Page:Pre-Aryan Tamil Culture.djvu/58

 to tie, and as a noun, a hole, also bangles, from their circular shape, a discus, a conch, vaḷaiyam a tank, a hoop, vaṭṭil, a basket, a tray, a cup, vaṭṭam , a circle, a bull roarer, a shield, a tank, all named from the shape, vaṭtaṇai , a circle, a cymbal, vaṭṭu , a spheroidal pawn used in gambling, vaṇaṅgu , to bow, to adore, vaṇar , an arched roof, vaṇḍu, a beetle that wheels round and round, vaḷi , whirlwind, vaḷḷam , a round eating tray, vaḷḷi , a bracelet. From early times the people were familiar with a cart and named its various parts. Achchu, the axle tree, āṇi (a word found also in the Rig Veda), iruśu, kandu , axle pin, uruḷai , uṇḍai , kāl , wheel, ār , spokes śūḍu , tyre, kuṛaḍu hub, etc. All parts of the cart were heavily carved. The carts were used more for purposes of trade than for travel. Kings and noblemen used a tēr, car, as already described. The main streets of a city and the roads intended for travel by royal cars were broad. The cars were dragged by bulls, elephants, and in later times by horses. Kings and noblemen also travelled in palanquins, pallakku, aṇigam , taṇḍigai ; those with gems embedded on them were called kañjigai. Transport on water was by means of boats of several kinds and made in several ways, kappal, ōḍam , ambi , tōṇi , teppam , pariśal , paḍagu , kalam , uḍubam , kōlam , toḷḷam , pagaḍu , paḍuvai , paṭṭi , puruvai , puṇai , midavai , vaḷḷam , timil. It needs scarcely be added that the heads of boats were carved in the shape of the face of lions, elephants, horses, etc., and they were called in later times arimugavambi, karimugavambi , kudiraimugavambi respectively. Boats were made in several ways; thus teppam was a float made of logs bound together, timil, a catamaran for fishing, tōṇi, a wicker work construction covered with hide, valam, a dugout, paḍagu, kappal, sailing boats and ōḍam, one rowed with oars. Sailing boats were furnished with kūmbu, mast and pāy , idai , sails.

Many words were used to indicate a ship: ambi, ōñgal, kalam, śadā, sōṇgu, timil, toḷḷai, tōṇi, navvu, pāḥri, pādai, pāradi, pāṛu , puṇai , pōdam , madalai , vaṇgam, poṛi. The Tamils ought to have been very familiar with boats and ships and to have constantly used them for purposes of transport by water, before they were prompted to invent nearly twenty names for it. The eastern and western coast lines were in olden days dotted with numerous ports, many of which have become useless on account of the retreat of the sea and almost all of which have become deserted by the modern developments of commercial intercourse by sea.