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Tamils

2023-10-20T17:33:09Z

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{{Short description|Dravidian ethno-linguistic group}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Tamils
| native_name = '''தமிழர்'''
| native_name_lang = ta/TA
| image = Tamil bride and groom performing 'மெட்டி அணிதல்'.jpg
| image_caption = Tamil bride and groom performing the ritual of metti anidal
| population = 77 million
| region1 = {{Flag|India}}
| pop1 = 69,026,881 (2011)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42561|title=Census of India 2011 - LANGUAGE ATLAS - INDIA|website=censusindia.gov.in}}</ref>
| region2 = {{Flag|Sri Lanka}}
| pop2 = 3,135,770 (2012)<ref>{{cite web |title=Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka, 2012 – Table A3: Population by district, ethnic group and sex |url=http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/Pages/Activities/Reports/FinalReport/Population/Table%20A3.pdf |publisher=Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka}}</ref>
| region3 = {{Flag|Malaysia}}
| pop3 = 1,800,000
| ref3 = <ref name="ethnologue.com">{{Ethnologue19|tam|Tamil}}</ref>
| region4 = {{Flag|United States}}
| pop4 = 238,699+
| ref4 = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2017/acs-5yr.html |title="Commuting Times, Median Rents and Language other than English Use" |publisher=Census.gov |date=2017-12-07 |accessdate=2022-08-03}}</ref>
| region5 = {{Flag|Canada}}
| pop5 = 237,890 (2021)
| ref5 = <ref name="canada2021">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2022-08-17 |title=Knowledge of languages by age and gender: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810021701 |access-date=2022-10-12 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|Statistic includes all speakers of the [[Tamil language]], as many [[Immigrant generations|multi-generation]] individuals do not speak the language as a [[Mother-tongue|mother tongue]], but instead as a [[Second language|second]] or [[Third language acquisition|third language]].}}
| region6 = {{Flag|Singapore}}
| pop6 = 198,449 (2020)
| ref6 = <ref>{{cite web|title=Basic Demographic Characteristics: Table 6 Indian Resident Population by Age Group, Dialect Group and Sex|url=http://www.singstat.gov.sg/publications/publications_and_papers/cop2010/census_2010_release1/excel/t1-11.xls|work=Census of Population 2010 Statistical Release 1: Demographic Characteristics, Education, Language and Religion |publisher=Department of Statistics, Singapore|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908091821/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/publications/publications_and_papers/cop2010/census_2010_release1/excel/t1-11.xls|archive-date=8 September 2013}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170120210625/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/publications/publications_and_papers/GHS/ghs2015/ghs2015.pdf General Household Survey 2015 - Department of Statistics, Ministry of Trade & Industry, Republic of Singapore], Web.archive.org</ref>{{refn|group=note|Note: The Singapore Tamil population data excludes Tamils who were unable to speak and those in one-person households
and households comprising only unrelated persons.}}
| region7 = Other
| pop7 = See [[Tamil diaspora]]
| langs = [[Tamil language|Tamil]]
| religions = '''Majority''': [[File:Tamil Om.svg|15px]] [[Hinduism]] '''Minority''': {{hlist | [[File:Star and Crescent.svg|15px]] [[Islam]] | [[File:Christian cross.svg|12px]] [[Christianity]] | [[File:Dharma Wheel.svg|18px]] [[Buddhism]] | [[File:Jain Prateek Chihna.svg|12px]] [[Jainism]]}}
| related = other [[Dravidian people|Dravidians]]
}}
{{Infobox ethnonym
|person=Tamiḻar
|people=Tamiḻarkaḷ
|language=Tamiḻ
|country=Tamiḻ Nāṭu
}}
{{Tamils}}
The '''Tamil people''', also known as '''Tamilar''' ({{lang-ta|தமிழர்|Tamiḻar|translit-std=ISO}}, {{IPA-ta|t̪amiɻaɾ|pron}} in the singular or {{lang-ta|தமிழர்கள்|Tamiḻarkaḷ|translit-std=ISO|label=none}}, {{IPA-ta|t̪amiɻaɾɡaɭ|}} in the plural), '''Tamilians''',<ref>{{cite book|title=Bhutan: Ways of Knowing| date=December 2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q_snDwAAQBAJ&dq=Tamils+or+tamilians&pg=PA247|publisher=Information Age Publishing|editor=Frank Rennie, Robin Mason|page=247| isbn=9781607528241 |quote=Tamilians, a group of Dravidians live in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.}}</ref> or simply '''Tamils''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|æ|m|ɪ|l|z|,_|ˈ|t|ɑː|-}} {{respell|TAM|ilz|,_|TAHM|-}}),<ref>{{cite web |title=Tamil, n. and adj. |url=https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/197399?redirectedFrom=tamil |website=OED Online |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=24 January 2023}}</ref> are a [[Dravidian peoples|Dravidian]] [[ethno-linguistic group]] who natively speak [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and trace their ancestry mainly to [[India]]'s [[South India|southern]] state of [[Tamil Nadu]], the [[union territory]] of [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]], and to [[Sri Lanka]]. The [[Tamil language]] is one of the world's longest-surviving [[classical language]]s,<ref name="Circulation and the Historical Geog">{{Citation|last1=Stein|first1=B.|title=Circulation and the Historical Geography of Tamil Country|journal=The Journal of Asian Studies|volume=37|issue=1|pages=7–26|year=1977|doi=10.2307/2053325|jstor=2053325|s2cid=144599197 }}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Steever|1998|pp=6–9}}</ref> with over 2000 years of [[Tamil literature]], including the [[Sangam literature|Sangam poems]], which were composed between 300 BCE and 300 CE. People who speak Tamil and are born in [[:Category:Social groups of Tamil Nadu|Tamil clans]] are considered Tamils.

Tamils constitute 5.9% of the population in India (concentrated mainly in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry), 15% in Sri Lanka (excluding [[Sri Lankan Moors|Eelam Moors]]),{{refn|group=note|Tamils in Sri Lanka are classified into three ethnicities by the [[Sri Lankan government]], namely [[Sri Lankan Tamils]], [[Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka|Indian Origin Tamils]] and [[Sri Lankan Moors]] who accounted for 11.2%, 4.1% and 9.3% respectively of the country's population in 2011.<ref name=census12>{{cite web|title=A2: Population by ethnic group according to districts, 2012|url=http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/index.php?fileName=pop42&gp=Activities&tpl=3|publisher=Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka}}</ref> Indian Origin Tamils were separately classified in the 1911 census onwards, while the [[Sri Lankan government]] lists a substantial Tamil-speaking Muslim population as a distinct ethnicity. However, much of the available genealogical evidence suggests that the Sri Lankan Moor community are of Tamil ethnicity, and that the majority of their ancestors were also Tamils who had lived in the country for generations, and had simply converted to Islam from other faiths.<ref name="vm">{{cite book|last=Mohan|first=Vasundhara|title=Identity Crisis of Sri Lankan Muslims|publisher=Mittal Publications|location=Delhi|year=1987|pages=9–14, 27–30, 67–74, 113–18}}</ref><ref name="moor">{{cite web|url=http://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstream/1903/12049/1/Ramos_umd_0117E_12042.pdf|title=Ross Brann, "The Moors?"|website=Drum.lib.umd.edu|access-date=15 December 2017}}</ref><ref name="bbcnews">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2070817.stm|title=Analysis: Tamil-Muslim divide|publisher=BBC News World Edition|access-date=6 July 2014}}</ref> It is also evidenced by the fact that Sri Lankan Moors were not a self-defined group of people and neither did the 'Moor' identity exist before the arrival of Portuguese colonists.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}}} 7% in [[Tamil Malaysians|Malaysia]], and 5% in [[Indian Singaporeans|Singapore]].
Tamils also created the first language in the world and the tamil language is the first language in the world

From the 4th century BC,<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Sasay to Zorgot |editor-first=Mdohan |editor-last=Lal |page=4283 |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |year=1992}}</ref> 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 [[Chera dynasty|Cheras]], [[Chola dynasty|Cholas]], [[Pandya dynasty|Pandyas]], and [[Pallava dynasty|Pallavas]] and a number of smaller states, all of whom were warring amongst themselves for dominance. The [[Jaffna Kingdom]], inhabited by [[Sri Lankan Tamils|Eelam Tamils]], was once one of the strongest kingdoms of Sri Lanka and controlled much of the north of the island.

Tamils were noted for their [[History of Indian influence on Southeast Asia|influence on regional trade throughout the Indian Ocean]]. Artefacts marking the presence of [[Roman commerce|Roman traders]] demonstrate that [[Indo-Roman trade relations|direct trade was active between Ancient Rome and Southern India]], and the Pandyas were recorded as having sent at least two embassies directly to the [[Roman Emperor]] [[Augustus]] in Rome. The Pandyas and Cholas were historically active in [[Sri Lanka]]. The Chola dynasty successfully invaded several areas in southeast Asia, including the powerful [[Srivijaya]] and the city-state of [[Kedah]].<ref>Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: Reflections on the Chola Naval Expeditions to Southeast Asia by Hermann Kulke, K Kesavapany, Vijay Sakhuja p. 79</ref> Medieval Tamil guilds and trading organizations like the Ayyavole and Manigramam played an important role in Southeast Asian trading networks.<ref>The Emporium of the World: Maritime Quanzhou, 1000–1400 by Angela Schottenhammer p. 293</ref> [[Pallava]] traders and religious leaders travelled to [[Southeast Asia]] and played an important role in the [[Greater India|cultural Indianisation]] of the region. Scripts brought by Tamil traders to Southeast Asia, like the [[Grantha script|Grantha]] and [[Pallava script]]s, induced the development of many Southeast Asian scripts such as [[Khmer script|Khmer]], [[Javanese script|Javanese]], [[Kawi script|Kawi]], [[Baybayin]], and [[Thai script|Thai]].

Tamil visual art is dominated by [[Dravidian architecture|stylized Temple architecture]] in major centres and the productions of images of deities in stone and bronze. Chola bronzes, especially the [[Nataraja]] sculptures of the [[Chola art|Chola period]], have become notable symbols of [[Hinduism]]. A major part of Tamil performing arts is its classical form of dance, the [[Bharatanatyam]], whereas the popular forms are known as [[Koothu]]. Classical Tamil music is dominated by the [[Carnatic music|Carnatic]] genre, while [[gaana]] and [[dappankuthu]] are also popular genres. Tamil is an official language in Sri Lanka and Singapore. In 2004, Tamil was the first of six to be designated as a [[Classical languages of India|classical language of India]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/2004/09/18/stories/2004091806530100.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303153544/http://www.thehindu.com/2004/09/18/stories/2004091806530100.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 March 2018 |title=Front Page : Tamil to be a classical language |date=18 September 2004 |access-date=1 August 2010 |work=[[The Hindu]] |location=Chennai, India}}</ref>

The vast majority of Tamil people are [[Hindus]] and many follow a particular way of religious practice that includes the veneration of a plethora of [[Village deities of South India|village deities]] and [[Religion in ancient Tamil country|ancient Tamil gods]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Tamilar Madham - Contents Page|url=http://www.tamilvu.org/library/lA466/html/lA466con.htm|access-date=2021-04-29|website=www.tamilvu.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cutler|first=Norman|date=1983|editor-last=Clothey|editor-first=Fred W.|editor2-last=Ramanujan|editor2-first=A. K.|editor3-last=Shulman|editor3-first=David Dean|title=Tamil Religion: Melting Pot or Battleground?|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1062405|journal=History of Religions|volume=22|issue=4|pages=381–391|doi=10.1086/462931|jstor=1062405|s2cid=162366616|issn=0018-2710}}</ref> A smaller number are [[Tamil Christians|Christians]] and [[Tamil Muslim|Muslims]], and a small [[Tamil Jain|Jain]] community survives from the classical period as well. A smaller number are [[Buddhism amongst Tamils|Buddhists]]. [[Tamil cuisine]] is informed by varied [[Vegetarian cuisine|vegetarian]] and non-vegetarian items, usually spiced with locally available spices. English historian and broadcaster [[Michael Wood (historian)|Michael Wood]] called the Tamils the last surviving classical civilization on Earth, because the Tamils have preserved substantial elements of their past regarding belief, culture, music, and literature despite the influence of [[globalization]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Wood|first=Michael|title=A South Indian Journey: The Smile of Murugan|publisher=Penguin UK|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sK4hIRAdIJ8C|isbn=978-0-14-193527-0|date=2 August 2007 |pages=x, xiii, xvi}}</ref>

==Etymology==
It is unknown whether the term {{transliteration|ta|ISO|Tamiḻar}} and its equivalents in [[Prakrit]] such as ''Damela'', ''Dameda'', ''Dhamila'', and ''Damila'' was a self designation or a term denoted by outsiders. Epigraphic evidence of an ethnicity termed as such is found in [[History of Sri Lanka#Anuradhapura period (377 BCE–1017)|ancient Sri Lanka]], where a number of inscriptions have come to light dating from the 2nd century BCE mentioning ''Damela'' or ''Dameda'' persons. The well-known [[Hathigumpha inscription]] of the [[Kalinga (historical kingdom)|Kalinga ruler]] [[Kharavela]] refers to a ''T(ra)mira samghata'' (Confederacy of Tamil rulers) dated to 150 BCE. It also mentions that the league of Tamil kingdoms had been in existence 113 years before then. In [[Amaravathi village, Guntur district|Amaravati]] (located in present-day [[Andhra Pradesh]]) there is an inscription referring to a ''Dhamila-vaniya'' (Tamil trader) datable to the 3rd century CE.<ref name=KI157/>

In the [[Buddhist texts|Buddhist]] [[Jataka]] story known as ''Akiti Jataka'' there is a mention of a ''Damila-rattha'' (Tamil dynasty). There were trade relationship between the [[Roman Empire]] and [[Pandyan Empire]]. As recorded by the [[Hellenistic Greece|Hellenistic Greek]] historian and geographer [[Strabo]], the [[Roman Emperor]] [[Augustus]] of [[Rome]] received at [[Antioch]] an ambassador from a king called ''Pandyan of Dramira''.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} Hence, it is clear that by at least 300 BCE, the ethnic identity of Tamils was formed as a distinct group.<ref name=KI157>{{cite book |last=Indrapala |first=K. |title=The Evolution of an ethnic identity: The Tamils of Sri Lanka |pages=155–56 |year=2007 |publisher=Vijitha Yapa |isbn=978-955-1266-72-1}}</ref> {{transliteration|ta|ISO|Tamiḻar}} is etymologically related to Tamil, the language spoken by Tamil people. Southworth suggests that the name comes from ''tam-miz'' > ''tam-iz'' - "self-speak", or "our own speech".<ref>{{citation |last=Southworth |first=Franklin C. |title=On the Origin of the word tamiz |year=1998 |journal=International Journal of Dravidial Linguistics |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=129–32}}</ref> Zvelebil suggests an etymology of ''tam-iz'', with ''tam'' meaning "self" or "one's self", and "-iz" having the connotation of "unfolding sound". Alternatively, he suggests a derivation of ''tamiz'' < ''tam-iz'' < ''*tav-iz'' < ''*tak-iz'', meaning in origin "the proper process (of speaking)".<ref>{{citation |last=Zvelebil |first=Kamil V. |author-link=Kamil Zvelebil |title=Companion Studies to the history of Tamil literature |year=1992 |publisher=E.J. Brill |place=Leiden |pages=x–xvi}}</ref>

==History==
{{See also| History of Tamil Nadu| Sources of ancient Tamil history}}

===In India===
====Prehistoric period====
Possible evidence indicating the earliest presence of Tamil people in modern-day Tamil Nadu are the [[megalith]]ic urn burials, dating from around 1500 BCE and onwards, which have been discovered at various locations in Tamil Nadu, notably in [[Adichanallur]] in [[Thoothukudi District]]<ref>{{Citation|last=John |first=Vino |title=Reading the past in a more inclusive way: Interview with Dr. Sudharshan Seneviratne |publisher=[[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]] |date=27 January 2006 |url=http://www.flonnet.com/fl2301/stories/20060127003610200.htm |access-date=9 July 2008 |quote=But Indian/south Indian history/archaeology has pushed the date back to 1500 B.C., and in Sri Lanka, there are definitely good radiometric dates coming from Anuradhapura that the non-Brahmi symbol-bearing black and red ware occur at least around 900 B.C. or 1000 B.C. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202174036/http://www.flonnet.com/fl2301/stories/20060127003610200.htm |archive-date=2 February 2009 }}</ref><ref name="kan">Comparative excavations carried out in Adichanallur in Thirunelveli district and in Northern India have provided evidence of a southward migration of the Megalithic culture – K.A.N. Sastri, ''A History of South India'', pp. 4&>'67</ref>{{full citation needed|date=February 2021}} which conform to the descriptions of funerals in classical Tamil literature.<ref name="codrington2">{{Citation
| first = K. De B. |last=Codrington
|date=October 1930| title = Indian Cairn- and Urn-Burials
| journal = Man
| volume = 30
| issue = 30
|pages=190–196| doi =10.2307/2790468
| quote = It is necessary to draw attention to certain passages in early Tamil literature which throw a great deal of light upon this strange burial ceremonial ...
| jstor=2790468}}</ref>

Various legends became prevalent after the 10th century CE regarding the antiquity of the Tamil people. According to ''[[Iraiyanar Agapporul]]'', a 10th/11th century annotation on the Sangam literature, the [[Kumari Kandam|Tamil country extended southwards]] beyond the natural boundaries of the Indian peninsula comprising 49 ancient ''nadus'' (divisions). The land was supposed to have been destroyed by a deluge. The [[Tamil Sangams|Sangam]] legends also alluded to the antiquity of the Tamil people by claiming tens of thousands of years of continuous literary activity during three ''Sangams''.<ref name="Sastri 1955 105">{{cite book |first=K. A. Nilakanta |last=Sastri |title=A History of South India |page=105 |year=1955 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>

====Classical period====
[[File:GreyPotteryWithEngravingsVirampatnamArikamedu1stCenturyCE.jpg|thumb|upright|Grey pottery with engravings, [[Arikamedu]], 1st century CE]]
Ancient Tamils had three monarchical states, headed by kings called "Vendhar" and several tribal chieftainships, headed by the chiefs called by the general denomination "Vel" or "Velir".<ref>{{cite book |first=K. A. Nilakanta |last=Sastri |title=A History of South India |pages=109–12 |year=1955 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> Still lower at the local level there were clan chiefs called "kizhar" or "mannar".<ref>{{cite web |title=Perspectives on Kerala History |work=P.J. Cherian (ed) |url=http://www.keralahistory.ac.in/historicalantecedents.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060826094724/http://www.keralahistory.ac.in/historicalantecedents.htm |archive-date=26 August 2006 |publisher=Kerala Council for Historical Research |access-date=15 November 2006 |quote=There were three levels of redistribution corresponding to the three categories of chieftains, namely: the Ventar, Velir and Kilar in descending order. Ventar were the chieftains of the three major lineages, viz Cera, Cola and Pandya. Velir were mostly hill chieftains, while Kilar were the headmen of settlements ...}}</ref> The Tamil kings and chiefs were always in conflict with each other, mostly over territorial hegemony and property. The royal courts were mostly places of social gathering rather than places of dispensation of authority; they were centres for distribution of resources. Ancient Tamil [[Sangam literature]] and grammatical works, [[Tolkappiyam]]; the ten anthologies, [[Pattuppāṭṭu]]; and the eight anthologies, [[Eṭṭuttokai]] also shed light on ancient Tamil people.<ref name="autogenerated1979">{{cite book |first=Kanchan |last=Sinha |title=Kartikeya in Indian art and literature |publisher=Sundeep Prakashan |year=1979}}</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2021}} The kings and chieftains were patrons of the arts, and a significant volume of literature exists from this period. The literature shows that many of the cultural practices that are considered peculiarly Tamil date back to the classical period.<ref name="ks">{{citation |first=K. |last=Sivathamby |date=December 1974 |title=Early South Indian Society and Economy: The Tinai Concept |journal=Social Scientist |volume=3 |issue=5 |pages=20–37 |quote=Those who ruled over small territories were called Kurunilamannar. The area ruled by such a small ruler usually corresponded to a geographical unit. In Purananuru a number of such chieftains are mentioned;.. |doi=10.2307/3516448 |jstor=3516448}}</ref>

{{Quote box
|quote = '''Vedic Sacrifices'''
<poem>
Given your fury, which of these then is greater in number
—your once eager enemies shamed and despairing after brandishing
their long spears that throw shadows and their beautiful shields
embossed with iron against the power of your swift vanguard
with its shining weapons, or else the number of spacious sites
where you have set up [[Yūpa|Yupam]] (columns) after performing many
sacrifices prescribed by the Four [[Vedas]] and the books of ritual,
fine sacrifices of an excellence that will not die away
and charged with a fame that is difficult to achieve,
oblations that rose rich in ghee and all the other elements
of the sacrifice? For you, which is greater in number, O greatness!
</poem>
|source = —''Purananuru 15'', Translator: [[George L. Hart]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-15 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 15 by George L. III Hart }}</ref>
|bgcolor=#FFE0BB
|align = right
}}

Culture and tradition of old tamils can be well known by the text [[Purananuru]] which mainly talks about public life and explains how people lived in Ancient [[Tamil Nadu]]. The text states that several kings believed that [[Yajna|Vedic Sacrifices]] help in upholding righteousness and brings happiness to the country.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-224 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 224 by George L. III Hart }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-166 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 166 by George L. III Hart }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-400 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 400 by George L. III Hart }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-6 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 6 by George L. III Hart }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-93 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 93 by George L. III Hart }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-122 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 122 by George L. III Hart }}</ref> [[Vedas]] were considered as the book of Righteousness and did not speak about materialism and Cruelness.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-362 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 362 by George L. III Hart }}</ref> The text also explains death rituals and concept of Re-birth. after a person is dead all his family and friends weep and cry, if a husband is dead the wife hits her chest and cries and the bangles break.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-231 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 231 by George L. III Hart }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-245 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 245 by George L. III Hart }}</ref> Only men go to cremation ground and the women clean the house and apply cow dung to the front yard of the house.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-234 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 234 by George L. III Hart }}</ref> The son or some other relative give the body to the person who performs Ritual rights, further the person performs good rituals with the family members to the corpse and finally gives rice to the corpse, The text explains the its significance of rice fed by the person to the corpse, and later the body is burnt.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-363 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 363 by George L. III Hart }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-246 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 246 by George L. III Hart }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-234 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 234 by George L. III Hart }}</ref> If the wife dies the men feels so sad and also feels to die, he dose not want to sleep on the bed of rock and instead sleep in the bed of fire and same rituals are performed.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-234 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 234 by George L. III Hart }}</ref> People who perform good deeds in this birth gets a better birth in his next life,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-357 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 357 by George L. III Hart }}</ref><ref>Even though this world with its hills and mountains is held in common by the three great Thamizh kings, there have been some who ruled thinking that it was not common, and they have died, their wealth not accompanying them. Only good deeds that are sown in this life will bring happiness in the next birth. For those who abandon this raft, it will be difficult to go from this world to the next world when Kootruvan seizes their lives, and their loved ones gather together and weep.</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-134 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 134 by George L. III Hart }}</ref> if a king was so good and generous, The king of Heaven [[Indra]] who holds the Vajra welcomes him to Heaven with pleasure.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-241 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 241 by George L. III Hart }}</ref> If a person lives a normal life he goes to the world of dead (Probably Pitru Lokam).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-245 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 245 by George L. III Hart }}</ref> After all the rituals a [[Hero stone|Nadukal]] is kept for the dead king and is worshiped by people.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-232 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 232 by George L. III Hart }}</ref> Some poets consider [[Hero stone|Nadukal]] as the only god.

Agriculture was important during this period, and there is evidence that networks of [[irrigation]] channels were built as early as the 3rd century BCE.<ref name="ebcauvery">{{citation |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9021884/Cauvery-River |title=Grand Anaicut |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=3 May 2006}}</ref> Internal and external trade flourished, and evidence of significant contact with [[Ancient Rome]] exists. Large quantities of [[Roman currency|Roman coins]] and signs of the presence of [[Roman commerce|Roman traders]] have been discovered at [[Karur]] and [[Arikamedu]].<ref name="mgsn">{{citation |first=M. G. S. |last=Narayanan |date=September 1988
|title=The Role of Peasants in the Early History of Tamilakam in South India |journal=Social Scientist |volume=16 |issue=9 |pages=17–34 |doi=10.2307/3517170 |jstor=3517170}}</ref> There is evidence that at least two embassies were sent to the [[Roman Emperor]] [[Augustus]] by Pandya kings.<ref name="ebpandya">{{citation |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9058245/Pandya-Dynasty |title=Pandya Dynasty |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=3 May 2007}}</ref> [[Sherd|Potsherds]] with Tamil writing have also been found in [[Excavation (archaeology)|excavations]] on the [[Red Sea]], suggesting the presence of Tamil merchants there.<ref>{{citation |title=Archaeologists Uncover Ancient Maritime Spice Route Between India, Egypt |last=Veluppillai |first=A. }}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=February 2021}} An anonymous 1st century traveller's account written in Greek, ''[[Periplus Maris Erytraei]]'', describes the ports of the Pandya and Chera kingdoms in ''[[Damirica]]'' and their commercial activity in great detail. ''Periplus'' also indicates that the chief exports of the ancient Tamils were [[black pepper|pepper]], [[malabathrum]], [[pearl]]s, [[ivory]], silk, [[spikenard]], [[diamonds]], [[sapphire]]s, and [[tortoiseshell material|tortoiseshell]].<ref name="periplus">The term ''Periplus'' refers to the region of the eastern seaboard of [[South India]] as ''Damirica '' – {{citation |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/periplus.html |title=The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea: Travel and Trade in the Indian Ocean by a Merchant of the First Century |work=Ancient History source book}}</ref>

The classical period ended around the 4th century CE with invasions by the [[Kalabhra dynasty|Kalabhra]], referred to as the ''kalappirar'' in Tamil literature and inscriptions.<ref name="igj">{{Citation|author= Indian Geographical Society|title= The Indian Geographical Journal|year=1941|page = 69|quote = These Kalabhras were thrown out by the powerful Pallava dynasty in the fourth century AD ... this period is aptly known as "Dark Ages" of Tamil Nadu.}}</ref><ref>K.A.N. Sastri, ''A History of South India''</ref> These invaders are described as 'evil kings' and 'barbarians' coming from lands to the north of the Tamil country, but modern historians think they could have been hill tribes who lived north of Tamil country.<ref>{{cite book |first=K. A. Nilakanta |last=Sastri |title=A History of South India |page=130 |year=1955 |publisher=Oxford University Press |quote=Kalabhraas were denounced as 'evil kings' (''kaliararar'')}}</ref> This period, commonly referred to as the Dark Age of the Tamil country, ended with the rise of the [[Pallava]] dynasty.<ref name="Sastri 1955">{{cite book |first=K. A. Nilakanta |last=Sastri |title=A History of South India |pages= |year=1955 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2021}}<ref name="marilyn">{{Citation
|first=Marilyn |last=Hirsh
|year=1987
|title=Mahendravarman I Pallava: Artist and Patron of Mamallapuram
|journal=Artibus Asiae
|volume=48
|issue=1/2
|pages=109–130
|doi=10.2307/3249854 |jstor=3249854}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Souttoukeny, sarcofago da una sepoltura megalitica, II sec. ac..JPG|Megalithic sarcophagus burial from Tamil Nadu
File:Brahma from Tamil Nadu.png|Terracotta statue of [[Brahma|Lord Brahma]] from [[Arikamedu]], Dated between 1st century BCE to 1st century CE
File:ಬಂಗಾರದ ವಾದವೇ, ಫುನೆರರಿ ಚೇಂಬರ್, ೨ ನೆಯ ಶತಮಾನ, ತಮಿಳ್ ನಡು. (Tamil Nadu).jpg| Virampatnam jewelry from funerary burial, 2nd century BCE, Tamil Nadu
Image:SouttoukenyJewelry2ndCenturyBCE.jpg| Souttoukeny jewelry, 2nd century BCE, Tamil Nadu
File:Periplous_of_the_Erythraean_Sea.svg| Map of ancient oceanic trade, and ports of [[Tamilakam]]
File:South India in Sangam Period.jpg|Tamiḻakam during [[Sangam literature|Sangam]] Period
</gallery>

====Economy, trade and maritime====
{{main|Economy of ancient Tamil country}}

The Tamil country is strategically located in the [[Indian Ocean]] and had access to a [[sea trade route]].

====Imperial and post-imperial periods====
[[File: Le temple de Srirangam (Tiruchirapalli, Inde) (13903661293).jpg|thumb|left|The golden Vimana over the sanctum at [[Srirangam]] midst its gopurams, its gable with Paravasudeva image.]]

The names of the three dynasties, Cholas, Pandyas, and Cheras, are mentioned in Tamil [[Sangam literature]] and grammatical works like [[Tolkappiyar]] refers to them as the "Three Glorified by Heaven", ({{indic|lang=ta|indic=வாண்புகழ் மூவர்|trans=Vāṉpukaḻ Mūvar}}).<ref>{{cite book |last=A. Kiruṭṭin̲an̲ |title=Tamil culture: religion, culture, and literature |year=2000 |publisher=Bharatiya Kala Prakashan |page=17}}</ref> Later, they are mentioned in the [[Mauryan Empire]]'s [[Pillars of Ashoka]] (inscribed 273–232 BCE) inscriptions, among the kingdoms, which though not subject to [[Ashoka]], were on friendly and allied terms with him.<ref>'Everywhere within Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi's domain, and among the people beyond the borders, the Cholas, the Pandyas, the [[Velirs|Satyaputras]], the Keralaputras, as far as Tamraparni ...' —{{cite web |title=Ashoka's second minor rock edict |url=http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/ashoka.html |publisher=Colorado State University |access-date=15 November 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131028175927/http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/ashoka.html |archive-date=28 October 2013 }}</ref> The king of [[Kalinga (historical kingdom)|Kalinga]], Kharavela, who ruled around 150 BCE, is mentioned in the Hathigumpha inscription of the confederacy of the Tamil kingdoms that had existed for over 100 years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hathigumpha Inscription |work=Epigraphia Indica, Vol. XX (1929–1930). Delhi, 1933, pp. 86–89 |url=http://www.mssu.edu/projectsouthasia/HISTORY/PRIMARYDOCS/EPIGRAPHY/HathigumphaInscription.htm |publisher=Missouri Southern State University |access-date=15 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061117151339/http://www.mssu.edu/projectsouthasia/HISTORY/PRIMARYDOCS/EPIGRAPHY/HathigumphaInscription.htm |archive-date=17 November 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Cholas, Pandyas, Cheras, and Pallavas were followers of Hinduism, though for a short while some of them seem to have embraced [[Tamil Jain|Jainism]] and later converted to Hinduism.<ref name="Sastri 1955"/>{{page needed|date=February 2021}} After the fall of the Mauryan Empire, the Tamil kingdoms were allied with the [[Satavahana Dynasty]].

[[File:Varaha Cave Bas relief.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The Mahishasuramardhini cave [[bas relief]] at [[Mahabalipuram]] from 7th century CE]]

These early kingdoms sponsored the growth of some of the oldest extant [[Tamil literature|literature in Tamil]]. The classical Tamil literature, referred to as Sangam literature, is attributed to the period between 300 BCE and 300 CE.<ref>Kamil Veith Zvelebil, ''Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature'', p. 12</ref><ref name="Sastri 1955 105"/> The poems of Sangam literature, which deal with emotional and material topics, were categorised and collected into various anthologies during the medieval period. These Sangam poems paint the picture of a fertile land and of a people who were organised into various occupational groups. The governance of the land was through hereditary monarchies, although the sphere of the state's activities and the extent of the ruler's powers were limited through the adherence to the established order ("[[dharma]]"). Although the Pallava records can be traced from the 2nd century CE, they did not rise to prominence as an imperial dynasty until the 6th century.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} They transformed the institution of the kingship into an imperial one, and sought to bring vast amounts of territory under their direct rule. The [[Bhakti movement]] in Hinduism was founded at this time, and rose along with the growing influence of Jainism and Buddhism.<ref name="med_india">{{Citation|last = Chandra|first= Satish|title= Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals (1206–1526) – I|year=1997|publisher= Har-Anand Publications|page = 250|isbn = 978-81-241-1064-5|quote =... Starting from the Tamil lands under the Pallava kings, bhakti spread to different parts of south India ...}}</ref> The Pallavas pioneered the building of large, ornate temples in stone which formed the basis of the Dravidian temple architecture. They came into conflict with the [[Kannada]] [[Chalukya dynasty|Chalukyas of Badami]]. During this period, the great Badami Chalukya King [[Pulakeshin II]] extended the Chalukya Empire up to the northern extents of the Pallava kingdom and defeated the Pallavas in several battles.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Chopra|first1= P. N.|last2= Ravindran|first2= T. K.|last3=Subrahmanian|first3= N.|title= History of South India (Ancient, Medieval and Modern) Part 1|year=2003|publisher= Chand Publications|location=New Delhi|isbn= 978-81-219-0153-6}}</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2021}} Pallava [[Narasimhavarma I|Narasimhavarman]] however reversed this victory in 642 by attacking and occupying Badami temporarily.<ref name="fell">{{cite book |first=K. A. Nilakanta |last=Sastri |title=A History of South India |page=136 |year=1955 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> However a later Chalukya King [[Vikramaditya II]] took revenge by repeated invasions of the territory of [[Tondaimandalam]] and his subsequent victories over Pallava [[Nandivarman II]] and the annexation of Kanchipuram.<ref name="overran">{{cite book |first=K. A. Nilakanta |last=Sastri |title=A History of South India |page=140 |year=1955 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> The Pallava dynasty was overthrown in the 9th century by the imperial Kannada [[Rashtrakutas]] who ruled from Gulbarga. [[Krishna III]], the last great Rashtrakuta king, consolidated the empire so that it stretched from the Narmada River to the Kaveri River and included the northern Tamil country (Tondaimandalam) while levying tribute on the king of Ceylon.<ref name="krishna">{{cite book |first=K. A. Nilakanta |last=Sastri |title=A History of South India |page=162 |year=1955 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>

[[File:Rajendra map new.svg|left|thumb|The Tamil [[Chola Empire]] at its height, 1030 CE]]

Under [[Rajaraja Chola]] and his son [[Rajendra Chola I|Rajendra Chola]], the Cholas became dominant in the 10th century and established an empire covering most of South India and Sri Lanka.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} The empire had strong trading links with the Chinese [[Song Dynasty]] and southeast Asia.<ref name="rajendra1">{{Citation|last = Srivastava|first= Balram|title= Rajendra Chola|year=1973|publisher= National Book Trust, India|page = 80|quote = The mission which Rajendra sent to China was essentially a trade mission, ...}}</ref><ref name="cct">{{Citation|last = Curtin|first= Philip D.|title= Cross-Cultural Trade in World History|year=1984|publisher= Cambridge University Press|page = 101|isbn = 978-0-521-26931-5}}</ref> The Cholas defeated the [[Eastern Chalukya]] and expanded their empire to the [[Ganges]]. They conquered the coastal areas around the [[Bay of Bengal]] and turned it into a Chola lake. Rajendra Chola improved his father's fleet and created the first notable marine of the Indian subcontinent. The [[Chola navy]] [[Chola invasion of Srivijaya|conquered]] the dominant Southeast Asian power, the [[Srivijaya|Srivijaya Empire]], and secured the sea trade route to China.<ref name="his_of_india" /> Cholas exacted tribute from [[Thailand]] and the [[Khmer Empire]]. The latter half of the 11th century saw the union of Chola and Vengi kingdoms under [[Kulottunga I]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Cambridge Shorter History of India|publisher=CUP Archive|page=191}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=February 2021}} The Chola emperor decisively repulsed an invasion by the Western Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI, who had tried to interfere in Chola politics by installing his puppet, and their defeat of him led to their annexation of Gangavadi and Konkan regions. Vikramaditya VI was confined to his own dominions north of the Tungabhadra.<ref>{{cite book|title=Ancient Indian History and Civilization|first=Sailendra Nath |last=Sen|publisher=New Age International |year=1999|page=485}}</ref> The Chola empire remained formidable during the reign of Kulottunga and maintained its influence over the various kingdoms of Southeast Asia like the Sri Vijaya empire.<ref>Singapore in Global History by Derek Thiam Soon Heng, Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied p.40</ref>{{full citation needed|date=February 2021}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: Reflections on the Chola Naval Expeditions to Southeast Asia|editor-last1=Kulke |editor-first1=Hermann |editor-last2=Kesavapany |editor-first2=K. |editor-last3=Sakhuja |editor-first3=Vijay |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |location=Singapore |year=2009 |pages=11–12}}</ref> According to historian [[Nilakanta Sastri]], Kulottunga avoided unnecessary wars and had a long and prosperous reign characterized by unparalleled success that laid the foundation for the well being of the empire for the next 150 years.<ref>{{cite book |author=K. A. N. Sastri |author-link=K. A. Nilakanta Sastri |title=The Cōḷas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eg9uAAAAMAAJ |year=1955 |publisher=University of Madras|page=301}}</ref>

The eventual decline of Chola power in South India began towards the end of Kulottunga III's reign. It was accentuated by the resurgence of Pandyas under [[Maravarman Sundara Pandya]] (1216-1238 CE)<ref name="his_of_india">{{Citation|last = Smith|first= Vincent Arthur|title= The Early History of India|year=1904|publisher= The Clarendon press|pages = 336–58|isbn = 978-81-7156-618-1}}</ref> The waning Chola fortunes resulted in a three-way fight for the Tamil regions between the Pandyas, the Hoysalas and the Kakatiyas. Even the Kadava chief, Kopperunjinga, rebelled against his Chola overlord, Rajaraja III, and asserted his independence.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} The Hoysalas played a divisive role in the politics of the Tamil country during this period. They thoroughly exploited the lack of unity among the Tamil kingdoms and alternately supported one Tamil kingdom against the other thereby preventing both the Cholas and Pandyas from rising to their full potential. During the period of Rajaraja III, the Hoysalas sided with the Cholas and defeated the Kadava chieftain Kopperunjinga and the Pandyas and established a presence in the Tamil country. Rajendra Chola III who succeeded Rajaraja III was a much better ruler who took bold steps to revive the Chola fortunes. He led successful expeditions to the north as attested by his epigraphs found as far as Cuddappah.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Land, Peasantry, and Peasant Life in India New Direction, Renewed Debate|editor=S. Jeyaseela Stephen|publisher=Manak Publications|page=87|year=2008}}</ref> He also defeated two Pandya princes one of whom was Maravarman Sundara Pandya II and briefly made the Pandyas submit to the Chola overlordship. The Hoysalas, under Vira Someswara, were quick to intervene and this time they sided with the Pandyas and repulsed the Cholas in order to counter the latter's revival.<ref>{{cite book|title=Ancient Indian History and Civilization|author=Sailendra Nath Sen|publisher=New Age International, 1999|page=487}}</ref>

Tamil history turned a new leaf with the advent of the warrior prince, [[Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I]]. In the ensuing wars for supremacy, he emerged as the single most victorious ruler and the Pandya kingdom reached its zenith in the 13th century during his reign. Jatavarman Sundara Pandya first put an end to Hoysala interference by expelling them from the Kaveri delta and subsequently killed their king Vira Someswara in 1262 AD near Srirangam. He then defeated Kopperunjinga, the Kadava chieftain, and turned him into a vassal. The Pandya then turned his attention to the north and annexed Kanchi by killing the Telugu chief Vijaya Gandagopala. He then marched up to Nellore and celebrated his victories there by doing the ''virabisheka''(anointment of heroes) after defeating the Kakatiya ruler, Ganapati. Meanwhile, his lieutenant Vira Pandya defeated the king of Lanka and obtained the submission of the island nation.<ref>{{cite book|title=Ancient Indian History and Civilization|author=Sailendra Nath Sen|publisher=New Age International, 1999|page=459}}</ref> In the 14th century, the Pandyan empire was engulfed in a civil war and also had to face repeated invasions by the Delhi Sultanate. In 1335, [[Madurai]], the Pandyan capital, was conquered by [[Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan]] and a short-lived [[Madurai Sultanate]] was established, but was captured in 1378 by the [[Vijayanagara Empire]].

Throughout the 15th century, the Vijayanagara Empire was the dominant power of South India.In the early 16th century (about 1520 CE), Virasekhara Chola, king of Tanjore rose out of obscurity and plundered the dominions of the then Pandya prince in south. The Pandya who was under the protection of the Vijayanagara appealed to the emperor and the Raya accordingly directed his agent (''Karyakartta'') Nagama Nayaka who was stationed in the south to put down the Chola. Nagama Nayaka then defeated the Chola but to everyone's surprise the once loyal officer of Krishnadeva Raya defied the emperor for some reason and decided to keep Madurai for himself.<ref>{{cite book|title=The New Cambridge History of India Vijayanagara Volume 1|author=Burton Stein|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=57|year=1990}}</ref> Krishnadeva Raya is then said to have dispatched Nagama's son, Viswanatha who defeated his father and restored Madurai to Vijayanagara.<ref>{{cite book|title=Mediaeval Kerala|author=P. K. S. Raja|publisher=Navakerala Co-op Publishing House|page=47|year=1966}}</ref> The fate of Virasekhara Chola, the last of the line of Cholas is not known. It is speculated that he either fell in battle or was put to death along with his heirs during his encounter with Vijayanagara.<ref>{{cite book|title=Sri Brihadisvara, the Great Temple of Thanjavur|author=Ē. Kē Cēṣāttiri|publisher=Nile Books|page=24|year=1998}}</ref> Later when the Vijayanagara empire crumbled and fell after the [[Battle of Talikota]] in 1565 CE, the Nayaks who had once been viceroys asserted their independence and ruled independently from Madurai and Thanjavur.<ref>{{cite book|title=Hinduism and the Religious Arts|author=Heather Elgood|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|page=162|year=2000}}</ref>

The area west of the Western Ghats became increasingly politically distinct from the Eastern parts ruled by Chola and Pandya Dynasties<ref>{{Citation |last=Freeman |first=Rich |date=February 1998 |title=Rubies and Coral: The Lapidary Crafting of Language in Kerala |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=57 |issue=1 |pages=38–65 |doi=10.2307/2659023 |jstor=2659023|s2cid=162294036 |doi-access=free }} at pp. 41–43.</ref> Kerala was until 9th century, culturally and linguistically part of [[Tamilakam]], with the local Koduntamil evolving to [[Malayalam]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Social and cultural history of Tamilnad|last=Subrahmanian|first=N.|date=1993|publisher=Ennes|page=209|language=en}}</ref> This socio-culturally transformation was altered through [[Sanskrit]]-speaking [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryan]] migration from Northern India in the 8th century.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections|last=Paniker|first=K. Ayyappa|date=1997|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=9788126003655|pages=299–300|language=en}}</ref>

===In Sri Lanka===
{{Sri Lankan Tamil history}}
{{Main|Sri Lankan Tamils}}
[[File:Megalithic burial jar.jpg|thumb|right|A Megalithic burial jar from north-western Sri Lanka, 5th-2nd century BCE, similar to [[South India]]n and [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]] jars of the time.<ref name=desilva129>{{harvnb|de Silva|2005|p= 129}}</ref>]]

There is little scholarly consensus over the presence of Tamil people in Sri Lanka.<ref>Natarajan, V., ''History of Ceylon Tamils'', p. 9</ref> One theory is that cultural diffusion well before Sinhalese arrival in Sri Lanka led to Tamil replacing a previous language of an indigenous [[Mesolithic]] population that became the Eelam Tamils.<ref>Indrapala, K. ''The Evolution of an ethnic identity: The Tamils of Sri Lanka'', pp. 53–54</ref>

According to their tradition, Eelam Tamils are lineal descendants of the aboriginal [[Naga people of Sri Lanka|Naga]] and [[Yaksha]] people of Sri Lanka. The "Nakar" used the cobra totem known as "Nakam" in the Tamil language, which is still part of the Hindu [[Tamil language|Tamil]] tradition in Sri Lanka today as a subordinate deity.<ref>{{Citation|author=South Asia Association|journal=[[South Asia Bulletin]]|title=Volumes 7–8|year=1987|publisher=University of California, Los Angeles|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=W9kuAQAAIAAJ&q=%22According+to+tradition%2C+the+Tamils+of+India+and+Sri+Lanka+are+the+lineal+descendants+of+the+Naga+and+Yaksha+people.+The+aboriginal+Nagas%2C+called+Nakar+in+Tamil+had+the+cobra+%28Nakam+in+Tamil%29+as+their+totem.%22}}</ref>

====Pre-Anuradhapura period====
Settlements of people culturally similar to those of present-day Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu in modern India were excavated at megalithic burial sites at [[Pomparippu]] on the west coast and in [[Kathiraveli]] on the east coast of the island, with villages established between the 5th century BCE and 2nd century CE.<ref>{{harvnb|de Silva|1997|p= 129}}</ref><ref>Indrapala, K. ''The Evolution of an ethnic identity: The Tamils of Sri Lanka'', p. 91</ref> Cultural similarities in burial practices in South India and Sri Lanka were dated by archeologists to the 10th century BCE. However, Indian history and archaeology have pushed the date back to the 15th century BCE, and in Sri Lanka, there is radiometric evidence from [[Anuradhapura]] that the non-[[Brahmi script|Brahmi]] symbol-bearing [[earthenware|black and red ware]] occurs at least around the 9th or 10th century BCE.<ref>{{Citation|last= Subramanian |first= T.S. |title= Reading the past in a more inclusive way: Interview with Dr. Sudharshan Seneviratne |work= [[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]] |date= 27 January 2006 |url= http://www.flonnet.com/fl2301/stories/20060127003610200.htm |access-date= 9 July 2008 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080612085446/http://www.flonnet.com/fl2301/stories/20060127003610200.htm |archive-date= 12 June 2008 }}</ref>

====Anuradhapura period====
Early South Indian type [[Black and red ware culture|black and red ware]] potsherds found in Sri Lanka, indicate that both region were bound by similar culture and identity.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Sri Lanka: Ethnic Fratricide and the Dismantling of Democracy|last=Tambiah|first=Stanley Jeyaraja|date=1986|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=9781850430261|page=90|language=en}}</ref> The many Brahmic inscriptions found in Sri Lanka, with Tamil clan names such as ''Parumakal'', ''Ay'', ''Vel'', ''Uti'' (''Utiyan''), ''Tissa'' (''Ticaiyan''), ''Cuda''/''Cula''/''Cola, Naka'' etc., point out to early close affinity between Sri Lanka and South India.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Early Settlements in Jaffna: An Archaeological Survey|last=Ragupathy|first=Ponnampalam|date=1987|publisher=University of Jaffna|page=223|language=en}}</ref> Potsherds with [[Tamil Brahmi|early Tamil writing]] from the 2nd century BCE have been found in excavations in north of the Sri Lanka in [[Poonakari|Poonagari]], bearing several inscriptions including a clan name – ''vela'', a name related to ''[[Velirs|velir]]'' from [[ancient Tamil country]].<ref name=ETEHar>Mahadeva, I. ''Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D.'', p. 48</ref> There is [[epigraphic]] evidence of people identifying themselves as Damelas or Damedas (the [[Prakrit]] word for Tamil people) in Anuradhapura, the capital city of [[Rajarata]], and other areas of Sri Lanka as early as the 2nd century BCE.<ref>Indrapala, K., ''The Evolution of an ethnic identity: The Tamils of Sri Lanka'', p. 157</ref> Historical records establish that Tamil kingdoms in modern India were closely involved in the island's affairs from about the 2nd century BCE.<ref name="desilva">{{harvnb|de Silva|1997|pp= 30–32}}</ref><ref name="mendis">Mendis, G.C. ''Ceylon Today and Yesterday'', pp. 24–25</ref> In ''[[Mahavamsa]]'', a historical poem, ethnic Tamil adventurers such as [[Elara (King)|Elara]] invaded the island around 145 BCE.<ref>Nadarajan, V., ''History of Ceylon Tamils'', p. 40</ref> Tamil soldiers from what is now South India were brought to Anuradhapura between the 7th and 11th centuries CE in such large numbers that local chiefs and kings trying to establish legitimacy came to rely on them.<ref name=GSpencer/> By the 8th century CE there were Tamil villages collectively known as ''Demel-kaballa'' (Tamil allotment), ''Demelat-valademin'' (Tamil villages), and ''Demel-gam-bim'' (Tamil villages and lands).<ref>Indrapala, K ''The Evolution of an ethnic identity: The Tamils of Sr Lanka'', pp. 214–15</ref>

====Polonnaruwa period to the Kandyan period====
In the 9th and 10th centuries CE, Pandya and Chola incursions into Sri Lanka culminated in the Chola annexation of the island, which lasted until the latter half of the 11th century CE, after which Chola influence declined in Sri Lanka.<ref name=GSpencer>{{Citation | last = Spencer | first = George W | title = The politics of plunder: The Cholas in eleventh century Ceylon | journal = The Journal of Asian Studies | volume = 35 | issue = 3 | pages = 405–419 | doi= 10.2307/2053272| jstor = 2053272 | year = 1976 | s2cid = 154741845 }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|de Silva|1997|pp= 46, 48, 75}}</ref> The Chola decline in Sri Lanka was followed by the restoration of the [[Polonnaruwa|Polonnaruwa monarchy]] in the late 11th century CE.<ref>{{harvnb|de Silva|1997|p= 76}}</ref> In 1215, following Pandya invasions, the Tamil-dominant [[Aryacakravarti dynasty|Aryacakaravarthi]] dynasty established the [[Jaffna Kingdom]]<ref>{{harvnb|de Silva|1997|pp= 100–02}}</ref> on the [[Jaffna]] peninsula and in parts of northern Sri Lanka. The Aryacakaravarthi expansion into the south was halted by Akalesvara [[Alagakkonara]], the descendant of a powerful feudal family from [[Kanchipuram]] that migrated to Sri Lanka around the 13th century and converted to Buddhism.<ref>{{harvnb|de Silva|1997|pp= 102–04}}</ref> Akalesvara was the chief minister of the Sinhalese king Parakramabahu V (1344–59 CE) and soon became the real power behind the throne. Vira Alakeshwara, a descendant of Alagakkonara, later became king of the Sinhalese,<ref>{{harvnb|de Silva|1997|p= 104}}</ref> but the [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]] admiral [[Zheng He]] overthrew him in 1409 and took him as a captive to China, after which his family declined in influence. The Aryachakaravarthi dynasty continued to rule over large parts of northeast Sri Lanka until the Portuguese [[Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna kingdom|conquest]] of the Jaffna Kingdom in 1619. The coastal areas of the island were taken over by the Dutch and then became part of the [[British Empire]] in 1796. The English sailor [[Robert Knox (sailor)|Robert Knox]] described walking into the island's Tamil country in the publication ''[[An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon]]'', annotating some kingdoms within it on a map in 1681.<ref>{{Citation | last = Knox | first = Robert | title = An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon | page= 166|url= http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2003&res_id=xri:eebo&rft_id=xri:eebo:image:58692:2 |publisher = Robert Chiswell |year= 1681| location = London | id= 2596825 | isbn = 978-1-4069-1141-1 }}</ref> Upon the arrival of European powers from the 17th century, the Tamils' separate nation was described{{by whom|date=October 2018}} in their areas of habitation in the northeast of the island.<ref>Upon arrival in June 1799, Sir Hugh Cleghorn, the island's first British colonial secretary, wrote to the British government of the traits and antiquity of the Tamil nation on the island in the ''Cleghorn Minute:''
"Two different nations from a very ancient period have divided between them the possession of the island. First the Sinhalese, inhabiting the interior in its Southern and Western parts, and secondly the [[Malabars]] [another name for Tamils] who possess the Northern and Eastern districts. These two nations differ entirely in their religion, language, and manners." McConnell, D., 2008; Ponnambalam, S. 1983</ref>

The [[Caste system in Sri Lanka|caste structure]] of the majority Sinhalese has also accommodated Hindu immigrants from South India since the 13th century CE. This led to the emergence of three new Sinhalese caste groups: The "[[Radala]]" the ''[[Salagama]]'', the ''[[Durava]]'' and the ''[[Karava]]''.<ref name=silva121/><ref>Spencer, ''Sri Lankan history and roots of conflict'', p. 23</ref><ref>Indrapala, K., ''The Evolution of an ethnic identity: The Tamils of Sri Lanka'', p. 275</ref> The Hindu migration and assimilation continued until the 18th century.<ref name=silva121>{{harvnb|de Silva|1997|p= 121}}</ref>

====British occupation & contemporary Sri Lanka====
British colonists consolidated the Tamil territory in southern India into the [[Madras Presidency]], which was integrated into [[British Raj|British India]]. Similarly, the majority Tamil speaking parts of Sri Lanka joined with the other regions of the island in 1802 to form the Ceylon colony until it gained independence in 1948 with both Sinhalese and Tamil populations.

Irrespective of the ethnic differences, the British imposed a unitary state structure in [[British Ceylon]] for better administration.<ref>Donald L. Horowitz, ''Ethnic Groups in Conflict''</ref>{{full citation needed|date=February 2021}} During the British colonial rule, many Tamils held higher positions than the Sinhalese in the government, because they were favoured by the British for their qualification in English education. In the Eelam highlands the lands of the Sinhalese were seized by the British and [[Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka|Indian Tamils]] were settled there as plantation workers.<ref>Sri Lanka: Current Issues and Historical Background (2002), Walter Nubin, p. 87</ref> After the British colonial rule in Sri Lanka ended, ethnic tension between the Sinhalese and the Eelam Tamils rose. The Sinhalese, constituting a majority of the country, resented the minority Tamils having huge power in the island. In 1948, about 700,000 Indian Tamil tea plantation workers from Sri Lanka were made stateless and deported to India. In 1956, the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka passed the [[Sinhala Only Act]], an act where Sinhala replaced English as the only official language of Sri Lanka. Due to this, many Tamils were forced to resign as civil servants/public servants because they were not fluent in [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Sri Lanka: Ethnic Fratricide and the Dismantling of Democracy |last=Tambiah |first=Stanley |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-226-78952-1 }}</ref> The Eelam Tamils saw the act as linguistic, cultural and economic discrimination against them.

After anti-Tamil [[pogrom]]s in [[1956 Ceylonese riots|1956]], [[1958 anti-Tamil pogrom|1958]] and [[1977 anti-Tamil pogrom|1977]], and a brutal crackdown against Tamils protesting against these acts, guerrilla groups like the [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam]] (Tamil Tigers) were established{{by whom|date=October 2018}}. They aimed to set up an independent Tamil state, Tamil Eelam, for majority-Tamil regions in Sri Lanka. From the 1970s to the late 2000s [[Tamil Eelam]] was a proposed independent state that [[Sri Lankan Tamils|Eelam Tamils]] and the [[Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora|Eelam Tamil diaspora]] aspire to establish in the [[Northern Province, Sri Lanka|north]] and [[North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|east]] of [[Sri Lanka]].<ref name=Stokke2006>{{cite journal |last=Stokke |first=K. |year=2006 |title=Building the Tamil Eelam State: emerging state institutions and forms of governance in LTTE-controlled areas in Sri Lanka |journal=[[Third World Quarterly]] |volume=27 |issue=6 |pages=1021–40 |doi=10.1080/01436590600850434 |citeseerx=10.1.1.466.5940|s2cid=45544298 }}</ref><ref name=McConnell2008>{{cite journal |last=McConnell |first=D. |year=2008 |title=The Tamil people's right to self-determination |journal=[[Cambridge Review of International Affairs]] |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=59–76 |doi=10.1080/09557570701828592|s2cid=154770852 }}</ref> The [[burning of Jaffna library]] in 1981 and [[Black July]] in 1983, finally led to over 25 years of war between the [[Sri Lanka|Sri Lanka army]] and the Tamil Tigers, in which both sides committed numerous atrocities. This [[Sri Lankan Civil War|Eelam War]] led to death of over 100,000 people, according to the [[UN|United Nations]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-05-20/up-to-100000-killed-in-sri-lankas-civil-war-un/1689524 |title=Up to 100,000 killed in Sri Lanka's civil war: UN |website=ABC News |language=en-AU |access-date=1 March 2016|date=20 May 2009 }}</ref> The Eelam government and Tamil Tigers allegedly committed [[war crimes]] against the civilian Eelam Tamil people during the final months of the [[Eelam War IV]] phase in 2009, when the leader of the Tigers, [[Velupillai Prabhakaran|Prabhakaran]], was killed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2010/05/20/sri-lanka-new-evidence-wartime-abuses |title=Sri Lanka: New Evidence of Wartime Abuses |website=Human Rights Watch |access-date=9 March 2016|date=20 May 2010 }}</ref> The war led to the flight of over 800,000 Eelam Tamil refugees, many going to the UK and India.

==Geographic distribution==
===India===
[[File:Group of Tamil girls.jpg|170px|thumb|Tamil girls dressed in traditional attire, ca. 1870, Tamil Nadu, India.]]
Most Tamils in India live in the state of [[Tamil Nadu]]. Tamils are the majority in the [[union territory]] of [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]], a former French colony. Puducherry is a [[Enclave#Subnational enclave|subnational enclave]] situated within Tamil Nadu. Tamils account for at least one-sixth of the population in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

There are significant Tamil communities in other parts of India. Most of these have emerged fairly recently, dating to the colonial and post-colonial periods, but some date back to the medieval period.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} Significant populations reside in [[Karnataka]] (3 million), [[Maharashtra]] (0.5 million), [[Andhra Pradesh]] (0.9 million), [[Telangana]] (0.3 million), [[Kerala]] (0.5 million), [[Gujarat]] (0.1 million) and the [[National Capital Region]] (0.1 million).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/Statement3.htm |title=Almost 5 million Tamils live outside Tamil Nadu, inside India |publisher=Censusindia.gov.in |access-date=18 July 2010}}</ref>

===Sri Lanka===
{{See also|Sri Lankan Tamils|Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka|Sri Lankan Moors}}
[[File:Tamil distribution.png|thumb|170px|Distribution of [[Tamil language|Tamil]] speakers in South India and Sri Lanka (1981).]]
There are two groups of Tamils in Sri Lanka: the [[Sri Lankan Tamils|Eelam Tamils]] and the [[Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka|Indian Tamils]]. The Eelam Tamils (or Ceylon Tamils) are descendants of the Tamils of the old [[Jaffna Kingdom]] and east coast chieftaincies called [[Vannimai]]s. The Indian Tamils (or Hill Country Tamils) are descendants of bonded laborers who migrated from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka in the 19th century to work on tea plantations.<ref>{{harvnb|de Silva|1997|pp= 177, 181}}</ref> There also exists a [[Tamil Muslim|significant Muslim population]] in Sri Lanka who are speakers of the Tamil language. Due to independent lineage, they are listed<ref name="vm"/><ref name="bbcnews"/> as [[Sri Lankan Moor|Moors]] by the [[Sri Lankan government]].{{Sfn|de Silva|1987|pp=3–5, 9}}<ref name=population/>

Most Eelam Tamils live in the Northern and Eastern provinces and in the capital [[Colombo]], whereas most Indian Tamils live in the central highlands.<ref name=population>{{citation |title=Population by Ethnicity according to District |author=Department of Census and Statistics of Sri Lanka |url=http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/PDF/Population/p9p8%20Ethnicity.pdf |publisher=statistics.gov.lk |access-date=3 May 2007}}</ref> Historically both groups have seen themselves as separate communities, although there has been a greater sense of unity since the 1980s.<ref>{{citation |author=V. Suryanarayan |title=In search of a new identity |work=[[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]] |year=2001 |url=http://www.flonnet.com/fl1816/18160950.htm |access-date=2 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529221016/http://www.flonnet.com/fl1816/18160950.htm |archive-date=29 May 2008}}</ref> 

Under the terms of an agreement reached between the Sri Lankan and Indian governments in the 1960s, about 40 percent of the Indian Tamils were granted Sri Lankan citizenship, and many of the remainder were [[repatriate]]d to India. By the 1990s, most Indian Tamils had received Sri Lankan citizenship.<ref name="de Silva, C.R. Sri Lanka-A History, p. 262">{{harvnb|de Silva|1997|p= 262}}</ref>

===Tamil diaspora===
{{Main|Tamil diaspora|Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora}}
{{See also|Tamil Malaysians|Tamil South Africans|Tamil Canadians|Tamil British|Tamil Americans|Tamil Indonesian|Myanmar Tamils|Tamils in Réunion|Malbars}}
[[File:Tamil Sari.jpg|thumb|right|170px|Tamil woman in traditional attire, c. 1880, Sri Lanka.]]
[[File:Batu caves.jpg|190px|thumb|upright|left|[[Batu Caves]] temple built by Tamil Malaysians in {{circa}} 1880s.]]
Significant Tamil emigration began in the 18th century, when the British colonial government sent many middle-class and poor Tamils as [[Indian indenture system|indentured labourers to far-off parts of the Empire]], especially [[British Malaya|Malaya]], [[Burma]], [[South Africa]], [[Fiji]], [[Mauritius]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], [[Guyana]], [[Suriname]], [[Jamaica]], [[French Guiana]], [[Guadeloupe]], and [[Martinique]]. At about the same time, many Tamil businessmen also migrated to other parts of the British Empire, particularly to Burma and East Africa.<ref>{{citation |title=The Tamil Migration Cycle 1830–1950 |author=Christophe Z Guilmoto |journal=[[Economic and Political Weekly]] |jstor=4399307 |pages=111–20 |volume=28 |issue=3 |publisher=Economic and Political Weekly |year=1993}}</ref>

Many Tamils still live in these countries, and the Tamil communities in [[Singapore]], [[Reunion Island]], [[Malaysia]], [[Myanmar]] and [[Tamil South Africans|South Africa]] have retained much of their original culture, tradition and language. Many Malaysian children attend [[Education in Malaysia#School types and medium of instruction|Tamil schools]], and a significant portion of Tamil children are brought up with Tamil as their first language. In Singapore, Mauritius and Reunion, Tamil students learn Tamil as their second language in school. In Singapore, to preserve the [[Tamil language]], the government has made it an official language despite Tamils comprising only about 5% of the population, and has also introduced compulsory instruction of the language for Tamils. Other Tamil communities, such as those in South Africa, [[Fiji]], [[Mauritius]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], [[Guyana]], [[Suriname]], [[Jamaica]], [[French Guiana]], [[Guadeloupe]], [[Pakistan]], [[Martinique]], and the [[Caribbean]] no longer speak Tamil language as a first language, but still retain a strong Tamil identity, and are able to understand the language, while most elders speak it as a first language.<ref>{{citation |title=Tamil diaspora – a trans state nation |url=http://searchko.in/literature/ta-cached.jsp?id=82&idx=0 |publisher=Tamilnation.org |access-date=4 December 2006 |archive-date=21 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721181236/http://searchko.in/literature/ta-cached.jsp?id=82&idx=0 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{dubious|date=February 2021}} There is a very small [[Tamils in Pakistan|Tamil community in Pakistan]], notably settled since the [[Partition of India|partition]] in 1947.<ref name="thenews">{{cite news |url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-4-98530-Strangers-to-their-roots-and-those-around-them |title=Strangers to their roots, and those around them |work=The News |date=20 March 2012 |access-date=8 September 2014 |first=Ammar |last=Shahbazi |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617043012/http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-4-98530-Strangers-to-their-roots-and-those-around-them |archive-date=17 June 2013 }}</ref>

A large emigration also began in the 1980s, as Eelam Tamils sought to escape the ethnic conflict there. These recent emigrants have most often moved to Australia, Europe, North America and southeast Asia.<ref>{{citation |first=Chris |last=McDowell |year=1996 |title=A Tamil Asylum Diaspora: Sri Lankan Migration, Settlement and Politics in Switzerland |publisher=Berghahn Books |location=New York |isbn=978-1-57181-917-8}}</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2021}} Today, the largest concentration of Eelam Tamils outside Sri Lanka can be found in [[Toronto]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://heritagetoronto.org/new-beginnings-tamil-heritage-in-toronto/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305191149/http://heritagetoronto.org/new-beginnings-tamil-heritage-in-toronto/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 March 2016 |title=New Beginnings: Tamil Heritage in Toronto |website=Heritagetoronto.org |access-date=15 December 2017}}</ref>

==Culture==
{{further|South Indian culture|Tamil culture|Tamil cuisine}}
===Language and literature===
{{Main|Tamil language|Tamil literature|Sri Lankan Tamil dialects|Sri Lankan Tamil literature}}
[[File:WLA lacma 12th century Maharishi Agastya.jpg|170px|thumb|Sage [[Agastya|Agathiyar]], one of the contributors of Old Tamil literature.]]

[[File:Srirangam4.jpg|thumb|The hall in front of Ranganayaki's shrine, [[Srirangam]], where [[Kambar (poet)|Kambar]] is said to have recited his works on ''Kamba Ramayanam'']]

Tamils have strong attachment to the Tamil language, which is often venerated in literature as ''Tamil̲an̲n̲ai'', "the Tamil mother".<ref>See Sumathi Ramasamy, ''Passions of the Tongue'', 'Feminising language: Tamil as Goddess, Mother, Maiden' Chapter 3.</ref>{{full citation needed|date=February 2021}} It has historically been, and to large extent still is, central to the Tamil identity.<ref>(Ramaswamy 1998)</ref>{{full citation needed|date=February 2021}} It is a [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian language]], with little relation to the [[Indo-European languages]] of northern India. The language has been far less influenced by [[Sanskrit]] than the other Dravidian languages, and preserves many features of [[Proto-Dravidian]], though modern-day spoken Tamil in Tamil Nadu freely uses [[Loanword|loanwords]] from [[Sanskrit]] and [[English language|English]].<ref>{{Citation | last=Kailasapathy | first=K.| title=The Tamil Purist Movement: A Re-Evaluation | journal=Social Scientist | volume=7 | issue=10 | year=1979 | pages=23–51| doi=10.2307/3516775 | jstor=3516775}}</ref> [[Tamil literature]] is of considerable antiquity, and underpins the decision to recognize Tamil as a [[classical language]] by the [[government of India]]. [[Sangam literature|Classical Tamil literature]], which ranges from [[lyric poetry]] to works on [[poetics]] and [[ethics|ethical philosophy]], is remarkably different from contemporary and later literature in other Indian languages, and represents the oldest body of secular literature in South Asia.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hart |first=G. L. |year=1975 |title=The Poems of Ancient Tamil: Their Milieu and their Sanskrit Counterparts |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=0-520-02672-1}}</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2021}}

===Martial traditions===
Various martial arts including [[Kuttu Varisai]], [[Varma Kalai]], [[Silambam]], [[Adithada]], and [[Malla-yuddha|Malyutham]] are practised in Tamil Nadu.<ref>Zarrilli, Phillip B. (1992) "[http://www.spa.ex.ac.uk/drama/staff/kalari/healharm.html To Heal and/or To Harm: The Vital Spots in Two South Indian Martial Traditions]"</ref> The warm-up phase includes [[yoga]], meditation and breathing exercises. Silambam originated in ancient Tamilakam and was patronized by the Pandyans, Cholas and Cheras, who ruled over this region. ''Silapathiharam'', Tamil literature from the 2nd century CE, refers to the sale of Silamabam instructions, weapons and equipment to foreign traders.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sports.indiapress.org/silambam.php/SPORTS|title=Martial Arts in India|website=Sports.indiapress.org|access-date=15 December 2017}}</ref> Since the early [[Sangam age]], there was a warlike culture in South India. War was regarded as an honorable sacrifice and fallen heroes and kings were worshiped in the form of a hero stone. Each warrior was trained in martial arts, horse riding and specialized in two of the weapons of that period: Vel (spear), Val (sword), and Vil (bow).<ref>South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka(2003), p. 386.</ref> Heroic [[martyrdom]] was glorified in ancient Tamil literature. The Tamil kings and warriors followed an honour code similar to that of Japanese [[samurai]] and committed suicide to preserve honor. The forms of martial suicide were known as Avipalli, Thannai, Verttal, Marakkanchi, [[Vatakkiruttal]] and Punkilithu Mudiyum Maram. Avipalli was mentioned in all the works except ''Veera Soliyam''. It was a self-sacrifice of a warrior to the goddess of war for the victory of his commander.<ref>Ethnic Insurgency and National Integration: A Study of Selected Ethnic Problems in South Asia (1997) p. 114</ref>{{full citation needed|date=February 2021}} The Tamil rebels in Sri Lanka reflected some elements of Tamil martial traditions which included worship of fallen heroes ([[Maaveerar Naal]]) and practice of martial suicide. They carried a [[suicide pill]] around their neck to escape captivity and torture.<ref>Sri Lankan Ethnic Crisis: Towards a Resolution (2002), p. 76.</ref>{{full citation needed|date=February 2021}}
[[File:Indian katar push dagger.jpg|thumb|left|156px|[[Katar (dagger)|Katar]], Tamil dagger which was popular throughout South Asia]]

[[Wootz steel]] originated in South India and Sri Lanka.<ref name="SR_IISc" />{{dead link|date=February 2021}}<ref>{{cite book |first=Gerald W. R. |last=Ward |title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Materials and Techniques in Art |page=380}}</ref> There are several ancient Tamil, Greek, Chinese and Roman literary references to high-carbon Indian steel since the time of [[Indian campaign of Alexander the Great|Alexander's India campaign]]. The crucible steel production process started in the sixth century BCE at [[Kodumanal]] in Tamil Nadu, [[Golconda]] in [[Andhra Pradesh]], in Karnataka and in Sri Lanka. It was exported globally, with the Tamils of the Chera Dynasty producing what was termed "the finest steel in the world",{{by whom|date=February 2021}} i.e. Seric Iron to the Romans, Egyptians, Chinese and Arabs by 500 BCE.<ref>Sharada Srinivasan (1994). [https://pia-journal.co.uk/articles/abstract/10.5334/pia.60/ Wootz crucible steel: a newly discovered production site in South India]. Papers from the Institute of Archaeology 5(1994) 49–59 [[doi:10.5334/pia.60]]</ref><ref>Herbert Henery Coghlan. (1977). Notes on prehistoric and early iron in the Old World. pp 99–100</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2021}}<ref>B. Sasisekharan (1999).[http://www.new1.dli.ernet.in/data1/upload/insa/INSA_1/20005b66_263.pdf TECHNOLOGY OF IRON AND STEEL IN KODUMANAL-] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201061259/http://www.new1.dli.ernet.in/data1/upload/insa/INSA_1/20005b66_263.pdf |date=1 February 2016 }}</ref> The steel was exported as cakes of steely iron that came to be known as "Wootz".<ref name="Hilda Ellis Davidson p. 20">Hilda Ellis Davidson. The Sword in Anglo-Saxon England: Its Archaeology and Literature. p. 20</ref>

The Tamilakam method was to heat black magnetite ore in the presence of carbon in a sealed clay crucible inside a charcoal furnace. An alternative was to smelt the ore first to give wrought iron, then heated and hammered to be rid of slag. The carbon source was bamboo and leaves from plants such as [[Senna auriculata|avārai]].<ref name="Hilda Ellis Davidson p. 20"/><ref name="Burton 1884 111">{{cite book|last=Burton|first=Sir Richard Francis|title=The Book of the Sword|year=1884|publisher=Chatto and Windus|location=Internet archive|isbn=978-1-60520-436-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/booksword00unkngoog/page/n153 111]|url=https://archive.org/details/booksword00unkngoog}}</ref> The Chinese and locals in Sri Lanka adopted the production methods of creating Wootz steel from the Chera Tamils by the 5th century BCE.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 282">Needham, Volume 4, Part 1, p. 282.</ref>{{full citation needed|date=February 2021}}<ref name="Ancient and Medieval India. Vol.2 by Charlotte Speir Manning p.365">{{Cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nmESJR3a0RYC&pg=PA365 | title = Ancient and Medieval India. Volume 2 | isbn = 978-0-543-92943-3 | last1 = Manning | first1 = Charlotte Speir}}</ref> In Sri Lanka, this early steel-making method employed a unique wind furnace, driven by the monsoon winds, capable of producing high-carbon steel. Production sites from antiquity have emerged, in places such as [[Anuradhapura]], [[Tissamaharama]] and [[Samanalawewa]], as well as imported artefacts of ancient iron and steel from Kodumanal. A [[Tissamaharama Tamil Brahmi inscription|200 BCE Tamil trade guild in Tissamaharama]], in the South East of Sri Lanka, brought with them some of the oldest iron and steel artefacts and production processes to the island from the [[classical antiquity|classical period]].{{Dubious|Tissamaharama Tamil Brahmi inscription|date=July 2023}}<ref>Hobbies – Volume 68, Issue 5, p. 45. Lghtner Publishing Company (1963)</ref><ref name="Mahathevan">{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/24/stories/2010062451701100.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701211040/http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/24/stories/2010062451701100.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 July 2010|title=An epigraphic perspective on the antiquity of Tamil|last=Mahathevan|first=Iravatham|date=24 June 2010|work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=31 October 2010}}</ref> The Arabs introduced the South Indian/Eelam wootz steel to [[Damascus steel|Damascus]], where an industry developed for making weapons of this steel. The 12th century Arab traveller [[Muhammad al-Idrisi|Edrisi]] mentioned the "Hinduwani" or Indian steel as the best in the world.<ref name="SR_IISc">{{cite book |author1=Sharada Srinivasan |author2=Srinivasa Ranganathan |title=India's Legendary Wootz Steel: An Advanced Material of the Ancient World |date=2004 |publisher=National Institute of Advanced Studies |oclc=82439861 |url=http://materials.iisc.ernet.in/~wootz/heritage/WOOTZ.htm |access-date=23 July 2015 |archive-date=11 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190211082829/http://materials.iisc.ernet.in/~wootz/heritage/WOOTZ.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Another sign of its reputation is seen in a Persian phrase{{spaced ndash}}to give an "Indian answer", meaning "a cut with an Indian sword".<ref name="Ancient and Medival India. Vol.2 by Charlotte Speir Manning p.365"/> Wootz steel was widely exported and traded throughout ancient Europe and the [[Arab world]], and became particularly famous in the Middle East.<ref name="Ancient and Medival India. Vol.2 by Charlotte Speir Manning p.365">{{Cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nmESJR3a0RYC&pg=PA365 | title = Ancient and Mediæval India. Volume 2 | isbn = 978-0-543-92943-3 | last1 = Manning | first1 = Charlotte Speir}}</ref>

====Traditional weapons====
The Tamil martial arts also includes various types of weapons.
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* [[Valari]] (Boomerang)
* [[Maduvu]] (deer horns)
* [[Urumi|Surul vaal]] (curling blade)
* [[sword|Vaal]] (sword) + [[shield|Kedayam]] (shield)
* [[spear|eetti]] or [[Vel]] (spear)
* [[Savuku]] (whip)
* [[Katar (dagger)|Kattari]] (fist blade)
* [[Aruval|Veecharuval]] (Billhook Machete)
* [[Silambam]] (long bamboo staff)
* [[knuckleduster|Kuttu kattai]] (spiked knuckleduster)
* [[dagger|Katti]] (dagger/knife)
* [[Bow and arrow|Vil]] (bow) + [[Bow and arrow|Ambu]] (arrow)
* [[Gada (mace)|Tantayutam]] (mace)
* [[Trishula|Soolam]] (trident)
}}

===Visual art and architecture===
{{See also|Chola art|Dravidian architecture|Tamil architecture}}
[[File:Krishna Rukmini Satyabhama Garuda.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Krishna with his consorts [[Rukmini]] and [[Satyabhama]] and his mount [[Garuda]], [[Tamil Nadu]], India, late 12th-13th{{nbsp}}century<ref name="lacma">{{cite web|url=http://collections.lacma.org/node/203163|title=Krishna Rajamannar with His Wives, Rukmini and Satyabhama, and His Mount, Garuda | LACMA Collections|publisher=collections.lacma.org|access-date=2014-09-23|archive-date=16 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716040855/http://collections.lacma.org/node/203163|url-status=dead}}</ref>]]

[[File:Thanjavur temple.jpg|thumb|right|150px|The Brihadeshswar Temple at [[Thanjavur]], also known as the Great Temple, built by [[Rajaraja Chola I]]]]

Most traditional art is religious in some form and usually centres on Hinduism, although the religious element is often only a means to represent universal—and, occasionally, [[humanism|humanist]]—themes.<ref>{{cite book |last=Coomaraswamy |first=A. K. |year=1946 |title=Figures of Speech or Figures of Thought |publisher =Luzac & Co.}}</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2021}}{{qn|date=February 2021}} 

The most important form of Tamil painting is [[Tanjore painting]], which originated in [[Thanjavur]] in the 9th century. The painting's base is made of cloth and coated with [[zinc oxide]], over which the image is painted using dyes; it is then decorated with semi-precious stones, as well as silver or gold thread.<ref>{{Citation | title= Tanjore – Painting | work= tanjore.net | url= http://www.tanjore.net/tanjorepainting.htm | access-date= 4 December 2006 | archive-date= 27 November 2006 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061127223530/http://www.tanjore.net/tanjorepainting.htm | url-status= dead }}</ref> A style which is related in origin, but which exhibits significant differences in execution, is used for painting [[mural]]s on temple walls; the most notable example are the murals on the [[Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam]], and the [[Brihadeeswarar temple]] of Tanjore.<ref>{{Citation | last=Nayanthara | first=S. | title=The World of Indian murals and paintings | publisher=Chillbreeze | year=2006 | isbn=978-81-904055-1-5}} at pp. 55–57</ref>

Tamil sculpture ranges from elegant stone sculptures in temples, to [[bronze]] icons with exquisite details.<ref>{{Citation | title= Shilpaic literature of the tamils |work=V. Ganapathi | url= http://www.intamm.com/arts/ancient.htm| publisher=INTAMM|access-date=4 December 2006}}</ref> The medieval Chola bronzes are considered to be one of India's greatest contributions to world art.<ref name="div_images">{{Citation
| author = Aschwin Lippe
|date= December 1971
| title = Divine Images in Stone and Bronze: South India, Chola Dynasty (c. 850–1280)
| journal = Metropolitan Museum Journal
| volume = 4
| pages = 29–79
|quote = The bronze icons of Early Chola period are one of India's greatest contribution to world art ...
| doi = 10.2307/1512615
| jstor=1512615|s2cid= 192943206
}}</ref><ref name="royalacademy">{{Citation|title=Heaven sent: Michael Wood explores the art of the Chola dynasty |url=http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/ra-magazine/winter2006/features/heven-sent,47,RAMA.html |publisher=Royal Academy, UK |access-date=26 April 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070303072704/http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/ra-magazine/winter2006/features/heven-sent%2C47%2CRAMA.html |archive-date=3 March 2007 }}</ref> Unlike most Western art, the material in Tamil sculpture does not influence the form taken by the sculpture; instead, the artist imposes his/her vision of the form on the material.<ref>{{Citation|first=Carmel |last=Berkson|title=The Life of Form in Indian Sculpture |publisher=Abhinav Publications|year=2000|isbn=978-81-7017-376-2|chapter=II The Life of Form pp. 29–65}}</ref> As a result, one often sees in stone sculptures flowing forms that are usually reserved for metal.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sivaram |first=Rama |year=1994 |title=Early Chola Art: Origin and Emergence of Style |publisher=Navrang |isbn=81-7013-079-4 |page=}}</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2021}}

===Music===
{{See also|Music of Tamil Nadu|Ancient Tamil music}}

Ancient Tamil works, such as the ''[[Cilappatikaram]]'', describe a [[Ancient Tamil music|system of music]],<ref>{{Citation | last=Nijenhuis | first=Emmie te | author-link=Emmie te Nijenhuis | title=Indian Music: History and Structure | publisher=Brill | place=Leiden | year=1974 | isbn=978-90-04-03978-0}} at pp. 4–5</ref> and a 7th-century Pallava inscription at Kudimiyamalai contains one of the earliest surviving examples of Indian music in notation.<ref>{{Citation | last=Widdess | first=D.R. | contribution=The Kudumiyamalai inscription: a source of early Indian music in notation | editor-last=Picken | editor-first=Laurence | title=Musica Asiatica | volume=2 | place=London | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=1979 | pages=115–50}}</ref> Dance forms such as Bharatanatyam have recent origins but are based on older temple dance forms known as ''Catir Kacceri'' as practiced by [[courtesans]] and a class of women known as ''[[Devadasis|Thevaadiyar]]''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Leslie|first=Julia|title=Roles and rituals for Hindu women|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sKDm8EH2L3kC&q=Bharatanatyam&pg=PA149|year=1992|publisher=South Asia Books|isbn=978-81-208-1036-5 |pages=149–152}}</ref>

===Performing arts===
[[File:Flickr - dalbera - Danseuses de Kuchipudi (musée Guimet).jpg|thumb|right|210px|[[Bharatanatyam]] dancers]]

Notable Tamil dance styles are

{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* [[Sathirattam]] / [[Viraliyarkoothu]]/[[Bharatanatyam]] (Tamil classical dance)
* [[Karakattam]] (Tamil ancient folk dance)
* [[Koothu]] (A folk and street dance)
* [[Parai|Parai attam]] (A folk drums and dance)
* [[Kavadi]]attam (dedicated to the Tamil God [[Murugan]])
* [[Kummi]]yattam (female folk dance)
* Bommalattam (Puppet dance)
* [[Puliyattam]] (Tiger dance)
* [[Mayilattam]] (Peacock dance)
* [[Paampu attam]] (Snake dance)
* [[Oyilattam]] (Dance of Grace)
* [[Poikkaal Kuthirai Aattam]] (False legged horses dance)
}}

In its religious form, the Karakattam dance is performed in front of an image of the goddess [[Mariamma]].<ref>Sharma, Manorama (2004). Folk India: A Comprehensive Study of Indian Folk Music and Culture, Vol. 11</ref> The ''kuravanci'' is a type of dance-drama, performed by four to eight women. The drama is opened by a woman playing the part of a female [[Fortune-telling|soothsayer]] of the ''Kurava'' tribe (people of hills and mountains), who tells the story of a lady pining for her lover. The [[Koothu|Therukoothu]], literally meaning "street play", is a form of village theater or folk opera. It is traditionally performed in village squares, with no sets and very simple props.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tamilnadu.com/arts/therukoothu.html |title=Therukoothu |publisher=Tamilnadu.com |date=16 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411213929/http://tamilnadu.com/arts/therukoothu.html |archive-date=11 April 2013 }}</ref> The performances involve songs and dances, and the stories can be either religious or [[secularity|secular]].<ref>{{Citation| title=Tamil Art History| url=http://www.eelavar.com/jaffna/pageview.php?ID=578&SID=119| publisher=eelavar.com| access-date=5 December 2006| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427073449/http://www.eelavar.com/jaffna/pageview.php?ID=578&SID=119| archive-date=27 April 2006| df=dmy-all}}</ref> Tamil Nadu also has a well developed stage theatre tradition, which has been influenced by western theatre. A number of theatrical companies exist, with repertoires including [[absurdist fiction|absurdist]], [[Realism (arts)|realist]], and [[comedy|humorous]] plays.<ref>{{Citation | title= Bhagavata mela | url= http://www.hindu.com/fr/2004/04/30/stories/2004043001360600.htm| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20041113000417/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2004/04/30/stories/2004043001360600.htm| url-status= dead| archive-date= 13 November 2004| access-date=5 December 2006 | location=Chennai, India | work= [[The Hindu]] | date=30 April 2004}}</ref>

====Film and theatre arts====
{{main|Tamil cinema}}
Theatrical culture flourished among Tamils during the classical age. Tamil theatre has a long and varied history whose origins can be traced back almost two millennia to dance-theatre forms like ''Kotukotti'' and ''Pandarangam'', which are mentioned in an ancient anthology of poems entitled the ''Kalingathu Parani''.<ref>Dennis Kennedy "The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance, Publisher:Oxford University Press</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2021}} The modern Tamil film industry originated during the 20th century, has its headquarters in [[Chennai]] and is known as [[Kollywood]]; it is the second largest film industry in India after [[Bollywood]].<ref>{{Citation | title= The states they're in | url= http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,,1955127,00.html|work= Guardian| access-date=5 December 2006 | location=London | first=Tom | last=Templeton | date=26 November 2006}}</ref> Films from Kollywood have been distributed to overseas theatres in Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Malaysia, Japan, Oceania, the Middle East, Western Europe, and North America.<ref>{{Citation|title=Eros buys Tamil film distributor |work=[[Business Standard]] |url=http://www.business-standard.com/indi/storypage.php?autono=290977 |date=6 October 2011 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Independent Tamil film production inspired by Kollywood originated outside India in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Canada, and western Europe. Several Tamil actresses such as [[Anushka Ranjan]], [[Vyjayanthimala]], [[Hema Malini]], [[Rekha Ganesan]], [[Sridevi]], [[Meenakshi Sheshadri]], [[Adah Sharma]] and [[Vidya Balan]] have acted in Bollywood and dominated the cinema over the years. Some Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, such as [[MG Ramachandran]], [[Karunanidhi]] and [[Jayalalithaa]], have had a background in the Tamil film industry.

===Sports in Tamil Nadu===
{{Main|Sports in Tamil Nadu}}
[[File:A Bull baiting inscription 1.JPG|thumb|right|210px|A 400 years old [[hero stone]] in [[Salem, Tamil Nadu|Salem]] depicting bull-taming sport Jallikattu.]]
The people of Tamil Nadu play traditional sports and sports from other countries. Tamil Nadu has some notable players in each sport.

* [[Jallikattu]]: a bull-taming sport in Tamil Nadu that is over 2,000 years old and an integral part of Tamil culture. In ancient times, two bull-taming and bull-racing sports were pursued, called Manjuvirattu and Yeruthazhuval, with the aim of keeping people's temperament fit and ready for war at any time. Each has its own techniques and rules. Proficiency in these sports was one of the criteria for marrying girls of a warrior family. There were traditions where the winner would be chosen as bridegroom for their daughter or sister. On the other hand, the untamable bulls were held as a pride of the owner/village and used for breeding the cows. Unlike western [[bullfighting]], bulls and warriors participated in the sport year after year. The sport, popular amongst warriors in the classical period,<ref name="jallikattu_ebook">{{Citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o56i5ymOIBkC&pg=PA159DQ|title=A Western Journalist on India: The Ferengi's Columns |first=François |last=Gautier|isbn=978-81-241-0795-9|year=2001|publisher=Har-Anand Publications }}</ref><ref name="jallikattu_nytimes">{{Citation|url=http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/03/22/travel/21webletter.html|title=NY Times: ''The ritual dates back as far as 2,000 years ...''|access-date =24 May 2007| work=The New York Times| first=Daniel| last=Grushkin| date=22 March 2007}}</ref> survives in parts of Tamil Nadu, notably [[Alanganallur]] near [[Madurai]], where it is held once a year around the time of the Pongal festival.
* [[Kabaddi]]: a traditional sport that originated in Tamil Nadu.<ref>{{cite book|title=International Sport Management|publisher=Human Kinetics|isbn=978-0-7360-8273-0|page=183|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BX6QSQAACAAJ&q=kabaddi|access-date=22 August 2015|date=May 2010}}</ref>
* Mattu Vandy Elgai Panthayam (Reckla Race): [[bullock cart]] racing is mostly celebrated in southern Tamil Nadu.
* [[Silambam]] (Staff fencing): a martial art originated in the ancient Tamilakam. In 1978, the Tamil Nadu government and Tamil Nadu Olympic Federation recognized Silambam as a traditional sport, but it was not recognized by the Sports Ministry of India and [[Indian Olympic Association]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Traditional martial arts not given due importance|url=http://newstodaynet.com/chennai/traditional-martial-arts-not-given-due-importance|publisher=newstodaynet.com|access-date=21 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122172521/http://newstodaynet.com/chennai/traditional-martial-arts-not-given-due-importance|archive-date=22 January 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Tamil cuisine===
{{Main|Tamil cuisine}}

Tamil cuisine includes vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. Some Tamils are vegetarian because of religious reasons.<ref>Historical Dictionary of the Tamils, Vijaya Ramaswamy, Scarecrow Press, 22 May 2007.</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2021}} [[Rice]] is mostly eaten with vegetarian and non-vegetarian curries. Traditionally, the Tamils sit on the ground and the food is served on a banana leaf. The traditional foods are eaten with the right hand. Dishes such as [[Dosa (food)|dosa]], [[idli]], and [[vada (food)|vadai]] are served with [[sambar (dish)|sambar]], [[chutney]] or in Sri Lanka with [[pol sambola|coconut sambal]]. [[Rasam (dish)|Rasam]] replaces soup in Tamil cuisine. The Tamil cuisine in Sri Lanka differs little from that of South India.<ref>Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinent, Jeffrey Alford, Naomi Duguid, Artisan Books, 1 November 2005, p. 146.</ref> A famous [[Sri Lankan Tamil|Eelam Tamil]] specialty is [[kottu|Kottu Roti]], available in most Eelam Tamil restaurants in the country and abroad{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}.

== Genetics ==
{{see also|Genetic studies on Sri Lankan Tamils|Genetics and archaeogenetics of South Asia|Y-DNA haplogroups in populations of South Asia}}

Tamils, who primarily inhabit the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the northern and eastern regions of Sri Lanka, have a unique genetic heritage shaped by various historical migrations and interactions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nagarajan |first1=Roopa |last2=Sharmila Devi |first2=RP |last3=Savitha |first3=VH |last4=Venkatesh |first4=Lakshmi |date=2016 |title=A self-learning module for students of speech-language pathology in phonetic transcription of Tamil |journal=Journal of Indian Speech Language & Hearing Association |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=17 |doi=10.4103/0974-2131.196254 |issn=0974-2131 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Genetic studies have provided us with fascinating insights into the Tamil population's genetic makeup, revealing several areas of interest. For instance, Tamils are primarily of Dravidian origin, with their genetic makeup characterized by a Dravidian component that sets them apart from other [[South Asia|South Asian]] populations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dravidian languages {{!}} History, Grammar, Map, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dravidian-languages |access-date=2023-10-17 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

Linguistic studies have identified the [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian language]] family, which includes Tamil, as distinct from the [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] languages of northern India. Genetic research has sought to correlate language and genetics, finding a correspondence between linguistic and genetic diversity. Genetic research has also revealed subdivisions within the Tamil population, such as genetic distinctions between Tamil Brahmins and non-Brahmin Tamils.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tamil Genetics - DNA of Tamils of Sri Lanka and India |url=http://www.khazaria.com/genetics/tamils.html |access-date=2023-10-17 |website=www.khazaria.com}}</ref> Tamil Brahmins have a North Indian genetic component due to their migration, while non-Brahmin Tamils have a distinct genetic makeup.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Watkins |first1=WS |last2=Thara |first2=R. |last3=Mowry |first3=BJ |last4=Zhang |first4=Y. |last5=Witherspoon |first5=DJ |last6=Tolpinrud |first6=W. |last7=Bamshad |first7=MJ |last8=Tirupati |first8=S. |last9=Padmavati |first9=R. |last10=Smith |first10=H. |last11=Nancarrow |first11=D. |last12=Filippich |first12=C. |last13=Jorde |first13=LB |date=2008-12-12 |title=Genetic variation in South Indian castes: evidence from Y-chromosome, mitochondrial, and autosomal polymorphisms |journal=BMC Genetics |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=86 |doi=10.1186/1471-2156-9-86 |issn=1471-2156 |pmc=2621241 |pmid=19077280 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Some studies have indicated that Tamils share genetic ancestry with other Dravidian-speaking populations, such as the [[Telugu people|Telugu]] people and [[Kannadigas]] of South India. Genetic studies have distinguished between Tamil populations in India and Sri Lanka,<ref>https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/118325/1/NR44818.PDF</ref> showing some genetic differences due to historical migrations and adaptations. Tamil Nadu's history includes interactions with various cultures and migrations, such as [[Indo-Aryan migrations]], interactions with trade and colonial powers, and more. These have left genetic imprints on the Tamil population, making them a unique and intriguing group to study.

==Religion==
{{See also|Religion in ancient Tamil country|Dravidian folk religion}}
{{See also|Vaishnavism in Ancient Tamilakam}}
{{Pie chart
|thumb = right
|caption = Religion in Tamil Nadu (2011)<ref name="census2011">{{cite web |title=Population by religion community – 2011 |url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW00C-01%20MDDS.XLS |website=Census of India, 2011 |publisher=The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150825155850/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW00C-01%20MDDS.XLS |archive-date=25 August 2015}}</ref>
|label1 = [[Hinduism in Tamil Nadu|Hinduism]]
|color1 = darkorange
|value1 = 87.58
|label2 = [[Christianity in Tamil Nadu|Christianity]]
|color2 = blue
|value2 = 6.12
|label3 = [[Islam]]
|color3 = Green
|value3 = 5.86
|label4 = [[Jainism in Tamil Nadu|Jainism]]
|color4 = Brown
|value4 = 0.12
|label5 = Others
|color5 = Black
|value5 = 0.33
}}
[[Hinduism]] is the traditional and native religion of the Tamil people. Tamil country has been the bastion of [[Shaivism]] and [[Vaishnavism]] denominations. A small [[Jain]] community has been present since the classical period. Invasions from north India and contact with Arab merchants led to the spread of [[Islam]] amongst Tamils. A significant [[Tamil Christians|Tamil Christian]] population is also present, primarily adhering to [[Catholicism]] and [[Anglicanism]]. Tamils have been following these great religious traditions in different periods with different tendencies. During the Sangam period religions like [[Ājīvika|Ashivakam]], [[Jainism]] and [[Buddhism]] also had a significant following.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tamil Virtual University |url=http://www.tamilvu.org/courses/diploma/c031/c0313/html/c0313201.htm |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=www.tamilvu.org}}</ref>

[[File:Iyengar Madisar.j.jpg|thumb|Two Girls who follow [[Vaishnavism]]]]

Ancient Tamil grammatical works, [[Tolkappiyam]]; the ten anthologies, [[Pathupattu]]; and the eight anthologies, [[Ettuthogai]] shed light on early religion. [[Murugan]] was glorified as "the red god seated on the blue peacock, who is ever young and resplendent" as "the favored god of the Tamils." [[Shiva|Sivan]] was also seen as the formless Supreme God .<ref name="autogenerated1979" />{{page needed|date=February 2021}} The [[Sangam landscape]] was classified into five categories, ''thinais'', based on the mood, the season and the land. Tolkappiyam mentions that each of these ''thinai'' had an associated deity such as [[Murugan|Seyyon]] in ''Kurinji''-the hills, [[Thirumal]] in ''Mullai''-the forests, [[Indra|Vendhan]] in ''Marutham''-the plains, [[Varuna|Kadalon]] in the ''Neithal''-the coasts & the seas and [[Kottravai]] in ''Paalai''- the deserts. Other gods mentioned were [[Krishna|Mayyon]] and [[Balaram|Vaali]] who are major deities in Hinduism today. Mercantile groups from [[Tamilakam]] and Kerala introduced ''Cholapauttam'', a syncretic form of Buddhism and [[Shaivism]] in northern Sri Lanka and Southern India. This religion was transmitted through the Tamil language. The religion lost its importance in the 14th century when conditions changed for the benefit of [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]]/[[Pali]] traditions.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Early Interactions Between South and Southeast Asia: Reflections on Cross-cultural Exchange|last1=Manguin|first1=Pierre-Yves|last2=Mani|first2=A.|last3=Wade|first3=Geoff|date=2011|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|isbn=9789814345101|page=138|language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Madurai The City of Temples.jpg|thumb|220px|right|Meenakshi Amman temple, dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi, tutelary deity of Madurai city]]

The cult of the [[mother goddess]] is treated as an indication of a society which venerated femininity. [[Amman (goddess)|Amman]], [[Mariamman]], [[Durga]]i, [[Lakshmi]], [[Saraswati]], [[Kali]] and [[Matrikas|Saptakanniyar]] are venerated in all their forms.<ref>{{cite book|last=Thiruchandran|first=Selvy|title=Ideology, caste, class, and gender|year=1997|publisher=Vikas Pub. House}}</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2021}} The temples of the Sangam days, mainly of Madurai, seem to have had priestesses to the deity, who also appear predominantly as goddesses.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} In the Sangam literature, there is an elaborate description of the rites performed by the Kurava priestess in the shrine Palamutircholai.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lal|first=Mohan|title=The Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature (Volume Five Sasay To Zorgot), Volume 5|year=2006|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=978-81-260-1221-3|page=4396}}</ref>
About 88%<ref name="relpop">{{cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_data_finder/C_Series/Population_by_religious_communities.htm |title=Census 2001 – Statewise population by Religion |publisher=Censusindia.gov.in |access-date=18 July 2010}}</ref> of the population of Tamil Nadu were Hindus in 2001. 
[[File:Erwadi kodi.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Erwadi durgah in Ramanathapuram district is a major pilgrimage shrine of the Tamil Muslims.]]
In Tamil Nadu, [[Tamil Christians|Christians]] (predominantly adherents of the [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox Churches]]) and Muslims accounted for 6% and 5.8% respectively in 2001.<ref name="relpop"/> The majority of Muslims in Tamil Nadu speak Tamil,<ref>{{Citation | last=More | first=J.B.P. | title=Muslim identity, print culture and the Dravidian factor in Tamil Nadu | publisher=Orient Longman | place=Hyderabad | year=2007 | isbn=978-81-250-2632-7}} at p. xv</ref> with less than 10% of them reporting [[Urdu]] as their mother tongue.<ref>{{Citation | last=Jain | first=Dhanesh | contribution=Sociolinguistics of the Indo-Aryan languages | editor1-last=Cardona | editor1-first=George | editor2-last=Jain | editor2-first=Dhanesh | title=The Indo-Aryan Languages | publisher=Routledge | place=London | year=2003 | series=Routledge language family series | isbn=978-0-7007-1130-7 | pages=46–66}} at p. 57.</ref> [[Tamil Jain]]s now number only a few thousand.<ref name=census>The total number of Jains in Tamil Nadu was 88,000 in 2001. {{Citation | title= Census|author= Directorate of Census Operations – Tamil Nadu| url= http://www.census.tn.nic.in/religion.aspx | access-date=5 December 2006|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061130194120/http://www.census.tn.nic.in/religion.aspx |archive-date = 30 November 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Atheism|Atheist]], [[Rationalism|rationalist]], and [[Humanism|humanist]] philosophies are also adhered by sizeable minorities.<ref>{{Citation | last=Maloney | first=Clarence | title=Religious Beliefs and Social Hierarchy in Tamiḻ Nāḍu, India | journal=American Ethnologist | volume=2 | issue=1 | year=1975 | pages=169–91 | doi=10.1525/ae.1975.2.1.02a00100| doi-access=free }} at p. 178</ref>

[[File:Tamil Om.svg|left|thumb|150px|The [[Om]] symbol in Tamil script]]

The most popular Tamil deity is Murugan; he is known as the patron god of the Tamils and is also called "Tamil Kadavul" (Tamil God).<ref>{{Citation | title= Murukan in Cankam Literature: Veriyattu Tribal Worship|author= M. Shanmugam Pillai| work=First International Conference Seminar on Skanda-Murukan in Chennai, 28–30 December 1998. This article first appeared in the September 1999 issue of The Journal of the Institute of Asian Studies | url= http://murugan.org/research/shanmugampillai.htm | access-date=6 December 2006}}</ref><ref>Harold G. Coward, John R. Hinnells, Raymond Brady Williams, ''The South Asian Religious Diaspora in Britain, Canada, and the United States''</ref>{{full citation needed|date=February 2021}} In Tamil tradition, Murugan is the youngest and [[Ganesha|Pillaiyar]] the oldest son of Sivan and [[Parvati]]. The goddess Parvati is often depicted as a goddess with green skin complexion in Tamil Hindu tradition. The worship of Amman, also called Mariamman, thought to have been derived from an ancient mother goddess, is also very common.<ref>{{Citation | title= Principles and Practice of Hindu Religion| work=Hindu Heritage Study Program | url= http://www.bnaiyer.com/hinduism/hist-34.html | access-date=5 December 2006|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061114082702/http://www.bnaiyer.com/hinduism/hist-34.html |archive-date = 14 November 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Kannagi (Tamil mythology)|Kannagi]], the heroine of the ''[[Cilappatikaram]]'', is worshipped as [[Pattini]] by many Tamils, particularly in Sri Lanka.<ref>{{Citation|title=Tracing the Sri Lanka-Kerala link |author=P. K. Balachandran |work=Hindustan Times, 23 March 2006 |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5983_1657214,00430014.htm |access-date=5 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061210184751/http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5983_1657214%2C00430014.htm |archive-date=10 December 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> There are also many followers of [[Ayyavazhi]] in Tamil Nadu, mainly in the southern districts.<ref>''Dr. R. Ponnu''s, Sri Vaikunda Swamigal and the Struggle for Social Equality in South India, (Madurai Kamaraj University) ''Ram Publishers'', p. 98</ref> In addition, there are many temples and devotees of [[Thirumal]], Sivan, Pillaiyar, and the other Hindu deities.

Muslims across Tamil Nadu [[Rowther|Rowthers]] majority follow [[Hanafi school|Hanafi fiqh]] and others [[Shafi'i|Shafi'i fiqh]] schools while the Tamil Muslims in Sri Lanka follow the [[Shadhili]] school. [[Rowther|Rowthers]] are Tamil tribe who reverted to Islam by [[Nathar Shah|Preacher Nathar Shah]]. While others, [[Marakkar|Marakkayar]], [[Labbay|Labbai]], and [[Kayalar (Muslim)|Kayalar]] clans, are [[Tamil Muslim]] clans that trade with the [[Arab world]] during the reigns of the [[Three Crowned Kings|Movendars]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Abraham|first=George|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RK__DwAAQBAJ&q=Rawther+Turks&pg=PT404|title=Lanterns on the Lanes: Lit for Life…|date=2020-12-28|publisher=Notion Press|isbn=978-1-64899-659-7|language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Ayyanar idols near Gobichettipalayam.jpg|right|thumb|170px|[[Aiyanar]], guardian folk deity of Tamil Nadu]]
[[File:Velankanni 2.JPG|170px|thumb|[[Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health]] in [[Velankanni]], Tamil Nadu]]
Among the ancient Tamils the practice of erecting memorial stones (''[[hero stone|natukal]]'') had appeared, and it continued for quite a long time after the Sangam age, down to about the 16th century.<ref name="shashi1996">{{cite book|last=Shashi|first=S.S.|title=Encyclopaedia Indica: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh: Volume 100|year=1996|publisher=Anmol Publications}}</ref> It was customary for people who sought victory in war to worship these [[hero stone]]s to bless them with victory.<ref name="subramanium1980">{{cite book|last=Subramanium|first=N.|title=Śaṅgam polity: the administration and social life of the Śaṅgam Tamils|year=1980|publisher=Ennes Publications}}</ref> They often carry inscriptions displaying a variety of adornments, including [[bas relief]] panels, friezes, and figures on carved stone.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

The most important Tamil festivals are [[Pongal (festival)|Pongal]], a [[harvest festival]] that occurs in mid-January, and Varudapirappu, the Tamil New Year, which occurs on 14 April. Both are celebrated by almost all Tamils, regardless of religion. The Hindu festival [[Diwali|Deepavali]] is celebrated with fanfare; other local Hindu festivals include [[Thaipusam]], Panguni Uttiram, and [[Adiperukku]]. While Adiperukku is celebrated with more pomp in the Cauvery region than in others, the Ayyavazhi Festival, [[Ayya Vaikunda Avataram]], is predominantly celebrated in the southern districts of [[Kanyakumari District]], [[Tirunelveli]], and [[Thoothukudi]].{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

In rural Tamil Nadu, many local deities, called [[Aiyyanar]]s, are thought to be the spirits of local heroes who protect the village from harm.<ref>{{Citation | title= Horse Shrines in Tamil India: Reflections on Modernity|author= Mark Jarzombek| journal= Future Anterior | url= http://web.mit.edu/mmj4/www/downloads/future_ant4_1.pdf | volume=4 | issue=1 | pages=18–36 | doi=10.1353/fta.0.0031|year= 2009|s2cid= 191627473|author-link= Mark Jarzombek| doi-access= free}}</ref> Their worship often centres around natukal, stones erected in memory of heroes who died in battle. This form of worship is mentioned frequently in classical literature and appears to be the surviving remnants of an ancient Tamil tradition.<ref>{{Citation | title= 'Hero stone' unearthed | url= http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/22/stories/2006072202680200.htm | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071001023228/http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/22/stories/2006072202680200.htm | url-status= dead | archive-date= 1 October 2007 | access-date=5 December 2006 | location=Chennai, India | work= [[The Hindu]] | date=22 July 2006}}</ref> [[Muniandi|Munis]] are a group of guardian gods, who are worshiped by Tamils. The [[Saivism|Saivate]] tradition of Hinduism is significantly represented amongst Tamils, more so among Eelam Tamils, although most of the Saivate places of religious significance are in [[North India|northern India]]. The [[Alvars]] and [[Nayanars]], who were predominantly Tamils, played a key role in the renaissance of [[Bhakti]] tradition in India. In the 10th century, the philosopher [[Ramanuja]] propagated the theory of [[Vishishtadvaita|Visishtadvaitam]].<ref>{{Citation | title= Redefining secularism | url= http://www.hindu.com/2004/03/18/stories/2004031801941000.htm | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20040527011003/http://www.hindu.com/2004/03/18/stories/2004031801941000.htm | url-status= dead | archive-date= 27 May 2004 | access-date=5 December 2006 | location=Chennai, India | date=18 March 2004|last1= Swamy| work= [[The Hindu]] |first1= Subramanian}}</ref> [[Ramavataram|Kambaramayanam]] is the Tamil version of the Hindu epic ''[[Ramayana]]'', which was written by the Tamil poet [[Kambar (poet)|Kambar]] during the 12th century. The Tamil version is smaller than the original ''Ramayana'' written by [[Valmiki]]. It is not a translation but tells the story in a different perspective.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

Tamil Jains constituted around 0.13% of the population of Tamil Nadu in 2001.<ref name="relpop"/> Many of the classical [[Tamil literature]] works were written by Jains.<ref>Jaina Literature in Tamil, Prof. A. Chakravartis</ref>{{full citation needed|date=February 2021}} According to [[George L. Hart]], the legend of the [[Tamil Sangams]] or literary assemblies was based on the Jain ''sangham'' at Madurai.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tamil.berkeley.edu/html/chapter_1.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/19970709071128/http://tamil.berkeley.edu/html/chapter_1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 July 1997 |title=The Milieu of the Ancient Tamil Poems, Prof. George Hart |date=9 July 1997 |access-date=21 April 2012 }}</ref>

==Notable Tamil people==
{{Main|List of Tamil people}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Tamils|India}}
* [[List of languages by first written accounts]]
* [[Tamil population by cities]]
* [[Tamil population by nation]]
*[[Kumari Kandam]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{Citation |last=de Silva |first= Chandra Richard |title= Sri Lanka – A History | edition = 2, illustrated | year=1997 |publisher=Vikas Pub. House |isbn=978-0-9510710-2-1 }}
* {{Citation | last = de Silva | first = K. M. | title = A History of Sri Lanka | publisher = Vijitha Yapa |year=2005 | location = [[Colombo]] | isbn = 978-955-8095-92-8}}
* Gadgil, M. & Joshi, N.V. & Shambu Prasad, U.V. & Manoharan, S. & Patil, S. (1997). "Peopling of India." In D. Balasubramanian and N. Appaji Rao (eds.), ''The Indian Human Heritage'', pp. 100–129. Hyderabad: Universities Press. {{ISBN|81-7371-128-3}}.
* [[Mark Jarzombek]], "Horse Shrines in Tamil India: Reflections on Modernity", Future Anterior, (4/1), pp 18–36.
* [[Iravatham Mahadevan|Mahadevan, Iravatham]] (2003). ''Early Tamil Epigraphy from the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. Cambridge, Harvard University Press''. {{ISBN|0-674-01227-5}}.
* Pillai, Suresh B. (1976). ''Introduction to the study of temple art''. Thanjavur: Equator and Meridian.
* Ramaswamy, Sumathi (1998). ''Passions of the Tongue: language devotion in Tamil India 1891–1970''. Delhi: Munshiram. {{ISBN|81-215-0851-7}}.
* {{Citation |last= Sastri|first= K.A. Nilakanta|title= A history of South India from prehistoric times to the fall of Vijayanagar|orig-year=1955|year=2002|publisher= Indian Branch, Oxford University Press|location= New Delhi|isbn= 978-0-19-560686-7}}
* Sastri, K.S. Ramaswamy (2002). ''The Tamils: The People, Their History and Culture'', Vol. 1: ''An Introduction to Tamil History and Society''. New Delhi: Cosmo Publications. {{ISBN|81-7755-406-9}}.
* Sharma, Manorama (2004). ''Folk India: A Comprehensive Study of Indian Folk Music and Culture'', Vol. 11: ''Tamil Nadu and Kerala''. New Delhi: Sundeep Prakashan. {{ISBN|81-7574-141-4}}.
* {{Citation | last=Steever | first=Sanford | editor-last=Steever | editor-first=Sanford | title=The Dravidian Languages | publisher=Routledge | year=1998 | place=London | isbn=978-0-415-10023-6}}
* {{Citation | last=Subramanian | first=T.S. | title='Rudimentary Tamil-Brahmi script' unearthed at Adichanallur | date=17 February 2005 | url=http://www.hindu.com/2005/02/17/stories/2005021704471300.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050217042725/http://www.hindu.com/2005/02/17/stories/2005021704471300.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=17 February 2005 | newspaper=[[The Hindu]] | location=Chennai, India}}
* {{cite book | isbn = 978-0-8129-7146-0 | title = The Journey of Man : A Genetic Odyssey | last1 = Wells | first1 = Spencer | year = 2004 | publisher = Random House Trade Paperbacks | location = New York, NY }}
* Patil, S. (1997). "Peopling of India." In D. Balasubramanian and N. Appaji Rao (eds.), ''The Indian Human Heritage''.
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Bowers |first=F. |year=1956 |title=Theatre in the East – A Survey of Asian Dance and Drama |publisher=Grove Press}}
* {{cite book |last=Chaitanya |first=Krishna |year=1971 |title=A history of Malayalam literature |publisher=Orient Longman |isbn=81-250-0488-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Hart |first=G. L. |year=1979 |chapter=The Nature of Tamil Devotion |editor1-first=M. M. |editor1-last=Deshpande |editor2-first=P. E. |editor2-last=Hook |title=Aryan and Non-Aryan in India |pages=11–33 |publisher=Ann Arbor |isbn=0-89148-014-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Hart |first=G. L. |year=1987 |chapter=Early Evidence for Caste in South India |editor-first=P. |editor-last=Hockings |title=Dimensions of Social Life: Essays in honor of David B. Mandelbaum |publisher=Mouton Gruyter}}
* {{Cite book |last= Keay|first= John|title= India: A History|year=2000|publisher= Grove Publications|location= New York|isbn= 978-0-8021-3797-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Varadpande |first=M. L. |year=1992 |title=Loka Ranga: Panorama of Indian Folk Theatre |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=81-7017-278-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Zvebil |first=K. |year=1974 |title=The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India |publisher=Brill |isbn=90-04-03591-5}}

==External links==

* [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tamil Tamils] – ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' entry
* [https://www.tamilnation.org/ Tamils – A Trans State Nation]

{{Tamil Nadu}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamil People}}
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[[Category:Dravidian peoples]]
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Tamil Hindus

2023-09-30T16:37:21Z

82.6.57.203:

{{refimprove|date=December 2017}}
{{Short description|Members of the Tamil ethnolinguistic group who adhere to Hinduism}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Tamil Hindus
| native_name = தமிழ் இந்துக்கள்
| native_name_lang = ta
| flag = Tamil Om.svg
| flag_caption = [[Tamils|Tamil]] [[Aum]] symbol.
| rawimage = Ganesh Paris 2004 DSC08471.JPG
| image = Tamil Om.svg
| image_caption = Celebrations of [[Murugan]] by [[Tamils in France|French Tamils]] in [[Paris]].
| poptime =
| languages = '''Majority''' [[Tamil language|Tamil]] 
'''Sacred''' [[Old Tamil]] and [[Sanskrit]]
| rels = '''[[Hinduism]]''' 

[[Shaivism]], [[Vaishnavism]], [[Shaktism]], [[Ayyavazhi]], and [[Dravidian folk religion|folk religions]]
| related =
}}
{{Tamils}}
{{Hinduism}}
'''Tamil Hindus''' ({{Lang-ta|தமிழ் இந்துக்கள்}}) are the [[Tamil language|Tamil-speaking]] people who follow [[Hinduism]].

Hinduism was the first religion and there is no other religion in history better that Hinduism to reach the ancient Tamil kingdoms. Tamil Nadu is home to one of the largest functioning Hindu temples in the world. Tamil influence was one of the contributing factors in survival of Hinduism in [[Sri Lanka]] and its spreading in [[South East Asia]]. Before the [[Vedic period]], many of them followed the ancient [[Dravidian folk religion]]. The Hinduism practiced by Tamils today is a fusion of Vedic and Dravidian traditions. There are notable population of Tamil Hindus in [[Sri Lanka]] and in [[States and union territories of India|Indian states]] of [[Tamil Nadu]], with small populations in [[Kerala]] and [[Karnataka]]. Though they are present in many countries as diaspora. During the [[Sri Lankan Civil War]], many Tamils emigrated and Hindu temples were built abroad by the [[Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora]] to maintain their religion, tradition and culture.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bradley|first=Mark|date=2018|title=Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus and other Tamis in the Montréal diaspora|url=https://core.ac.uk/display/162675443|language=en-gb |journal=The South Asianist |volume=6 |number=1 |pages=98-119 |issn=2050-487X}}</ref>{{rp|98}}<ref>{{Cite news|date=2019-12-28|title=Success story of a 'victim diaspora'|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruvananthapuram/success-story-of-a-.victim-diaspora/article30415963.ece|access-date=2021-05-27|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

== Religion ==
[[Perumal (deity)|Perumal]] ({{lang-ta|பெருமாள் |translit=Perumāl}})<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ramachandran |first=Nalini |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-AtBEAAAQBAJ&dq=perumal+god+great+one&pg=PT113 |title=Gods, Giants and the Geography of India |date=2021-09-03 |publisher=Hachette UK |isbn=978-93-91028-27-5 |language=en}}</ref> or '''Tirumal''' ({{lang-ta|திருமால்|translit=Tirumāl}} {{Pronunciation|Ta-திருமால்.ogg}}) is a [[Hindu deities|Hindu deity]] and considered the most worshiped god in the [[Sangam literature]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tieken |first=Herman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XyNXEAAAQBAJ&dq=Tirum%C4%81l&pg=PA186 |title=Kāvya in South India: Old Tamil Caṅkam Poetry |date=2021-12-28 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-48609-6 |pages=186 |language=en}}</ref> Perumal is worshipped mainly among [[Tamil Hindus]] in [[South India]], [[Sri Lanka]], and the [[Tamil diaspora]], who consider [[Vishnu|Perumal]] to be a form of [[Vishnu]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qplaAAAAcAAJ&dq=perumal+tamil+name++vishnu&pg=PA532 |title=Cyclopaedia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia, Commercial, Industrial and Scientific: Products of the Mineral, Vegetable and Animal Kingdoms, Useful Arts and Manufactures. Ed. by Edward Balfour |date=1873 |publisher=[Dr.:] Scottish and Adelphi Press |pages=532 |language=en}}</ref> The [[Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam]] one of the temples dedicated to Perumal and is often listed as one of the largest functioning [[Hindu temple]] in the world.<ref>{{cite book |last=Vater |first=Tom |title=Moon Spotlight Angkor Wat|year=2010 |publisher=Perseus Books Group |location=USA |isbn=978-1-59880-561-1 |page=40}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Jones |first=Victoria |title=Wonders of the World Dot-to-Dot|year=2004 |publisher=Sterling Publishing |location=New York |isbn=1-4027-1028-3 |page=4}}</ref> The temple is an active Hindu house of worship and follows the [[Thenkalai|Tenkalai]] tradition of [[Sri Vaishnavism]] of Hindus. There are many more temples for [[Maha Vishnu]] located in Tamil Nadu. Most of the 108 [[Divya Desams]] and 108 [[Abhimana Kshethram|Abhimana Kshethrams]] of [[Lord Vishnu]]. [[Murugan]] is also one of the important gods and is considered by many to be the patron god of the [[Tamil language]] and [[Tamil people]]. There are a lot of temples dedicated to [[Murugan]] in [[Tamil Nadu]] and [[Sri Lanka]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/tracing-the-roots-of-the-tamil-god/article6808508.ece |title=Tracing the roots of the Tamil God|work=The Hindu|date=21 January 2015|last1=Shrikumar|first1=A.}}</ref> The [[Six Abodes of Murugan]] in Tamil Nadu are considered to be the most sacred abodes of Murugan and was mentioned in ancient [[Sangam literature]]. Most of the Tamil Hindus are followers of the [[Shaiva Siddhanta]] branch of [[Shaivism]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ishimatsu|first=Ginette|date=1999-10-01|title=The making of Tamil Shaiva Siddhānta|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/006996679903300304|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology|language=en|volume=33|issue=3|pages=571–579|doi=10.1177/006996679903300304|s2cid=144541494 |issn=0069-9667}}</ref> [[Vaishnavism]], and [[Shaktism]].{{Sfn|Venkatesan|2014}} Many [[Tamils]] of rural regions have their [[Village deities of South India|village deities]], and earlier had been followers of the [[Dravidian folk religion]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Valk|first1=Ülo|last2=Lourdusamy|first2=S.|date=2007|title=Village Deities of Tamil Nadu in Myths and Legends: The Narrated Experience|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30030456|journal=Asian Folklore Studies|volume=66|issue=1/2|pages=179–199|jstor=30030456 |issn=0385-2342}}</ref>

Other Tamil deities includes Ayyanar, Karuppar, Muniyaiya, Mariamman.

== Culture ==
{{Main|Tamil culture}}

=== Festivals ===

Thaipusam or Thaipoosam is the festival of the Tamil Hindus which falls on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai. The festival is celebrated by Tamil Hindus in various countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://murugan.org/research/duraiswamy-vaikasi-visakam.htm |title=Vaikasi Visakam and Lord Murukan LALALALA|publisher=Murugan.org}}</ref>

=== Cuisine ===
{{Main|Tamil cuisine}}
Most of the [[Tamil cuisine]] is directly influenced by the [[Hindu culture]], though there is a mixture of both a [[Vegetarianism|vegetarian]] and a [[non-vegetarian]] diet. Most of it has its influence of [[South India]] and [[Sri Lanka]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=2016-07-03|title=Amma canteen: Where an Indian meal costs only seven cents|language=en-GB|work=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36659670|access-date=2021-09-09}}</ref> On special occasions, traditional Tamil dishes are served in a traditional manner, using banana leaves in place of utensils. After eating, the banana leaves are then used as a secondary food for cattle. A typical breakfast meal consists of [[idli]] or [[Dosa (food)|dosa]] with chutney. Lunch includes rice, [[Sambar (dish)|sambar]], [[Curd]], [[kuzhambu]], and [[Rasam (dish)|rasam]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tamil Cuisine - Tamil Food|url=https://tamilnation.org/culture/cuisine/cuisine.htm|access-date=2021-09-09|website=tamilnation.org}}</ref> The [[Iyengar|Iyengars]] and [[Iyer|Iyers]] often have very authentic cuisine with many customs and rituals.<ref>{{Cite web|title=11 Best Tamil Recipes|url=https://food.ndtv.com/lists/10-best-tamil-recipes-1231500|access-date=2021-09-09|website=NDTV Food|language=en}}</ref> Though many of them consume non-vegetarian, but not [[beef]] due to religious prohibition.{{Sfn|Venkatesan|2014}}

== See also ==
{{Div col}}
* [[Tamil Jain]]
* [[Tamil Muslim]]
* [[List of Tamil people]]
{{Div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{Cite encyclopedia|year=2014|title=Tamils: Hinduism|encyclopedia=[[Oxford Bibliographies Online]]|url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195399318/obo-9780195399318-0049.xml|last=Venkatesan|first=Archana|doi=10.1093/OBO/9780195399318-0049}}

{{Portal|Hinduism|Tamils}}

{{Hinduism in India by region}}
[[Category:Social groups of Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Indian Hindus| Tamil]]
[[Category:Hindu ethnic groups]]
[[Category:Hindu communities]]

Davor Šuker

2020-02-25T20:25:13Z

82.6.57.203: /* Early career */

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2013}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Davor Šuker
| image = File:Davor Šuker 300x450px.jpg
| image_size = 200
| caption = Šuker in 2008
| fullname = Davor Šuker
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1968|1|1|}}
| birth_place = [[Osijek]], [[Socialist Republic of Croatia|SR Croatia]], SFR Yugoslavia
| height = {{height|m=1.83}}
| position = [[Forward (association football)#Striker|Striker]]
| youthyears1 = 1984
| youthclubs1 = [[NK Osijek|Osijek]]
| years1 = 1984–1989
| years2 = 1989–1991
| years3 = 1991–1996
| years4 = 1996–1999
| years5 = 1999–2000
| years6 = 2000–2001
| years7 = 2001–2003
| clubs1 = [[NK Osijek|Osijek]]
| clubs2 = [[GNK Dinamo Zagreb|Dinamo Zagreb]]
| clubs3 = [[Sevilla FC|Sevilla]]
| clubs4 = [[Real Madrid C.F.|Real Madrid]]
| clubs5 = [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]]
| clubs6 = [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]]
| clubs7 = [[TSV 1860 Munich|1860 Munich]]
| caps1 = 91
| goals1 = 40
| caps2 = 60
| goals2 = 34
| caps3 = 153
| goals3 = 76
| caps4 = 86
| goals4 = 38
| caps5 = 22
| goals5 = 8
| caps6 = 11
| goals6 = 2
| caps7 = 25
| goals7 = 5
| totalcaps = 448
| totalgoals = 203
| nationalyears1 = 1987
| nationalyears2 = 1988
| nationalyears3 = 1990–1991
| nationalyears4 = 1992–2002
| nationalteam1 = [[Yugoslavia national under-20 football team|Yugoslavia U20]]
| nationalteam2 = [[Yugoslavia Olympic football team|Yugoslavia Olympic]]
| nationalteam3 = [[Yugoslavia national football team|Yugoslavia]]
| nationalteam4 = [[Croatia national football team|Croatia]]
| nationalcaps1 = 6
| nationalgoals1 = 6
| nationalcaps2 = 2
| nationalgoals2 = 0
| nationalcaps3 = 2
| nationalgoals3 = 1
| nationalcaps4 = 69
| nationalgoals4 = 45
|medaltemplates =
{{MedalCompetition|Representing {{fb|YUG}}}}
{{Medal|W|[[FIFA World Youth Championship|FIFA U-20 World Cup]]|[[1987 FIFA World Youth Championship|1987]]}}
{{Medal|RU|[[UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship|UEFA U-21 Euro]]|[[1990 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship|1990]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|Representing {{fb|CRO}}}}
{{MedalBronze|[[FIFA World Cup]]|[[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998]]|}}
}}
'''Davor Šuker''' ({{IPA-sh|dâʋor ʃǔːker|hr|hr-Davor Šuker.ogg}};<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hjp.znanje.hr/index.php?show=search_by_id&id=f1llUBY%3D|title=Dȁvor1|quote=Dȁvor|website=Hrvatski jezični portal|accessdate=2018-03-17|language=sh}}</ref> born 1 January 1968) is a Croatian former professional [[Association football|footballer]] and the current president of the [[Croatian Football Federation]], a position he has held since July 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.index.hr/sport/clanak/markovic-pred-silazak-s-trona-nasljedjuje-me-davor-suker-veliki-intelektualac-skansi-vodite-racuna-o-klubovima-/624176.aspx|title=Dobro došo´ predsjedniče: Šuker od Markovića preuzeo hrvatski nogomet - "Moja misija je pobjeda"|date=5 July 2012|work=[[Index.hr]]|language=Croatian|accessdate=6 December 2013}}</ref> During his playing career, Šuker featured as a [[Forward (association football)#Striker|striker]]. Šuker began his footballing career in his hometown for local first division team [[NK Osijek]] as a 16-year-old. During his final season with the club, he became the league's top goal scorer. He made the move to sign for [[GNK Dinamo Zagreb|Dinamo Zagreb]] in 1989. The [[Croatian War of Independence]] halted a promising season for the 21-year-old, eventually resulting in Šuker's move to Spanish club [[Sevilla FC|Sevilla]] in 1991.

In [[La Liga]], Šuker was highly regarded, showing consistent form with Sevilla and being consecutively amongst the division's top goal scorers. He signed with [[Real Madrid C.F.|Real Madrid]] five years later, and was again amongst the league's top scorers. While at the [[Santiago Bernabéu Stadium|Santiago Bernabéu]], he helped Madrid claim the Liga and [[UEFA Champions League]] titles as well. A move to [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] saw him distinguish himself throughout their run to the [[UEFA Europa League|UEFA Cup]] final of [[2000 UEFA Cup Final|2000]]. He then had a spell with [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]], then closed his career playing for German side [[TSV 1860 Munich|1860 Munich]]. The crowning moment of Šuker's career was the [[1998 FIFA World Cup]] in France, where he won the [[World Cup Golden Boot|Golden Boot]] by scoring six goals in seven matches. He also won the Silver Ball as the second-best player of tournament, behind [[Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer)|Ronaldo]]. His goal-scoring feats proved instrumental in the Croatians winning the bronze medal in their debut [[FIFA World Cup|World Cup]]. Croatia did not lose a single match which Šuker scored in prior to their semi-final loss to [[1998 FIFA World Cup Final|eventual champions]] [[France national football team|France]].

Named as Croatia's [[UEFA Jubilee Awards|Golden Player]] for the [[UEFA]] 2003 Jubilee anniversary, he came third in the [[FIFA World Player of the Year]] awards in 1998. He is also on the [[FIFA 100]] list of great footballers, as the only Croatian on such. Šuker is also [[Croatia national football team|Croatia's]] all-time top scorer with 45 goals altogether. He is generally regarded as the greatest Croatian striker of all time.<ref name=Vid />

==Club career==

===Early career===
Šuker began playing football in his home town of [[Osijek]] with the club [[NK Osijek]] in 1984. In 1989, he moved to [[GNK Dinamo Zagreb|Dinamo Zagreb]], where during the following two seasons he scored 34 goals in 60 [[Yugoslav First League]] matches. Šuker made such an impression that he received his first call-up to the [[Yugoslavia national football team|Yugoslavia national team]]. His play also attracted several clubs, including Spanish club [[villareal]], which he joined in 1991.

===Sevilla===
Šuker made his [[La Liga|Primera División]] debut for Sevilla on 17 November 1991, coming off the substitutes' bench as a last-minute substitute in Sevilla's 1–1 away draw at [[RCD Espanyol|Espanyol]]. In the following match, at home against [[Real Sociedad]], he made his first start and went on to score two goals in a 2–2 draw. He finished his first season at the club with 6 goals in 22 appearances. During Sevilla's first match of the next season away at [[Albacete Balompié|Albacete]], Šuker scored his first Primera [[hat-trick]], which led a 4–3 victory. He improved his tally from the prior season with 13 goals in 33 matches.

In the [[1993–94 La Liga|1993–94 season]], Šuker was the second-highest scorer in the league with 24 goals to [[FC Barcelona|Barcelona]]'s [[Romário]]. He made a total of 34 Primera appearances that season and also scored five braces and one hat-trick. Šuker played with Argentine legend [[Diego Maradona]] at the club within the 1992–93 season. During this and the next season with Sevilla, he scored a total of 33 goals in 64 appearances in the Spanish Primera.

===Real Madrid===
Šuker went on to move to [[Real Madrid C.F.|Real Madrid]]. This transfer came prior to the start of the [[1996–97 Real Madrid C.F. season|1996–97 season]]. With ''Los Galacticos'', his goalscoring potency continued as he scored 24 goals in 38 appearances. Šuker ended up as the third-best scorer within the league, behind Barcelona's [[Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer)|Ronaldo]] and [[Real Betis]]'s [[Alfonso Pérez|Alfonso]]. During that season, he scored three hat-tricks in the [[1996–97 La Liga|Primera]] seeing Madrid to lift the league title. Along with [[Raúl (footballer)|Raúl]] and [[Predrag Mijatović]], he formed a dangerous trio that struck fear in the opposing defenses to assure eventual acclaim for the club.<ref name=Bio>{{cite web|url=http://www.realmadrid.com/en/about-real-madrid/history/football-legends/davor-suker|title=Davor Suker: Bio|website=Real Madrid.com}}</ref>

Šuker was again successful with Real Madrid in the [[1997–98 Real Madrid C.F. season|following season]], which won the [[1997–98 UEFA Champions League]]. In the Primera, Šuker scored 10 goals in 29 appearances. Within the [[1998–99 Real Madrid C.F. season|1998–99 season]], his presence at Real Madrid was reduced despite the fact he performed well at that summer's World Cup. This was seen as he made only 19 Primera appearances, scoring 4 goals as a whole. By that season's end, he opted to leave the club.<ref name=Bio /> His decision to leave also marked the close of his eight-season-long spell in the Spanish Primera, where he scored 114 goals in 239 total appearances.<ref name="club statistics"/>

===Arsenal===
Šuker joined [[Premier League|FA Premier League]] club [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] for the [[1999–2000 FA Premier League|1999–2000 season]]. He made his league debut on 22 August 1999 in a 2–1 defeat to [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] at [[Arsenal Stadium|Highbury]], coming on as a substitute for the final 15 minutes. He played another two matches as a substitute before making his first start in Arsenal's 3–1 home victory over [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]], where he scored a brace, his first two goals in the Premier League. With Arsenal, he played in the [[2000 UEFA Cup Final]] as an extra-time substitute, Šuker missed his penalty as Arsenal lost to Turkish side [[Galatasaray S.K. (football)|Galatasaray]] on [[Penalty shootout (association football)|penalties]].<ref name=Arsenal>{{cite web|url=https://www.arsenal.com/historic/players/davor-suker|title=Davor Suker|website=Arsenal.com}}</ref>

Šuker also scored once in the [[EFL Cup|League Cup]] against [[Middlesbrough F.C.|Middlesbrough]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/1999/dec/01/match.sport |title=Schwarzer the hero sees Middlesbrough through |work=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |date=1 December 1999 |accessdate=3 July 2011 |first=Michael |last=Walker}}</ref> and twice in the UEFA Champions League against [[AIK Fotboll|AIK]] (once at home<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/champions_league/454989.stm |title=Arsenal break Wembley hoodoo
|publisher=[[BBC]] |date=22 September 1999 |accessdate=3 July 2011}}</ref> and once away).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-champions-league--overmars-double-as-gunners-sign-off-1122194.html |title=Champions League – Overmars double as Gunners sign off |publisher=[[The Independent]] |date=2 November 1999 |accessdate=3 July 2011 |first=Bill |last=Pierce}}</ref> He scored 8 league goals (including 3 braces) in 22 Premiership appearances with Arsenal.<ref name=Arsenal />

===West Ham United===
At [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]], Šuker never managed to find his place in the first team for a long period and only made 11 Premiership appearances for the club throughout the season, scoring twice against Manchester United<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2000/aug/27/match.sport7 |title=Hammers earn late reward |publisher=[[The Guardian]]
|date=26 August 2000 |accessdate=3 July 2011 |first=Amy |last=Lawrence}}</ref> and [[Sunderland A.F.C.|Sunderland]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2000/sep/06/match.sport1 |title=Suker outshines exotic imports |publisher=[[The Guardian]] |date=5 September 2000 |accessdate=3 July 2011 |first=Dominic |last=Fifield}}</ref> He also scored once in the League Cup against [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/worthington_cup/999085.stm |title=West Ham 2–0 Blackburn
|publisher=[[BBC]] |date=31 October 2000 |accessdate=3 July 2011}}</ref> His career in England ended with the end of that season, where he joined German side [[TSV 1860 Munich|1860 Munich]] for the [[2001–02 Bundesliga|2001–02 season]].

===1860 Munich===
At 1860 Munich, Šuker made his [[Bundesliga]] debut, playing all 90 minutes in the club's 1–0 home victory over [[FC Energie Cottbus|Energie Cottbus]] on 1 December 2001. His first goal for 1860 came in their first match after the winter break, a headed effort which completed a 3–0 home victory over [[1. FC Köln]]. His highlight of the season came during the final league match in a 4–2 away victory over [[Borussia Mönchengladbach]], where he scored a brace. He finished his first season in the Bundesliga with 4 goals in 14 appearances.

In the [[2002–03 Bundesliga|2002–03 season]], Šuker scored in 1860 Munich's 3–1 home victory over [[Arminia Bielefeld]] on 2 November 2002. While playing with 1860 in the Bundesliga, he scored 5 goals in 25 appearances.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://rsssf.com/players/sukerdata.html | title = Davor Suker - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga | first = Matthias | last = Arnhold | date = 12 February 2020 | accessdate = 19 February 2020 | publisher = [[Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|RSSSF.com]]}}</ref> He also made five appearances in the [[DFB-Pokal]], scoring three goals.

==International career==
Šuker's eye for goals was duly illustrated in his feats at youth level. He finished as the second highest scorer as he netted six goals at the [[1987 FIFA World Youth Championship|1987 World Youth Championships]] in Chile. The Yugoslavians also set a Championship record with 22 goals scored altogether. Yugoslavia went on to win the title with a generation of future talents. Some of these players went on to represent Croatia such as [[Robert Prosinečki]], [[Zvonimir Boban]] and [[Igor Štimac]].<ref name=Vid>{{cite web|url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KJbvgwmJNZk|title=Suker: 'The small teams can win too'|website=YouTube.com}}</ref>

Šuker again played for Yugoslavia in the [[Football at the 1988 Summer Olympics|1988 Seoul Summer Olympic games]]. Those appearances came in group stage matches against [[Brazil national under-23 football team|Brazil]] and [[Nigeria national under-23 football team|Nigeria]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/su/davor-suker-1.html |title=Davor Šuker Bio, Stats, and Results |accessdate=2013-12-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211132550/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/su/davor-suker-1.html |archivedate=11 December 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In two years time, he featured in the [[1990 UEFA European Under-21 Championship|UEFA Under-21 Championship]]. He scored four goals in five matches as Yugoslavia won their group stage. Šuker also struck the only goal in the second leg of his side's 3–0 quarter-final victory on aggregate against [[Bulgaria national under-21 football team|Bulgaria]]. He scored once again against [[Italy national under-21 football team|Italy]]. In all he tallied a sum of six goals throughout the Championships winning the Golden Boot. Yugoslavia went on to finish as runners up with Šuker also being named as the Golden Player of the Tournament.

===Senior team===
In 1990, Šuker was named to the [[Yugoslavia national football team|Yugoslavia national team]]'s 22-man squad for the [[1990 FIFA World Cup]] finals in Italy. However, he did not make an appearance at the tournament.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2006/m=5/news=suker-croatia-golden-player-25680.html|title=Suker, Croatia's golden player|website=FIFA.com}}</ref>

On 22 December 1990, Šuker made his debut for the newly established [[Croatia national football team|Croatia national team]] in a friendly against [[Romania national football team|Romania]]. In 1991, he won his only two caps for Yugoslavia at senior level: on 27 February 1991 against [[Turkey national football team|Turkey]], and on 16 May 1991 against the [[Faroe Islands national football team|Faroe Islands]]. In the latter match, Šuker scored his first senior international goal. This feat was noted given Croatia was not registered with [[FIFA]] nor [[UEFA]] at that point.

Šuker's second and the first official match for Croatia came in a friendly against [[Mexico national football team|Mexico]] in 1992 where he scored a brace in a 3–0 victory. He then led Croatia to their first major international tournament, [[UEFA Euro 1996]], with a then-record 12 goals in 10 matches during the [[UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying|qualifying stages]]. During the Euro 1996 final stages in England, he scored three goals in four matches, including two in the 3–0 group stage win over [[UEFA Euro 1992 Final|defending champions]] [[Denmark national football team|Denmark]]. It was in this match he set up the final score with an unforgettable looping shot over Danish goalkeeper [[Peter Schmeichel]], still remembered as one of the greatest goals in [[UEFA European Championship]] history.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1f27qcJLokQ|title=Davor Šuker's chip at EURO 96: Croatia v Denmark|website=YouTube.com}}</ref> Šuker's feats during the tournament saw him named to the [[UEFA Euro 1996#UEFA Team of the Tournament|Team of the Tournament]].<ref>{{cite web|url=
http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/history/memories/newsid=1625267.html|title=
EURO '96 team of the tournament|website=UEFA.com}}</ref>

Šuker then went on to see Croatia qualify for their first [[FIFA World Cup]] after scoring five goals in nine matches during the [[1998 FIFA World Cup qualification|qualifying stages]] for the [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998 finals]] in France. In the tournament proper, he scored six goals in seven matches, scoring in every match Croatia scored. These included goals in 1–0 victories over [[Japan national football team|Japan]] in the group stage and Romania in the round of 16. In the quarter-finals against [[Germany national football team|Germany]], Šuker was fouled by [[Christian Wörns]] who received a straight red card. Šuker scored the final goal in a 3–0 victory. He also brought the team to the doorstep of [[1998 FIFA World Cup Final|the final]] by scoring the opener in the semi-final against [[France national football team|France]]. [[Lilian Thuram]] took the match back for the hosts with his only two international goals to give France a 2–1 victory and a place in the final.

In the third-place play-off, Šuker scored the match-winner in a 2–1 victory against the [[Netherlands national football team|Netherlands]], leading Croatia to a sensational third-place finish in their first World Cup appearance since becoming an independent nation. Šuker won the [[World Cup Golden Boot|Golden Boot]] as the tournament's top scorer, as well as the Silver Ball as the World Cup's second-best player, behind [[Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer)|Ronaldo]] of [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]].<ref name=View>{{cite web|url=https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/davor-suker-kid-i-dreamt-winning-golden-boot-france-98-was-realisation|title=Davor Suker: "As a kid I dreamt of winning the Golden Boot - France 98 was the realisation"|website=Four Four Two.com}}</ref><ref name=Vid />

After the 1998 World Cup, Šuker featured for Croatia in their unfruitful run to qualify for the [[UEFA Euro 2000|Euro 2000]]. Šuker was though noted in endeavouring to keep Croatia's hopes alive when he scored a 94th-minute winner against the [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Republic of Ireland]] at [[Maksimir Stadium]] in [[Zagreb]]. The win ensured Croatia would have a strong chance of still qualifying for the tournament. The Croatians would miss out on such in their final qualifier, a 2–2 draw at home to [[Serbia and Montenegro national football team|Yugoslavia]]. Šuker did score a late disallowed goal which, if stood, would have assured Croatia's qualification. He finished with four goals in seven matches during the campaign.

Šuker was also part of the Croatian team at the [[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002 World Cup]] finals in South Korea and Japan. However, he only played 63 minutes in the tournament, in a 1–0 defeat to [[Mexico national football team|Mexico]] in Croatia's opening match. After Croatia's elimination, Šuker announced his retirement from international football.

Šuker won a total of 71 international caps during his senior career, 2 for Yugoslavia and 69 for Croatia.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://rsssf.com/miscellaneous/suker-intlg.html | title = Davor Suker - Goals in International Matches | first = Roberto | last = Mamrud | date = 12 February 2020 | accessdate = 19 February 2020 | publisher = [[Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|RSSSF.com]]}}</ref> The forward scored 46 international goals in total. With 45 goals, he is Croatia's all-time leading goal-scorer. His 12 goals during the campaign for Euro 1996 was a record that stood for over 10 years—[[Northern Ireland national football team|Northern Ireland]]'s [[David Healy (footballer)|David Healy]] broke his record in 2007 after scoring 13 goals during [[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying|Euro 2008 qualifying]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7101558.stm |title=Suker salutes Healy scoring feat |publisher=[[BBC]]|date=20 November 2007 |accessdate=5 July 2012 |first=David |last=Ornstein}}</ref>

==Post career==
[[File:Football against poverty 2014 - Davor Šuker.jpg|thumb|right|Davor Suker during a charity match]]

Šuker established his own school of football entitled the Davor Šuker Soccer Academy, with training camps located in Zagreb and several other Croatian cities. The concept for this academy originated near the end of his playing days.<ref name=Arsenal />

===Controversies===
In 1996, in the company of two well-known criminals, Šuker posed for a picture at the grave of Croatian fascist dictator [[Ante Pavelić]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Holiga|first1=Aleksandar|title=Davor Suker: is he doing more for himself than for Croatian football?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/mar/23/davor-suker-serbia-croatia-uefa|work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Holiga|first1=Aleksandar|title=Euro 2012: The problem with Croatia's nationalistic fans starts at the top|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/jun/26/euro-2012-croatia-racism-uefa|work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Schächter|first1=Tobias|title=Kroatien fürchtet harte Sanktionen|url=http://www.sueddeutsche.de/sport/nach-hakenkreuz-eklat-kroatien-fuerchtet-sanktionen-1.2520668|publisher=Süddeutsche Zeitung}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Davor Šuker se slikao na grobu Ante Pavelića |url=http://www.kurir.rs/davor-suker-se-slikao-na-grobu-ante-pavelica-clanak-63753 |publisher=Kurir |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117014414/http://www.kurir.rs/davor-suker-se-slikao-na-grobu-ante-pavelica-clanak-63753 |archivedate=17 November 2015 |df=dmy }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Redžić|first1=Dea|title=Šuker pozirao na Pavelićevom grobu, a danas mora kazniti Šimunića|url=http://www.index.hr/sport/clanak/suker-pozirao-na-pavelicevom-grobu-a-danas-mora-kazniti-simunica/712966.aspx|publisher=Index}}</ref>

In 2011, Šuker was fined for stealing antique coins left over by another passenger on an airplane. Instead of reporting his findings and handing the coins in, he decided to give them to his girlfriend, who tried to sell them.<ref>{{cite news|title=Arsenal hero fined over coin theft|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/ex-arsenal-west-ham-striker-davor-3314800|work=Daily Mirror}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Matanović|first1=Ilija|title=Šuker: Žao mi je, nisam znao da zlatnici toliko vrijede... Sudac: Još se sjećam što ste napravili Nijemcima 1998|url=http://www.jutarnji.hr/davor-suker--zao-mi-je--nisam-znao-da-zlatnici-toliko-vrijede---/978665|publisher=Jutarnji List}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Živko|first1=Ivana|title=Davor Šuker pronašao antičke novčiće u avionu i nije ih vratio|url=http://www.24sata.hr/crna-kronika-news/davora-sukera-nasao-anticke-novcice-u-avionu-i-nije-ih-vratio-237304|publisher=24 Sata}}</ref>

In 2015, Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) accused the president of the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), Davor Šuker, of preventing freedom of information and for physically blocking journalists from reporting and doing their work.<ref>{{cite web|title=Spanjolski mediji Suker optuzen zbog nasilja nad novinarima|url=http://hr.n1info.com/a76416/Svijet/Svijet/Spanjolski-mediji-Suker-optuzen-zbog-nasilja-nad-novinarima.html|publisher=HINA}}</ref>

==Career statistics==

===Club===
<ref name="club statistics">{{NFT player|pid=13706|name=Davor Šuker|accessdate=3 July 2011}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan=3 | Club performance
! colspan=2 | League
! colspan=2 | Cup
! colspan=2 | League Cup
! colspan=2 | Continental
! colspan=2 | Total
|-
! Season !! Club !! League
! Apps !! Goals
! Apps !! Goals
! Apps !! Goals
! Apps !! Goals
! Apps !! Goals
|-
|-
! colspan=3 | Yugoslavia
! colspan=2 | League
! colspan=2 | Cup
! colspan=2 | League Cup
! colspan=2 | Continental
! colspan=2 | Total
|-
|[[1985–86 Yugoslav First League|1985–86]]||rowspan="4"|[[NK Osijek|Osijek]]||rowspan="4"|[[Yugoslav First League|First League]]||10||3||-||-||-||-||-||-||10||3
|-
|[[1986–87 Yugoslav First League|1986–87]]||26||9||-||-||-||-||-||-||26||9
|-
|[[1987–88 Yugoslav First League|1987–88]]||29||10||-||-||-||-||-||-||29||10
|-
|[[1988–89 Yugoslav First League|1988–89]]||26||18||-||-||-||-||-||-||26||18
|-
|[[1989–90 Yugoslav First League|1989–90]]||rowspan="2"|[[GNK Dinamo Zagreb|Dinamo Zagreb]]||rowspan="2"|[[Yugoslav First League|First League]]||28||12||3||4||-||-||2||1||33||17
|-
|[[1990–91 Yugoslav First League|1990–91]]||32||22||-||-||-||-||2||0||34||22
|-
! colspan=3 | Spain
! colspan=2 | League
! colspan=2 | [[Copa del Rey]]
! colspan=2 | [[Supercopa de España]]
! colspan=2 | [[UEFA|Europe]]
! colspan=2 | Total
|-
|[[1991–92 La Liga|1991–92]]||rowspan="5"|[[Sevilla FC|Sevilla]]||rowspan="5"|[[La Liga]]||22||6||4||4||-||-||-||-||26||10
|-
|[[1992–93 La Liga|1992–93]]||33||13||2||0||-||-||-||-||35||13
|-
|[[1993–94 La Liga|1993–94]]||34||24||7||3||-||-||-||-||41||27
|-
|[[1994–95 La Liga|1994–95]]||32||17||2||3||-||-||-||-||34||20
|-
|[[1995–96 La Liga|1995–96]]||32||16||3||1||-||-||6||4||41||21
|-
|[[1996–97 La Liga|1996–97]]||rowspan="3"|[[Real Madrid C.F.|Real Madrid]]||rowspan="3"|[[La Liga]]||38||24||5||5||-||-||-||-||43||29
|-
|[[1997–98 La Liga|1997–98]]||29||10||1||1||-||-||7||4||37||15
|-
|[[1998–99 La Liga|1998–99]]||19||4||2||0||-||-||5||1||26||5
|-
! colspan=3 | England
! colspan=2 | League
! colspan=2 | [[FA Cup]]
! colspan=2 | [[Football League Cup|League Cup]]
! colspan=2 | [[UEFA|Europe]]
! colspan=2 | Total
|-
|[[1999–2000 FA Premier League|1999–2000]]||[[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]]||rowspan="2"|[[Premier League]]||22||8||3||0||1||1||13||2||39||11
|-
|[[2000–01 FA Premier League|2000–01]]||[[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]]||11||2||0||0||2||1||-||-||13||3
|-
! colspan=3 | Germany
! colspan=2 | League
! colspan=2 | [[DFB-Pokal]]
! colspan=2 | Other
! colspan=2 | [[UEFA|Europe]]
! colspan=2 | Total
|-
|[[2001–02 Bundesliga|2001–02]]||rowspan="2"|[[TSV 1860 München|1860 Munich]]||rowspan="2"|[[Bundesliga]]||14||4||3||2||-||-||-||-||17||6
|-
|[[2002–03 Bundesliga|2002–03]]||11||1||2||1||-||-||-||-||13||2
|-
! rowspan=4 | Total
! colspan=2 | Croatia
!151||74||3||4||-||-||4||1||158||79
|-
! colspan=2 | Spain
!239||114||26||17||-||-||18||9||283||140
|-
! colspan=2 | England
!33||10||3||0||3||2||13||2||52||14
|-
! colspan=2 | Germany
!25||5||5||3||-||-||-||-||30||8
|-
! colspan=3 | Career total
!448||203||34||20||3||2||38||16||523||241
|}

===International===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|-
|[[Yugoslavia national football team|Yugoslavia]]||1991||2||1
|-
!colspan="2"|Total||2||1
|-
|-
|rowspan="12"|[[Croatia national football team|Croatia]]||1990||1||0
|-
|1992||1||2
|-
|1993||1||1
|-
|1994||5||5
|-
|1995||7||8
|-
|1996||10||6
|-
|1997||7||4
|-
|1998||13||12
|-
|1999||9||4
|-
|2000||4||0
|-
|2001||8||2
|-
|2002||3||1
|-
!colspan="2"|Total||69||45
|}

===International goals===

''Scores and results list Yugoslavia's and Croatia's goal tallies first.''

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
! # !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
|-
!colspan="7"|'''{{fb|YUG}} goals'''
|-
|align="center"|1
|16 May 1991
|[[Stadion Crvena Zvezda]], [[Belgrade]], Yugoslavia
|{{fb|Faroe Islands}}
|align="center"|'''7''' – 0
|align="center"|7 – 0
|[[UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying]]
|-
!colspan="7"|'''{{fb|CRO}} goals'''
|-
|align="center"|1
|rowspan=2|22 October 1992
|rowspan=3|[[Stadion Maksimir]], [[Zagreb]], Croatia
|rowspan=2|{{fb|Mexico}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 0
|rowspan=2 align="center"|3 – 0
|rowspan=4|[[Exhibition game|Friendly]]
|-
|align="center"|2
|align="center"|'''3''' – 0
|-
|align="center"|3
|25 June 1993
|{{fb|UKR}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 0
|align="center"|3 – 1
|-
|align="center"|4
|23 March 1994
|[[Estadio Mestalla|Estadio Luís Casanova]], [[Valencia, Spain|Valencia]], Spain
|{{fb|Spain}}
|align="center"|'''2''' – 0
|align="center"|2 – 0
|-
|align="center"|5
|rowspan=2|4 September 1994
|rowspan=2|[[Kadriorg Stadium]], [[Tallinn]], Estonia
|rowspan=2|{{fb|Estonia}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 0
|rowspan=2 align="center"|2 – 0
|rowspan=12|[[UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying]]
|-
|align="center"|6
|align="center"|'''2''' – 0
|-
|align="center"|7
|rowspan=2|16 November 1994
|rowspan=2|[[Stadio Renzo Barbera|Stadio La Favorita]], [[Palermo]], Italy
|rowspan=2|{{fb|Italy}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 0
|rowspan=2 align="center"|2 – 1
|-
|align="center"|8
|align="center"|'''2''' – 0
|-
|align="center"|9
|rowspan=2|25 March 1995
|rowspan=6|Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia
|rowspan=2|{{fb|UKR}}
|align="center"|'''2''' – 0
|rowspan=2 align="center"|4 – 0
|-
|10
|align="center"|'''4''' – 0
|-
|11
|26 April 1995
|{{fb|Slovenia}}
|align="center"|'''2''' – 0
|align="center"|2 – 0
|-
|12
|rowspan=3|3 September 1995
|rowspan=3|{{fb|Estonia}}
|align="center"|'''2''' – 1
|rowspan=3 align="center"|7 – 1
|-
|13
|align="center"|'''5''' – 1
|-
|14
|align="center"|'''7''' – 1
|-
|15
|8 October 1995
|[[Stadion Poljud]], [[Split, Croatia|Split]], Croatia
|{{fb|Italy}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 1
|align="center"|1 – 1
|-
|16
|15 November 1995
|[[Stadion Bežigrad]], [[Ljubljana]], Slovenia
|{{fb|Slovenia}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 1
|align="center"|2 – 1
|-
|17
|10 April 1996
|[[Gradski vrt]], [[Osijek]], Croatia
|{{fb|Hungary}}
|align="center"|'''2''' – 0
|align="center"|4 – 1
|rowspan=2|[[Exhibition game|Friendly]]
|-
|18
|2 June 1996
|[[Lansdowne Road]], [[Dublin]], Ireland
|{{fb|IRL}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 0
|align="center"|2 – 2
|-
|19
|rowspan=2|16 June 1996
|rowspan=2|[[Hillsborough Stadium]], [[Sheffield]], England
|rowspan=2|{{fb|Denmark}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 0
|rowspan=2 align="center"|3 – 0
|rowspan=3|[[UEFA Euro 1996]]
|-
|20
|align="center"|'''3''' – 0
|-
|21
|23 June 1996
|[[Old Trafford]], [[Manchester]], England
|{{fb|Germany}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 1
|align="center"|1 – 2
|-
|22
|10 November 1996
|Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia
|{{fb|Greece}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 1
|align="center"|1 – 1
|rowspan=5|[[1998 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
|23
|29 March 1997
|Stadion Poljud, Split, Croatia
|{{fb|Denmark}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 0
|align="center"|1 – 1
|-
|24
|30 April 1997
|[[Kaftanzoglio Stadium]], [[Thessaloniki]], Greece
|{{fb|Greece}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 0
|align="center"|1 – 0
|-
|25
|10 September 1997
|[[Parken Stadium]], [[Copenhagen]], Denmark
|{{fb|Denmark}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 3
|align="center"|1 – 3
|-
|26
|11 October 1997
|Stadion Bežigrad, Ljubljana, Slovenia
|{{fb|Slovenia}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 0
|align="center"|3 – 1
|-
|27
|3 June 1998
|[[Kantrida Stadium|Kantrida]], [[Rijeka]], Croatia
|{{fb|Iran}}
|align="center"|'''2''' – 0
|align="center"|2 – 0
|rowspan=4|[[Exhibition game|Friendly]]
|-
|28
|rowspan=3|6 June 1998
|rowspan=3|Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia
|rowspan=3|{{fb|Australia}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 0
|rowspan=3 align="center"|7 – 0
|-
|29
|align="center"|'''2''' – 0
|-
|30
|align="center"|'''5''' – 0
|-
|31
|14 June 1998
|[[Stade Félix Bollaert]], [[Lens, Pas-de-Calais|Lens]], France
|{{fb|Jamaica}}
|align="center"|'''3''' – 1
|align="center"|3 – 1
|rowspan=6|[[1998 FIFA World Cup]]
|-
|32
|20 June 1998
|[[Stade de la Beaujoire]], [[Nantes]], France
|{{fb|Japan}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 0
|align="center"|1 – 0
|-
|33
|30 June 1998
|[[Stade Chaban-Delmas|Parc Lescure]], [[Bordeaux]], France
|{{fb|Romania}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 0
|align="center"|1 – 0
|-
|34
|4 July 1998
|[[Stade Gerland]], [[Lyon]], France
|{{fb|Germany}}
|align="center"|'''3''' – 0
|align="center"|3 – 0
|-
|35
|8 July 1998
|[[Stade de France]], [[Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis|Saint-Denis]], France
|{{fb|France}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 0
|align="center"|1 – 2
|-
|36
|11 July 1998
|[[Parc des Princes]], [[Paris]], France
|{{fb|NED}}
|align="center"|'''2''' – 1
|align="center"|2 – 1
|-
|37
|10 October 1998
|[[Ta' Qali Stadium]], [[Ta' Qali]], Malta
|{{fb|Malta}}
|align="center"|'''4''' – 1
|align="center"|4 – 1
|rowspan=2|[[UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying]]
|-
|38
|14 October 1998
|Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia
|{{fb|North Macedonia|name=Macedonia}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 1
|align="center"|3 – 2
|-
|39
|10 March 1999
|[[Olympic Stadium (Athens)|Spiros Louis Stadium]], [[Athens]], Greece
|{{fb|Greece}}
|align="center"|'''2''' – 2
|align="center"|2 – 3
|rowspan=2|[[Exhibition game|Friendly]]
|-
|40
|5 May 1999
|[[Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla|Estadio Olímpico]], [[Seville]], Spain
|{{fb|Spain}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 0
|align="center"|1 – 3
|-
|41
|5 June 1999
|[[Skopje City Stadium]], [[Skopje]], Macedonia
|{{fb|North Macedonia|name=Macedonia}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 0
|align="center"|1 – 1
|rowspan=2|[[UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying]]
|-
|42
|4 September 1999
|Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia
|{{fb|IRL}}
|align="center"|'''1''' – 0
|align="center"|1 – 0
|-
|43
|2 June 2001
|[[Stadion Varteks]], [[Varaždin]], Croatia
|{{fb|San Marino}}
|align="center"|'''3''' – 0
|align="center"|4 – 0
|[[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
|44
|15 August 2001
|Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Ireland
|{{fb|IRL}}
|align="center"|'''2''' – 2
|align="center"|2 – 2
|rowspan=2|[[Exhibition game|Friendly]]
|-
|45
|17 April 2002
|Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia
|{{fb|BIH}}
|align="center"|'''2''' – 0
|align="center"|2 – 0
|-
|}

==Honours==

===Club===
;Real Madrid<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eurosport.com/football/davor-suker_prs3504/person.shtml|title=Davor Šuker|website=Eurosport.com}}</ref>
* [[La Liga]]: [[1996–97 La Liga|1997]]
* [[Supercopa de España]]: [[1997 Supercopa de España|1997]]
* [[UEFA Champions League]]: [[1997–98 UEFA Champions League|1998]]
* [[Intercontinental Cup (football)|Intercontinental Cup]]: [[1998 Intercontinental Cup|1998]]

;Arsenal
* [[UEFA Europa League|UEFA Cup]] Runner-up: [[2000 UEFA Cup Final|2000]]

===International===
;Yugoslavia Youth
* [[FIFA World Youth Championship]]: [[1987 FIFA World Youth Championship|1987]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.co.uk/football/1999/nov/07/newsstory.sport25|title=Sukerman likes it hot|website=The Guardian.com}}</ref>
* [[UEFA European Under-21 Championship]] Runner-up: [[1990 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship|1990]]

;Croatia
* [[FIFA World Cup]] Third place: [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2006/m=5/news=suker-croatia-golden-player-25680.html|title=Suker, Croatia's golden player|website=Fifa.com}}</ref>

===Individual===
* [[FIFA World Cup awards|1998 FIFA World Cup]]: [[1998 FIFA World Cup|Golden Shoe]]<ref name=Award />
* [[FIFA World Cup awards|1998 FIFA World Cup]]: [[Golden Ball (FIFA)|Silver Ball]]<ref name=Award />
* [[FIFA World Cup awards|1998 FIFA World Cup]]: [[FIFA World Cup awards#All-Star Team|All-Star Team]]<ref name=Award />
* [[Onze d'Or|Onze de Bronze]]: 1998
* [[Ballon d'Or]] Runner-up: [[1998 Ballon d'Or|1998]]
* [[FIFA World Player of the Year]] Bronze Award: [[1998 FIFA World Player of the Year|1998]]
* [[1987 FIFA World Youth Championship]]: [[FIFA World Youth Championship#Awards|Silver Shoe]]
* [[Yugoslav First League|Yugoslav First League Top Goal Scorer]]: [[1988–89 Yugoslav First League|1988-89]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rsssf.com/tablesj/joeghist.html|title=Yugoslavia - List of Final Tables|website=RSSSF.com}}</ref>
* [[UEFA European Under-21 Championship|UEFA European Under-21 Championship 1990]]: Golden Player<ref name=Award />
* [[UEFA European Under-21 Championship|UEFA European Under-21 Championship 1990]]: Golden Boot<ref name=Award>{{cite web|url=http://hns-cff.hr/en/hns/individual-awards/|title=INDIVIDUAL AWARDS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS|website=HNS-CFF.hr}}</ref>
* [[UEFA Euro 1996|UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament]]: 1996<ref name=Award />
* [[European Sports Magazines#ESM Team of the Year|ESM Team of the Year]]: 1996–97
* [[Croatian Footballer of the Year]]: 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/vecernjipoy.html|title="Vecernji list" Player of the Year|website=RSSSF.com}}</ref>
* [[Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport]]: 1998<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vecernji.hr/amp/vijesti/kohorta-i-dalje-misli-da-suker-nije-trebao-postati-pocasni-gradjanin-850087|title=Kohorta i dalje misli da Šuker nije trebao postati počasni građanin|language=Hungarian|website=Vecernji.hr}}</ref>
* [[Sportske novosti awards|Croatian Sportsman of the year]]: 1998
* [[World Soccer (magazine)|World Soccer 100 Greatest Players of the 20th Century]]: 1999
* [[UEFA Jubilee Awards]] Croatia's Golden Player: 2004
* [[FIFA 100]]: 2004<ref name=Arsenal />
*[[Osijek|Honoree of Osijek]]: 2008<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gol.dnevnik.hr/clanak/nogomet/davor-suker-ne-stidim-se-osijeka.html|title=Davor Šuker: Ne stidim se Osijeka!|language=Hungarian|website=Gol.Dnevnik.hr}}</ref>
* [[Croatia national football team#Top goalscorers|All-time top scorer of the Croatian national team]]

===Orders===
*[[File:Order of DH Franjo Bučar.jpg|50px]] [[Order of Danica Hrvatska|Order of Danica Hrvatska with face of Franjo Bučar]] - 1995<ref>{{cite news | url = http://hrvatska.poslovniforum.hr/nn-arhiva/00025/0256f.asp|title = ODLUKU KOJOM SE ODLIKUJU REDOM DANICE HRVATSKE S LIKOM FRANJE BUČARA | language = Croatian | publisher= hrvatska.poslovniforum.hr}}</ref>
*[[File:Ribbon of an Order of the Croatian Trefoil.png|50px]] [[Order of the Croatian Trefoil]] - 1998<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.hrt.hr/arhiv/98/07/12/h2_hrv.html|title = PREDSJEDNIK TUDJMAN ODLIKOVAO HRVATSKU NOGOMETNU REPREZENTACIJU | language = Croatian | publisher= hrt.hr}}</ref>
* [[File:Ribbon of the Order of Duke Trpimir.png|left|50px]] [[Order of Duke Trpimir]] with Ribbon and Star - 2018<ref>{{cite web|url=http://predsjednica.hr/objava/1/1/2707|title=News: President Decorates Croatian National Football Team Players and Coaching Staff|date=13 November 2018|publisher=Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia|accessdate=13 November 2018|quote=Mr. Davor Šuker was awarded the Order of Prince Trpimir with Ribbon and Star...}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Davor Šuker}}
*{{FIFA player|155711}}
*{{NFT player|pid=13706}}
* {{Worldfootball.net|davor-suker}}
*{{CFF player|106351/davor-suker}}
*{{YouTube|nGb885UExus|Davor Šuker – Golden Boot Winner 1998 France All goals}}
*[http://www.realmadridnews.com/what-happened-to-davor-suker/ What happened to Davor Šuker?] at [http://www.realmadridnews.com/ Realmadridnews.com]

{{HNS presidents}}
{{Navboxes colour
|title=Awards
|bg=gold
|fg=black
|list1=
{{s-start}}
{{s-ach}}
{{Succession box|title=[[FIFA World Cup awards#Golden Boot|FIFA World Cup Golden Shoe]]|before={{flagicon|BUL}} [[Hristo Stoichkov]] {{flagicon|RUS}} [[Oleg Salenko]]|after={{flagicon|BRA}} [[Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer)|Ronaldo]]|years=[[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998]]}}
{{Succession box|title=[[FIFA World Cup awards#Golden Ball|FIFA World Cup Silver Ball]]|before={{flagicon|ITA}} [[Roberto Baggio]] |after={{flagicon|BRA}} [[Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer)|Ronaldo]] |years=[[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998]]}}
{{Succession box|title=[[Real Madrid C.F. seasons|Real Madrid top scorer]] 24 goals|before={{flagicon|ESP}} [[Raúl (footballer)|Raúl]]|after={{flagicon|ESP}} [[Fernando Morientes]]|years=1996–97}}
{{S-end}}
{{FIFA 100}}
{{FIFA World Cup Silver Ball}}
{{UEFA Jubilee Awards}}
{{Yugoslav First League top scorers}}
{{FIFA World Cup top scorers}}
{{European U21 Championship Golden Player}}
{{Croatian Footballer of the Year award}}
{{Croatian Athlete of the Year (men)}}
{{1998 FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament}}
{{UEFA Euro 1996 Team of the Tournament}}
{{UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship awards}}
}}
{{Navboxes colour
|title=Yugoslavia squads
|bg = #0c1c8c
|fg = white
|bordercolor=black
|list1=
{{Yugoslavia Squad 1988 Summer Olympics}}
{{Yugoslavia Squad 1990 World Cup}}
}}
{{Navboxes colour
|title= Croatia squads
|bg=white
|fg=#171796
|bordercolor=red
|list1=
{{Croatia Squad 1996 UEFA Euro}}
{{Croatia Squad 1998 World Cup}}
{{Croatia Squad 2002 World Cup}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suker, Davor}}
[[Category:1968 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:UEFA Golden Players]]
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