁸⁸

(i) Effects of Asterisms, Lunar Days, Week days, Eclipses

Several proverbs also make observations or predictions based on events occuring on a particular day of the week, a specific tithi or nakshatra.lf it rains on a Saturday evening, crops will be free from disease, and yield well.⁸⁹ If there be five Sundays in Adi, the price of paddy will approach that of rice⁹⁰ (i.e. it will be very expensive because of a bad crop).If Adi new moon be obscured the rain will hold off till Thai, the sea will dry up and there will be much distress.⁹¹If it rains on the Adi new moon day, there will be no rain till the next new moon.⁹²If there be rain in Asvini every crop will be lost.⁹³ if it rains, in Bharani land will be productive.⁹⁴If there is rain in Mula the Navadhanyam* will suffer.⁹⁵If it rains in Visaka the crop will be attacked by insects.⁹⁶ If there be lightning in Swathi there will be food⁹⁷ (i.e. a good crop). The constellational positions of other planets like Venus also figure in proverbs. Rain is incessant when Venus enters, Swathi.⁹⁸It will rain if Venus after setting to the South (of the moon), rises.again to the North.⁹⁹ When Venus enters Kumbham there will be plenty of rain.¹⁰⁰If Mars enters into Kanni even the ocean will dry up.¹⁰¹ About eclipses it is said : If solar and lunar eclipses occur within fifteen days of each other, either kings will die in the battlefield or food will be searce.¹⁰²An eclipse or shooting stars in Panguni, Ani, Purattasi or Margazhi are signs of heavy rains; do not then sow on low grounds or the crop will be washed away.¹⁰³

4. Field Husbandry

Once again there are proverbs going into various aspects such as Tillage, Sowing, Manuring, Weeding and Irrigation.

(a) Tillage : A land without tillage and curry without pepper are useless.¹⁰⁴ Ploughing can do what manuring cannot.¹⁰⁵ About ploughing techniques : If the soil is ploughed fine like butter, the yield shall be like a mountain heap.¹⁰⁶ Better plough six kulis well than a hundred kulis in haste¹⁰⁷ (kuli is a measure of area). Plough deep instead of widely.¹⁰⁸ Plough the field when it is moist.¹⁰⁹ About the ploughshare it is said : Adapt the share to the ploughing.¹¹⁰Only when the ploughshare is sharpened will the plough work.¹¹¹Regulate the size of the plough by the strength of your arm and that of the stilts by the length of your legs.¹¹²About ploughing various land types it is said : Wet land needs seven ploughings and dry land four.¹¹³Overall, tillage is considered more important than manuring. Defective ploughing cannot be made up by manuring.¹¹⁴

(b) Manuring :About its importance it is said :Do not plough the land without manure ready at hand.¹¹⁵Crop without manure is useless.¹¹⁶Various kinds of manures find mention like manure from sheep, cowdung, foliage, sand etc. About the value of sheep manure : Untrodden by sheep no land will produce.¹¹⁷It is considered to do good immediately after use, as against organic manure that have a longer term éffect. Sheep manure lasts one year, that of cattle six years.¹¹⁸ Sheep folding is good for one crop, aavarai* leaves for three.¹¹⁹ Also it affects the stalk rather than grain. Sheep dung has effect on the plant, aavarai on the grain of paddy.¹²⁰Also, Kar needs sheep folding and Pishanam leaf manure.¹²¹ (kar - is the short early crop and Pishanam late crop of longer growth).About manure from cattle it is said :Cowdung and urine are collected as manure.¹²² Cattle manure for dry land and leaf manure for wet land.¹²³ About leaf manure: One babul tree (Accacia arabica) is enough to manure a Kani, and one cluster of bamboos to destroy a veli.¹²⁴(kani and veli are measures of land area). Plants should perish on the lands on which they grow.¹²⁵ Neem seed cake is a valuble manure.¹²⁶ Some other kinds of manure are mentioned. If sand from an anthill is added the soil gives a good yield.¹²⁷. Top soil of.the river strengthens the crop.¹²⁸Manure of waste from a cheri is better than all other manure¹²⁹(presumably since it has a lot of animal refuse). About the process of manuring it is said :Cover the manure so that it does not dry.¹³⁰Dried manure is not worth a pie.¹³¹

(c) Irrigation :About the importance of irrigation itissaid : there is no world without water.¹³²River and spring water are considered superior sources of irrigation.Ten kuzhis irrigated by a spring or a river will equal in yield a hundred kuzhis irrigated from a tank.¹³³ Several proverbs speak of the importance of the well and its maintenance. If you take care of the well the well will take care of your stomach.¹³⁴ Sink a well after noting the location of anthills.¹³⁵In a used well, water flows freely ; in an unused well it will stink.¹³⁶In a sandy soil, the deeper you bore, the deeper the water.¹³⁷About the need to keep canals clean and free of obstruction :Even a blade of grass can stop the flow of three kurunis of water.¹³⁸ (kuruni : a measure of volume about 1/3 of a pot). It is considered undersirable to have water stagnating in the fields.Though you allow shade, allow no water to stand.¹³⁹It is easier to do the duties of a Tahsildar than to regulate water.¹⁴⁰Field is ruined by water that stagnates and a pond is ruined if water does not stagnate.¹⁴¹ About the need for drying : Crops require water and drying alternately.¹⁴²To protect the fertility of soil, bunds are considered important.A good well has stones paved around and a good field has bunds protecting it.¹⁴³ 

(d) Weeds :About the necessity for weeding it is said :Crop not weeded is but one fourth of a crop.¹⁴⁴ If the crop is weeded, three kalams of grain may be obtained from a sheaf.¹⁴⁵[i.e. the harvest will be very good]. Deceitful hearts and fields foul with weeds will never thrive.¹⁴⁶ Various specific weeds and their effects are mentioned in detail. Korai is ruinous to the cultivator.¹⁴⁷ (Korai is Cyperus bulbosus). A field overgrown with hariali grass (Cynodon dactylon) and a man who opposes his king will not thrive.¹⁴⁸Palli is as fatal to a field as Sakuni was to the family.¹⁴⁹ (Palli : a weed that grows on dry land). Regarding weeding technique it is said :Root out weeds when they begin to sprout.¹⁵⁰Manure the fields till the crop begins to ear and weed it till the ears are ripened.¹⁵¹Weed the land even after gathering the ears.¹⁵² Plant horse gram to get rid of Korai.¹⁵³

(e) Seeds and Sowing :Regarding the importance of seeds it is said : Yield depends on the quality of seeds.¹⁵⁴ (The crop is) half dependent on the seeds and half on our work.¹⁵⁵The seeds should of course be preserved properly Even if the seed is good, it should be dry.¹⁵⁶ Seeds well dried will keep without harm.¹⁵⁷A seed infested by andhu (an insect) will not grow.¹⁵⁸Husks protect the seeds from harm.¹⁵⁹Protect the seeds like a treasure.¹⁶⁰About the correct time and technique of sowing, seeds should be sown when it is not too wet or dry. Do not sow when it is raining.¹⁶¹ Moisture (in correct quantity) is like mother’s milk for the crop.¹⁶² Also, it is injurious to sow the seeds very deep.¹⁶³Cover the seeds after sowing them.¹⁶⁴Regarding density of sowing, an optimum distance should be maintained between seeds for a good crop. Sow far apart.¹⁶⁵ People must live close together but plants must be wide apart.¹⁶⁶ If sowing is dense the haystack will be bigger and if sowing is sparse the granary will be full.¹⁶⁷

A great amount of importance is attached to sowing at the correct time and season. A timely crop stands to the end.¹⁶⁸ Even on poor land sow in season.¹⁶⁹ Sow the seed in time even though the land be not fully ploughed.¹⁷⁰ If the seed time is missed even the dung-hill cannot grow a crop.¹⁷¹ Adi is considered by far the best sowing time, the next month Avani is only mediocre.

Look for Adi and sow.¹⁷² All crops in Ashada.¹⁷³ Sowing finished before the fifth of Adi, transplanting before the fifteenth of Purattassi and a son born in the twenty fourth year are like treasures of ancestors.¹⁷⁴ There is no sowing after the rainy season and no rains after Karthigai.¹⁷⁵

(f) Crop Protection: Use of fence is recommended to protect crops See the crop of he who has fenced his land, see the cattle of he who has graze them.¹⁷⁶ (both took prosperous). A sapling not protected by a fence and an oilmonger who does not use an oil press are not proper.¹⁷⁷ A fence shuts out rinderpest.¹⁷⁸ An unclosed field and bullocks ploughing without rest are alike ^l79 (i.e. not very useful). Fencing should be before or with sowing the seeds and not after it. Fence before you sow.¹⁸⁰ About types of plants that can be used for fence it is said: Kalli (called the milk hedge, Euphorbia antiquorum) is the best of fences as karisal (black cotton soil) is the best of soils.¹⁸¹

Crops can also be damaged by many animals, birds, pests and disease. lf the crops are affected with sembadu (a disease) we are finished.¹⁸² The navai puchj (a type of insect) ruin the paddy.¹⁸³ Termites spoil sugarcane.¹⁸⁴ Termite - afflicted crop is just a piece of wood.¹⁸⁵ Caterpillar takes away the strength of the crop.¹⁸⁶ Asvani pest is not good for avarai¹⁸⁷ (a bean). A single andhu can destroy a thousand kalams of paddy.¹⁸⁸ Birds help by eating worms.¹⁸⁹ Kurakkanni* protects from termites,¹⁹⁰ etc.

5. Live Stock

The general importance of livestock for prosperity is brought out by sayings like: The ryot will get lean if his cattle get lean and the fatter the cattle, more prosperous the farmer.¹⁹¹ The death of plough cattle, for a farmer, is as great a calamity as the death of one’s wife.¹⁹² About maintenance and care of Cattle: Grazing for cattle and rubbing for horses.¹⁹³ When grazing does not improve the bullock, rubbing will.¹⁹⁴ About the qualities of bullocks there are specific proverbs. A strong man will not fear hard work, a short bullock will not fear work in puddle.¹⁹⁵ Bullocks from Alambadi are good to look at but useless for ploughing.¹⁹⁶ High priced clothes and low priced bullocks are bad.¹⁹⁷ A long tail is a sign of long life.¹⁹⁸ He who does not know how to select a good bullock should buy one with horns bent backward.¹⁹⁹ Judge a bullock when walking and sheep while it is in flock.²⁰⁰ About cows: A milch cow is as precious as one’s eyes.²⁰¹ A cow and a coconut tree yield results in five years.²⁰² A cow fed upon paddy straw yields a small quantity of milk, but very sweet.²⁰³ About buffaloes it is said: Preserve young Palmyras by lopping and buffaloes by tying.²⁰⁴ About sheep: Sheep graze contentedly on stubble that cattle cannot graze on.²⁰⁵ If you want to spoil the jungle let in sheep.²⁰⁶ Goats run from place to place and graze sporadically; cattle graze in one spot, and move on.²⁰⁷ Though an elephant's stomach may be filled, a sheep’s never is.²⁰⁸

6. Proverbs about specific crops

Aside from proverbs that speak about general principles and techniques of agriculture there is also a lot of knowledge about specific crops, such as paddy, millets, pulses, cash crops like cotton and sugarcane, oil seeds, vegetables and trees, Since a wealth of information exists about the main crop of Tamil Nadu, Paddy, it is given in some detail below.

Paddy: Regarding irrigation there is a lot of information on how much water is needed in various stages of growth. In general paddy needs a lot of water. The higher the field ridge [that stores water] the more the paddy.²⁰⁹ A paddy crop and a proper Brahmin depend on water²¹⁰ [An orthodox Brahmin needs a lot of water for his ablutions]. [f the tank be full, paddy will thrive.²¹¹ One flow of water is one Kalam of paddy.²¹² If there be a Mottai in the field ridge, you will lose one kotah of grain.²¹³ [Mottai - hole made by crabs through which water can drain; kotah - about 1/2 a bag]. If the ploughed mire dries up, the yield of paddy will be not even an ulak²¹⁴ [a small measure of volume]. However, no water should fall on newly transplanted paddy field. Rain on the day of transplantation is like guests when one is reduced to poverty²¹⁵ [i.e. a diasaster]. Rain falling on paddy or horse gram before germination is bad.²¹⁶ Too much water can be bad especially while flowering. Too much water is injurious to paddy.²¹⁷ When flowering, the land should be hard, when ripening, the field should be flooded.²¹⁸ If watered and then reaped the yield of paddy will be increased by a padakku²¹⁹ [about 16 measures].

There are two commonly used systems of raising paddy: [i] The sowing system, where the seeds are sown directly in the field and [ii] the transplanting system, where seedlings are first raised in nursery beds and than transplanted into a puddled field. About sowing it is said: Sowing needs four times as much seeds as transplanting.²²⁰ Twelve kalams of seed are needed to sow one veli.²²¹ Adi is considered the best month for sowing though it can be in Avani if it is by the transplantation system. Adi for sowing, Avani for sprouting.²²² The dry system in Adi and the transplantation system in Avani.²²³ Paddy sown in Avani will suffer from anaikombu²²⁴ [a disease]. Sowing much later is utterly useless. Paddy sown in Aipassi will not yield even for flattened rice.²²⁵ Transplanting should be done in Avani or Purattasi and should not be delayed till Aippasi. Transplantation by fifteenth of Purattasi is the best.²²⁶ Transplantation in Aippasi will not yield grains even for flattened rice.²²⁷ It is generally said that the yield is better if the sowing is sparse rather than dense; though dense sowing may give more hay it yields less grain. Between paddy plants distance and between relations closeness are desirable.²²⁸ The space between the plants should be such that crabs cannot creep in between.²²⁹ This also seems to depend on the specific variety of paddy used. Some such as samba and kar are said to yield better if planted closely. Thin planting spoils the kar crop and thick planting pishanam.²³⁰ samba should be planted together and Porchal i and navarai thinly.²³¹

There is also a great number and variety of paddy with various charecteristics. Kar is a variety that is sown early in Ani. No one has seen kar sown in Ani withering or a dead monkey.²³² Kar will fail if there be much lightning, and pishanam if there is much thunder.²³³ Like the weeding of a kar field²³⁴ kar needs a lot of weeding). If white kar fails even the seed sown cannot be recovered.²³⁵ Samba is a white rice variety and a small variety of it, chinna samba, is also called pishanam. Pishanam will never fail though kar can fail eight times.²³⁶ The pishanam crop is damaged by drought, the kar crop suffers from moisture.²³⁷ Even a year old pishanam cannot equal samba just reaped.²³⁸ Of all grains garuda pakshi, gundu samba and chinna samba are the best.²³⁹ If you plough a field after manuring it with konji leaves superior samba will be produced.²⁴⁰ Should there be mist, samba paddy will yield well.²⁴¹ Navarai needs no puddle.²⁴² Reserve a small area for navarai as one does a small quantity of rice to take with buttermilk.²⁴³ Mosanam is best for food.²⁴⁴ If rains fail sow Manakathai ²⁴⁵ (it needs very little water). !f one plants at all, one should plant tillai nayagam variety. ²⁴⁶

Overall the period of paddy cultivation and the yield is summed up as follows : Thirty days in the mire, thirty days in the nursery, thirty days in the puddle and you get 30 kalams from a hundred kulis.²⁴⁷ What is considered full yield is: Three hundred grains in an ear of paddy indicates a full yield.²⁴⁸ One ear of paddy will yield a quarter measure and one sheaf will yield one kalam.²⁴⁹

II. Folk Knowledge compared with classical Textual Knowledge

The large number of proverbs in diverse areas such as agriculture or medicine are very important since they constitute a vast body of knowledge being the wisdom of thousands of years of experience. However what is equally interesting is to know the relative importance or status assigned to such ‘folklore’ in our tradition. While in any given area, (such as medicine) there may be a body of experts or learned professionals who have specialist knowledge, knowledge also [Not Visible] revails in other forms more diffuse or scattered among the rest of the people. [Not Visible] Indian tradition, it seems to be a general principle running through all types [Not Visible] learning, that knowledge can and does prevail in various forms and also gets [Not Visible] unicated in many ways, with each form serving its own purpose.

For example, songs and literary works are classified in five groups based on how they are formulated and how easy they are to comprehend, namely as - Narikelapakam, Ikshupakam, Kadalipakam, Drakshapakam and Ksheerapakam (2). The form most difficult to comprehend is the Narikelapakam - it is like a coconut; to be eaten, the shell must be broken, the fruit grated and then mixed with food. Ikshupakam, is the sugarcane form--which has to be crushed to extract the juice. Next is the Kadalipakam, the banana form which has to be just peeled to be eaten. Easier still is the Drakshapakam - grape form which can be eaten without any processing, and the easiest of all is the Ksheerapakam or the milk form which can not only be easily consumed, but also is a wholsesome food for all ages and people in all conditions. In a similar vein in Sanskrit the literary compositions are classified into three groups: Prabhu samhita, Suhrut Samhita and Kantha Samhitha (3). Prabhu Samhita instructs like a Prabhu or master who punishes when rules are transgressed (eg. instructions such as in the Vedas), Suhrit Samhita instructs like a friend who advises on what to do and what not to do (eg. like the Puranas), and Kantha Samhitha which instructs like a Kantha or one’s beloved who advises and cites examples, coaxes or pleads or persuades as the situation may require to achieve the same end, namely ‘upadesa’ (eg. as in Kavyam).

It is noteworthy that these different formulations or forms of communication are not understood as being part of a heirarchial system where one can [Not Visible] replace or supersede another or is considered the generally superior form. Each one serves a specific need and may be the most appropriate for a particular context or for a given purpose. It is interesting in this light to compare the knowledge of agriculture as conveyed by Tamil proverbs with what is contained in some ‘classical’ or scholarly texts and formulations. Let us briefly consider two such texts, Krishi Parasara (K. P.) and Brhat Samhita (B.S.). Krishi Parasara (4) is attributed to the sage Parasara and this text deals with agriculture and its general principles and also describes some conditions perhaps specific to Bengal. Brhat samhita (5) is attributed to Varahamihira and is a compendium, that deals with a vast range of subjects, such as Astronomy, Astrology, Meteorology, Geology etc.

The broad general principles of agricultural operations are spelt out in KP in a manner similar to what has been outlined in the proverbs. The great importance of irrigation: “All agriculture has rainfall at its root, life too has rainfall as its source.” (KP-10). On the use of manure: “Then at the time of sowing, take out the manure; without manure paddy is bereft of fruits.” (KP-111). On preservation of seeds: “...dry them (seeds) thoroughly in the sun; do not keep them down” (KP-157); “The seed that has come into contact with lamp, fire, smoke, that has been damaged by rain and has been covered up with holes is to be rejected” (KP-164). On the two different techniques of paddy cultivation: “Seeds are of two kinds, (for) sowing and (for) transplanting” (KP-183). On the importance of draught animals and the need to treat them humanely: “Carry on cultivation in such a manner as does not inflict pain on draught animals. Grains obtained through the suffering of draught animals are condemned in all rites”(KP-84), “Grains obtained through oppressing of draught animals though grown fourfold are quickly destroyed by their sighs‘’ (KP-85).

A similar parallellism in the area of meteorology can be found on the general principles governing weather between our proverbs and the text Brihat Samhita : For example, among the signs of imminent rain are mentioned : “repeated croaking of frogs” (BS-28:4); “Ants shifting their eggs to higher levels without any obvious provocation” (BS-28:7); “Cows gazing at the sky in a specific manner” (BS-28:8); “If at sunrise or sunset there is ..flashes of lightning” (BS-28 : 16); “...Lightning is seen flashing at .the .North East......” (BS-28:10); “If at sunrise or sunset there is a rainbow ..” (BS-28:16); “One (i,e. a rainbow) seen in the east when there is no rain produces. rain and .vice-versa; and in the West it always produces rain’’ (BS-35:6). Chapter 54 of BS that deals with exploration of water-springs considers anthill as one of the important indicators for detecting water. The BS seems to substantiate what is said by proverbs in other areas; for instance, on some plants being indicators for the general state of crops:” From the flowers of neem tree and Jamun, abundance of food grains should be foretold’’ (BS-19:12). On the influence of planetary movements on weather : “When Moon is to the North of Venus ..... the crops will be at their best’’ (BS-19:5). While a proverb predicts no rain if Mars is in Kanya, KP-75 states “Mars causes immediate draught while passing on to .the Nakshatras Uttara Phalguna, Uttarashada,* Uttara Bhadrapada, Sravana, Hasta, Chitra...". The BS also considers it inauspiscious to have a solar eclipse within a fortnight of a lunar eclipse** though beneficial effects are forecast when this sequence is .reversed.

It should also be noted that there are also several instances where what the texts spell out is quite different from the proverbs. In general it may be said that these pertain to areas where the nature of agricultural operations varies from region to region due to specific local conditions, etc. We can take up one such area for a closer look, namely the crop season and the timing of agricultural operations. Over a farge part of India, the two principal crop seasons are Khariff, the monsoon season (approximately mid-June to mid-October), and Rabi - the winter season (approximately from mid-October to mid-Febuary). . This is based on the fact that almost the whole of India receives its major rains during the Khariff season - over 70% of the annual rainfall being the all India average. As an exception Tamil Nadu receives less than 40% of its rains in the Khariff season, since the monsoon sets in much later, around August. Hence Tamil Nadu has traditionally adopted a different season, the Samba season which is from August to January (6). During this season Tamil Nadu gets over 70% of its annual rainfall.All agricultural operations in Tamil Nadu are tuned to this season. This is reflected in proverbs that relate to the optimum time for sowing and various other agricultural operations. While in Tamil Nadu Adi (mid-July to mid-August) is the best .sowing season, as also brought out in the Tamil proverbs quoted, the KP states that, “Sowing in known to be best in Vaishakha (mid-May to mid-June), of middle quality in Jyeshtha (mid-June to mid-July),bad in Ashadha (mid-July to mid-August) and worst in Sravana (mid-August to mid-Sept;)” (KP-168). This is in keeping with the khariff season of the rest of India which commences agricultural operations well ahead of Tamil Nadu since the South West Monsoon sete in there much earlier.

In a similar manner we can see that proverbs are rich in providing information about other areas where knowledge is very specific to local conditions - a large number of local varieties of rice with their merits and demerits, cattle from local areas, nature of local soils and what can be judged from plants cammon to Tamil Nadu, various grains, cereals, oil seeds, vegetables as well as cash crops grown locally, etc. One would expect that if one considers proverbs prevalent in the rest of India they would also reflect local conditions, say for example the Khariff crop season of K.P. It is interesting, to note in this context that in an edition of KP published in 1971, the author has compared the material of this text with various proverbs (popular in the Gangetic basin) attributed to the legendary figure Ghag and Bhaddari and has shown that these .proverbs reflect the same knowledge that is contained in KP, and complete it in a way, by providing greater detail (7).

Thus the general picture that emerges seems to be that the ‘classical texts’ in any area of ‘ learning may set out broad general principles as well as their application in a given context, say a particular region of the country. But in various different contexts or regions, knowledge does prevail and get expressed based on the given situation and the generalities get adapted, modified or even overridden sometimes based on the specificity. This can perhaps be best illustrated in the case of medicine where classical medical texts themselves deal with this issue.

A classical text such as Charaka Samhitha expounds general principles of drug action based on the six factors - Dravya, Guna, Rasa, Veerya, Vipaka, and Prabhava. It also discusses remedies for several diseases and lists specific drugs. These may get modified to suit local conditions. In any recipe for a drug, one can substitute a non-principal component (Apradhana Dravya) with an equivalent, which may be listed in the sastras or selected on the basis of the principle of Rasa, Veerya etc.* In tune with such an understanding, from time to time vaidyas produce texts and manuals which set out prescriptions for drugs in any given area based on what is available and suitable to the requirements of that area. For example the text Rajamriganka (9) lists 129 recipes and in his forward the editor Ayurvedacharya Nataraja Sastri states that it is a compilation that must have been made by a vaidya belonging to Tamil Nadu a it contains recipes based on herbs readily available in Tamil Nadu. Such recipes are not only easier to formulate since the raw material is readily available but they are also most suited to the area, in accordance with Charaka’s dictum “For a person who belongs to a particular country or a region, aushadhis from the same region are most wholesome”.

The fact that it is the particularity of the context that is the overriding consideration and the shastric principles are to be considered as precepts and guidelines and not applied in a mechanical or legalistic manner is driven home in many of our classical texts. As an instance we quote the following sloka. “A vaidya who comprehends the principles of Rasa etc would discard treatment if not wholesome to the patient in a given situation, even if it is prescribed in the texts; on the contrary he would adopt treatments that are helpful to the patient, even if they do not find a mention in the texts’’. 

IV. The Nature and Social Organisation of Knowledge in the Indian Tradition

In conclusion, we would like to sum up some aspects of the traditional Indian systems of knowledge, specifically theory construction and its relation to popular knowledge. The main feature is that the theories do not employ a great degree of “formalisation’’ in the sense of providing laws or rules that are ‘absolute’ and can be blindly applied outside of or irrespective of the context of their formulation. The terms and variables used in the theory and laws are closely related to actual observed phenomena or measured quantities often being their refinements. This does not mean that the theories lack rigour or precision or power. For example the most rigorous and precise formulations and argumentation in areas such as logic or grammar or metaphysics are carried on in our tradition in Shastric Sanskrit, which is but a refinement of the natural language Sanskrit without recourse to any ‘formal’ devices of abstraction.* Thus the laws, theories and its terminology bear a very live and intimate relation to the popular mode of discourse on the subject and the ‘folk knowledge’ of it.

This points to a very important feature of our Science and Technology namely that its knowledge, theories and principles are not meant to be reposed in a small number of experts, institutions or texts, but are created and shared on a wide scale, even by the ordinary folk who are the day to day practitioners of the arts and sciences. In fact, though we have used the term ‘folk knowledge’ to denote knowledge with our people for want of a better term, its connotation is quite different in the modern context. In the modern Western view, ‘Folklore’ is used to denote knowledge that prevails with the common people and gets propagated by oral tradition. This is as against classical or ‘proper’ scientific knowledge which uses its own terminology, theories and abstractions and resides in a different body of people - viz. the experts. But in our tradition, this kind of.a sharp qualitative difference does not seem to exist. The ‘folk practitioner's are also equally the innovators in the frontiers of their discipline and the theories and technical categories belong to their domain as well. If we consider for example a highly developed branch of Indian Science such as medicine, the basic theories at its foundation, such as the Panchabhuta theory of matter and the Tridosha theory of causation of disease and its treatment are part of common knowledge of our people and a number of technical terms such as Vata, Pitta, Kapha, Agni, Rasa, Ushna, Sheeta, Veerya etc are all part of the vocabulary of our households.

The expert or specialist, seems to play a very different kind of role here, namely that of systematising the corpus of knowledge. For example, in a discussion about the role of the Grammarian, the famous Grammarian Patanjali says: “He who has the use of a pot goes to a potter's house and says ‘make a pot; I have to use it’. But no one similarly goes to the house of a Grammarian and says ‘coin words; I shall make use of them.’ He thinks of objects and makes use of words denoting them...the loka (i.e. what prevails in the world as usage) is the authority for the use of words” (10). Thus there is no looking down upon the common folk or the lay practitioners; on the contrary the Sastras themselves assert repeatedly that it is in the concrete particular and in their use in a real situation that the truth of the Sastras ultimately reside. The traditional view about knowledge which prevails with the people in general and its value can be seen from the following sloka, wherein Caraka advises the Vaidyas:“By knowing from cowherds, tapasvis, those who dwell in forests, hunters, gardners and by knowing about their form and properties through Shastric principles, learn about herbs and medicinal palnts’’.

It might be wondered if all this only means that theory in India failed to develop or never “really” developed. Such a confusion in fact seems to be widely prevalent since whatever does not constitute theory or understanding in the European mould was never accepted as “proper”

Science and Technology by Western scholars. For example, for over two thousand years India has been the manufacturer of the famous ‘Wootz Steel‘ which was much sought after and exported to the Middle East and Roman Empire for centuries. Not only was Wootz stronger than other known steels but also the conversion of iron ore to steel was faster by the Indian process than the known European methods. In a letter to the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland in, 1837, J.M. Health observes that “iron is converted into cast steel by the natives of India in two hours and half, with an application of heat that in this country. (i.e. England) would be considered quite inadequate to produce such an effect; while at Sheffield it requires at least four hours to melt blistered steel in wind furnaces of the best construction, although the crucibles in which the steel is melted are at a white heat when the metal is put into them, and in the Indian process, the crucibles are put into the furnace quite cold”. But he also assures us ‘’...the Indian steel maker of course knows nothing of the theory of his operations ..experience may have taught him that he can make iron pass into steel ..“(11).He felt it to be impossible “that the process was discovered by any scientific induction, for the theory of it can only be explained by’ the lights of modern chemistry” (12). Such instances can be multiplied and one can quote dozens of examples where the ‘charge’ against the Indian Science or Technology is not that it lacks rigour or precision or that it does not work, but that it is not Science in the Modern Western sense of the term.

It is now generally acknowledged that we have a highly developed indigenous knowledge system very different from the Modern Western system and it has all along been organised in a very different manner. The much maligned ordinary people of India seem to be as much the innovators and repositories of this iknowledge, its theories and principles as the Pandits, experts and the texts. ‘This seems to indicate a radically different kind of organisarion of knowledge where one does not have to ‘take Science to the people’ by any special philanthropic effort or exercise. Today serious and systematic efforts to understand such knowledge which has been with our people all through in various forms is an indispensible part of any effort to understand our Science and Technology tradition. Such an effort will also give us an idea of the manner in which our society organised its knowledge and also of the larger principles that have inspired and guided the organisation of our society itself.

A. V. Balasubramanian

PPST Foundation, Madras