含羞草传媒

'Something that should be shared internationally': How an ancient Tamil epic was given new life at U of T Scarborough

Photo of Brenda Beck
U of T's anthropologist Brenda Beck first discovered The Legend of Ponnivala in the 1960s. She has since turned the folk epic into a book, graphic novels and, with the help of a U of T employee, live performances (photo by Joseph Burrell)

含羞草传媒 anthropologist Brenda Beck first heard the story that would change her life in Olappalayam, a village in India.

The year was 1965 and Beck was doing research for her doctoral studies when two bards sung , an ancient, oral folk epic from South India. With permission, she recorded the epic, which took 38 hours to sing over 18 nights.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a very rich and interesting story, which is totally unknown in the world of literature,鈥 says Beck, who is an adjunct professor in U of T鈥檚 department of anthropology. 鈥淚t is something that should be shared internationally, and it鈥檚 something that Tamils can be proud of.鈥

At U of T Scarborough鈥檚 first Tamil Heritage Month celebration earlier this year, 18 performers made history by illustrating parts of the legend. It was the first time two ancient Tamil arts came together 鈥 an ancient tale told in a musical storytelling form too old to accurately date.

The U of T Scarborough performance was the first time the legend had been performed as a Villu Paattu, or bow-song, an ancient musical technique that combines narration and a 10-foot bow-string struck for rhythm. 

The legend is as difficult to summarize as the Iliad or Beowulf. The story spans roughly two centuries, set in the post-Sangam era in the Kongu region, now part of modern-day South India.

The story begins with the Goddess Parvati, who created nine farmers and told them to cultivate a vast, forested land. It follows these men and their families across three generations 鈥 through victory, defeat, famines, curses, power struggles and interfering gods.

Beck first published the tale in 1992 as a two-volume book in Tamil with English translations on alternate pages. She later decided to convert the story into modern mediums and found an animator from a village not far from where she first heard the story. Together, Beck and the artist, whose own grandfather had sung the legend, created a 13-hour animated series.

She went on to turn the story into graphic novels, in English and Tamil, and taught parts of it in local Toronto schools.

鈥淚 believe folklore and related story traditions can be used culturally, and applied to new situations,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 want to see this story grow and become meaningful here.鈥

A match made in Canada

Shanmugananthan Ramaneekaran, a caretaker at Hart House and University College, wrote, directed and acted portions of the legend at a street festival in Markham, Ont. (photo by Joseph Burrell)

Fast-forward almost half a century, to 2009 鈥 the year Shanmugananthan Ramaneekaran came to Canada as a refugee, fleeing Sri Lanka鈥檚 civil war.  

Ramaneekaran was a celebrated performer in Tamil folk arts and worked training teachers for Sri Lanka鈥檚 ministry of education. Upon coming to Canada, he became a caretaker at U of T鈥檚 Hart House and University College. After years of saving, he brought his wife and children to Canada in 2012.

He continued to perform for the GTA鈥檚 Tamil community and taught his children to do the same.

鈥淥ur community is a very ancient one, we have so much culture and tradition,鈥 Ramaneekaran says. 鈥淲hatever I have, I want to share it with communities and other people.鈥

A few years ago, Beck watched Ramaneekaran on stage at a Tamil folk performance. Struck by his talent, she knew she had to meet him. They have been friends ever since.

Beck says The Legend of Ponnivala made its way to Sri Lanka, as families from the Indian continent were taken as labourers to tea plantations in Sri Lanka鈥檚 hill country decades ago. But Ramaneekaran had never heard it. Throughout their friendship, he grew to appreciate the story 鈥 just as Beck had almost 50 years earlier, no more than 1,000 kilometres from where he grew up.

This is how The Legend of Ponnivala found a new home, on a new continent, in a new century, and how, through Beck and Ramaneekaran, found a way to become something new. 

The epic retold

At U of T Scarborough鈥檚 first Tamil Heritage Month celebration earlier this year, 18 performers made history by illustrating parts of the legend (photo by Joseph Burrell)

In 2015, at Markham Ont.鈥檚 first Tamil Street Festival, Ramaneekaran wrote, directed and acted portions of the legend in a solo performance. He told it as a koothu, an artform from early Tamil country (circa 200 BC), in which performers tell epic stories by singing, playing music and dancing.

But at U of T Scarborough, it was Ramaneekaran鈥檚 daughter Tharscika Ramaneekaran (a current student and now the family鈥檚 second generation of Tamil-Canadians) that sat centre stage. At the Tamil Heritage Month celebration, she struck a 10-foot bow-string with two wooden rods, singing and acting with 16 other young Tamil-Canadians for the 40-minute performance.

鈥淭hrough my daughter, I continue to tell these stories to the younger generation, that is my dream,鈥 says Ramaneekaran, who wrote and directed the performance. 鈥淪he鈥檚 very talented. Whatever I had, she has now.鈥

Ramaneekaran was also able to bring more youth into the performance by having them mime portions of the story.

鈥淲e are a very ancient history and traditional culture,鈥 Ramaneekaran says. 鈥淲e have it with us 鈥 that鈥檚 why we try to keep it alive.鈥

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