Agriculture

AGRICULTURE

Agriculture is not part of our life today or yesterday. About 10,000 years ago, primitive man began to grow and harvest his own food.

During the Sangam period, the Tamils had known the different types of soils, the types of crops grown in them, the various methods of irrigation, ploughing, fertilizing, storage and distribution suitable for their respective regions.

Agriculture is much admired and written about in our Tamil literature too. There is hardly any Tamil literature that is not related to agriculture.

Evidence

In the excavations at Adichanallur, husks of paddy and rice crops have been found in the old peoples' Thazhis.

1. Types of Land

In the Sangam literature, it is mentioned that the arable land was divided according to its nature and cultivated crops as follows.

1. Hard Field

2. Soft Field

3. Dry Land

4. Waste Land (Kalar Nilam or Purangadu)

1. Hard Field

A hard field is the hard ground. Due to the roughness of the land in Kurinchi and Mullai areas and the lack of water, the land was called Hard Field (Vanpulam).

Proof: Nartinai 59

2. Soft Field

A soft field is the fertile land. As Marutha land is rich in water resources, it is a suitable land for agriculture.

Proof: Purananooru 42-15

3. Dry Land (Punpulam)

Punpulam is the dry land. It is the non-irrigated, artificially irrigated land. It is the land where rain fed crops are grown.

Proof: Pathirupathu 58-15

4. Waste Land (Kalar Nilam)

Waste land is the land which is unfit for cultivation. It is called salt land because of its high salt content. It is referred to as Purankadu in the Purananooru song.

Proof: Purananooru 311: 11, 12

2. Owners of Agricultural Land

Majority of the peasants cultivated their own lands. They were called by different names according to their soil.

1. Uzhuthunbar (or) Arinvazhnar

They lived by the tip of the plough.

2. Vellalar

They were high class people. They owned lands and also were the owners of water.

They held high positions with the king.

3. Karalar (or) Kalamar

It means the ruler of the cloud.

4. Uzhathiyar

The women farmers were called Uzhathiyars.

3. Agricultural Tax

During the Sangam period, taxes were levied on land and its produce. Landlords and peasants paid taxes. The land tax was known as Irai or Karai. The production tax was called tax. One sixth of the harvest was collected as tax. Additional grains were stores in places called Kalanjiyams.

4. Measurement of Agricultural Lands and Materials

The smaller piece of land was called 'ma' and the larger piece of land was called 'veli'. One 'veli' is equal to 100 Kuzhis.

They used Thuni, Nazhi, Ser, Kalam for measuring the quantity of things and thulam, kazhanju for measuring weights.

Ambanam, Nazhi, Pathaku, Marakal were used to measure grains. Scales, Thulakkol were used by people.

5. Crops Cultivated in the Sangam Period

Rice, sugarcane, small grains, pulses, coconut, cotton, banana, tamarind, sandal wood, etc., were cultivated during the Sangam period. Paddy was the important agricultural crop. The houses had trees like jack fruit, coconut, and betel nut. They maintained flower garden at the back of the house and tamarind plants at the front. All the villages became self-sufficient and surplus production was found.