1. Have an Interesting Snippet to Share : Click Here
    Dismiss Notice

Story Behind Tamil Proverbs- Anju Maatuponn Kadhai

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by Satlak, Jul 31, 2017.

Have you heard this story or proverb before?

  1. Yes

    2 vote(s)
    33.3%
  2. No

    4 vote(s)
    66.7%
  1. Satlak

    Satlak Gold IL'ite

    Messages:
    74
    Likes Received:
    307
    Trophy Points:
    145
    Gender:
    Female
    Thank you. I too love these timeless old proverbs and the story behind them. I will post more.
     
    satchitananda likes this.
  2. Satlak

    Satlak Gold IL'ite

    Messages:
    74
    Likes Received:
    307
    Trophy Points:
    145
    Gender:
    Female

    For more proverbs please click the links below
    Oru naalum podada punyawatiye.....

    Story Behind Tamil Proverbs Post Five- Oru Naalum Podada Punyawatiye Pottappo, Dinam Podara Kadangar

    Ullakkai indarum
    Ullakkai Indarum! Story Behind This Tamil Phrase

    Mamiyare mai ettukongo
    http://indusladies.com/community/threads/old-forgotten-tamil-proverb-mamiyare-mai-ettukongo.303620/#post-399495
     
  3. jayasala42

    jayasala42 IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    5,365
    Likes Received:
    10,561
    Trophy Points:
    438
    Gender:
    Female
    Though it is stated that the word'Maatru-p-penn' ( alternate to daughter) has been modified as 'maattup penn, elders in our house used to say'maattup penn' is not a wrong expression at all. the word'maadu' in tamil means 'very good' in all aspects. Maadu+Penn would read a grammatically correct word as'maattuppenn.It has no connection whatsoever with 'cow or maadu.
    maattup penn is a grammatically and meaningfully correct expression and there is nothing wrong in using the word as such.
    Jayasala 42
     
    kkrish, sokanasanah and PavithraS like this.
  4. PavithraS

    PavithraS Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    2,048
    Likes Received:
    4,129
    Trophy Points:
    290
    Gender:
    Female
    Madam @Satlak - Good initiative that you have taken up. Nice explanations. Thank you. In this particular proverb of 'Anju Mattuppon', there is also a version of 'Ezhu Maattuppon' but the theme is all the same as that you have explained. I am happy that so far all the proverbs that you have explained is known to me , thanks to my paatti and also the small town people/village kind of neighborhood where I grew up in Tamilnadu. After marriage me and mother in law use lots of proverbs in our daily conversation just to keep in touch with them.

    In my in law's side daughter in law is referred as 'Naattupponn' again a corruption of 'Naatru-p- Penn' (Naatru- Sprout) which symbolically represents the fact of how a girl born in a family is nourished and taken care of till she attains marriageable age and is given in 'kanyadhaanam' to another family/clan for them to establish their lineage just like how after the seed that was sown in another place after nourishing stage comes out of the soil we replant the sprout to flourish elsewhere. It is sad indeed that most meaningful Tamil words that we use today are corrupted and their actual usage forgotten.

    Beautifully put. Agreed. Also by the number and strength of milch animals and farm animals- Maadu meaning Cow/ox - was how wealth in those days were assessed, right ?. Shall we assume while பசு ஆ/எருது,காளை are proper nouns for those animals, the word மாடு is more காரணப் பெயர் ?
     
  5. Satlak

    Satlak Gold IL'ite

    Messages:
    74
    Likes Received:
    307
    Trophy Points:
    145
    Gender:
    Female
    Thank you so much for that lovely informative response. Yes, some people say naattuponn too. Again I must admit I did not know the origin of this word until I read your message. That's an awesome explanation. I am enriched by your responses to my post.
    As for maatuponn, which I used in my post, I had assumed (in a humorous vein, of course) that it must be because daughters in law were expected to work like a maadu.
     
    jskls and PavithraS like this.
  6. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    3,959
    Likes Received:
    6,857
    Trophy Points:
    408
    Gender:
    Male
    I am aware of மாற்றுப்பெண்/நாற்றுப்பெண்.
    ஒரு பசுமாட்டைச் 'செல்வம்' எனக் கருதி, அப்படியே குறிப்பதும் கேள்விப்பட்டிருக்கிறேன்.
    However, I am not familiar with the usage of 'maadu' in the sense of 'very good'. I have never come across the word used in this sense. I would be very interested to see examples from literature or a lexical listing.
    சும்மா "சான்றோர் வாக்கு" என்று தள்ளி விட்டால் செல்லுமா?:lol:
     
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2017
    kkrish, jskls and Satlak like this.
  7. jayasala42

    jayasala42 IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    5,365
    Likes Received:
    10,561
    Trophy Points:
    438
    Gender:
    Female
    selvam was considered good( not only material wealth)Perhaps the elders would have thought that the daughter in-law is an asset to the family-so as to denote goodness..Or it would have come as a modification from the word 'maatchi' or maanbu denoting greatness.
    Or the word'maattu' itself denotes a link or connection, connecting all the relatives in the family.
    I think the word 'maattu', even unconnected with'maadu' has got good things associated with it.
    இருள்சேர் இருவினையும் சேரா இறைவன்
    பொருள்சேர் புகழ்புரிந்தார் மாட்டு.
    Thiruvalluvar uses the word'maattu' as 'nearer'.(Arugaamai)Maattu penn is considered closer to everybody at home listening to elders, giving advice to youngsters .Children in the house used to get things done through'manni'( brother's wife) of the house.
    The word 'maattu penn' , had lot of command in the house in spite of MIL-DIL complexes.'maattu penn vaiththathu thaan sattam.'

    In my younger days I have heard this discussion from village tamil teachers..All these maatru penn, naatru penn ,maattu penn etc were being explained during such discussions.
    Hence I wrote.

    Jayasala 42
     
    kkrish, jskls, sokanasanah and 2 others like this.
  8. Satlak

    Satlak Gold IL'ite

    Messages:
    74
    Likes Received:
    307
    Trophy Points:
    145
    Gender:
    Female
    Thank you for that in depth response. I learnt a lot . I will discuss this with my Amma today when we chat (on phone) n the afternoon today.
     
  9. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    3,959
    Likes Received:
    6,857
    Trophy Points:
    408
    Gender:
    Male
    Sure, I know you are trying to share what you have heard!:thumbsup:
    Possible, but here "புகழ்புரிந்தார் மாட்டு" -> "புகழ்புரிந்தார் இடத்து". The verb is 'சேரா'.
    But, இருவினையும் புகழ்புரிந்தோரை அருகா (not go 'near' - preposition) is OK.

    That is: இறைவன் புகழ்புரிந்தார் இடத்து (மாட்டு), (நல்வினை, தீவினை என்ற) இருவினையும் சேரா.

    The 'maatrup-penn' -> 'maattu-penn' மருவல் has strong evidence given other similar forms in colloquial Tamizh. The rest of it is plausible conjecture. I have not seen the word 'maadu' used in that sense. The frustrating thing is Tamizh etymology is so much harder to investigate! If you ever happen to think of any strong examples, do let me know - I'm curious!:beer-toast1:

    Note: The explication above is not for you, J42. I am just trying to spell things out and keep the post self-contained for readers who may have been educated in English and not be entirely familiar with Tamizh!:wink1:
     
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2017
  10. Satlak

    Satlak Gold IL'ite

    Messages:
    74
    Likes Received:
    307
    Trophy Points:
    145
    Gender:
    Female

Share This Page