Octavian

Gender critical gay man. Nerd & leftie, alienated by the far-left's excesses. Mostly post about genderist ideology & Hindu lore.

[Octavian @Octavia560]

Interesting that Javanese uses the word klin (probably < Kalinga) as a neutral, generic term for South Indians. In modern Malaysia 'keling' is a racial slur, particularly for Tamils. My Indonesian friend told me her guide described a local Tamil community as 'kelings,' w/o malice

[चेदिराड्रिपुपार्षदः 🟩⬜️⬛️ @Saatvata]

I already mentioned that "Malabar" itself properly refers to the name of the coastline.

My underlying point is that "Malabar" is not an ethnicity, unless you're referring to descendants of indentured laborers who were brought to the French island of Réunion from South India in the 19th century (who are called "Mal[a]bars").

Malabār is ultimately an Arabic term that first appears in the writings of al-ʾIdrīsī and al-Bērūnī and is a medieval portmanteau of Tamil/Malayalam mala(i)- ("hill") with Persian bār ("shore"/"coast") or Arabic barr ("dry land").

The earliest term for Kēraḷa was simply Kēraḷa(putta/putra), Cēra(pāda), or Cēraḷa, though these terms may've originally referred to the region of modern Koṅgunāḍu rather than modern day Kēraḷa as there are no early Cēra records from modern day Kēraḷa.

The term Malaināṭu ("mountain country," cognate w/ Kannada Malenāḍu) is attested in Sangam literature; however, it was originally used in reference to the eastern strip of modern day Kēraḷa dominated by the Western Ghats rather than to the more populous coast, which was known as Pūḻināṭu.

It is contrasted with nilaṉāṭu (the flat plains) in the Malaipaṭukaṭām:
ceruccai munpin kurucil muṉṉiya
paricil maṟappa nīṭalum uriyir
anaiyatu aṉṟu avaṉ malai micai nāṭē
nirai itaḻk kuvaḷaik kaṭivī toṭiṉum
varaiyara makaḷir irukkai kāṇiṉum
uyir cela vempip paṉittalum uriyir
pala nāḷ nillātu, nilaṉāṭu paṭarmiṉ

You might tarry there so long that you forget the gifts intended [for you] by the warrior-king* who is mighty in making war.
Such is the [mesmerizing] nature of his country atop the mountains!
If you unknowingly touch the dense-petalled kuvaḷai-s (blue water lilies) cherished by the Gods
or if you gaze upon the abodes of the maidens who dwell in the mountains,
you will be consumed by fever and shiver as though life itself were leaving you.
Therefore, do not stay there for many days;
proceed onward to the plains [below].

[*] Likely the Vēḷir chief Naṉṉaṉ of Eḻimalai, whom some scholars identify with the legendary "Nandana" mentioned in Atula's Mūṣikavaṃśa

It is uncertain when exactly ആളം (āḷam, "land, locality, region") was first appended to mala(i), though the name Malayāḷam must predate the 11th century, as Malyāla is attested in the Kawi (Old Javanese) Muṅgut inscription of King Airlaṅga (properly, Śrī Mahārāja Rake Halu Śrī Lokeśvara Dharmavaṃśa Airlaṅga Anantavikramottuṅgadeva).

[Octavian @Octavia560]

Chindians, a long-standing & respectable mixed race community in Malaysia & Singapore, have nothing to do with social media wars between mainland China & India. Overly online people need to go outside & touch grass occasionally

[Kreately.in @KreatelyMedia]

Stop making fun of China

China has released a new movie called “Chindians”

😎

[Octavian @Octavia560]

@IndoKatholic If the purpose of animals is to be eaten, what was their purpose before the Fall, when Adam & Eve were vegetarian?

[Octavian @Octavia560]

@Tom_Rowsell Btw, announcing that you're so wealthy you can provide for your children while giving the majority of your money away is a good way to signal evolutionary fitness. He's doing them a favour by signposting his genes (which they share)

[Octavian @Octavia560]

@Tom_Rowsell I'm guessing a number of his ancestors practiced primogeniture for 1400 yrs, so his eldest son should get the lion's share, while the other children earn their way by fighting in foreign wars, getting married off, or going into the church. Ancestors probably tithed a lot too

[Octavian @Octavia560]

@Aryamemoire A religion's spiritual centre matters. Muslims pray in Arabic facing Mecca, Christians believe the Holy Land is in the Middle East. I have never heard a Tamil Brahmin tell me to go on pilgrimage to Kabul instead of Chidambaram, Pazhanimalai, Tirupati, Ganga...

[Octavian @Octavia560]

@Nairhistory I had noticed the Chidambaram Dikshitar community preserve the sideways bun that's rare in Tamil Nadu, but I believe more widespread in Kerala (famously in women)! Do you have thoughts on whether it was due to cultural contact or independent preservation of an archaic custom?

[Octavian @Octavia560]

While the Hindoo sees a manifestation of divinity, the Nazarene sees proof that ammonites were not allowed on Noah's Ark, hence they went extinct 3000 years ago, shortly after the dinosaurs were expelled from Eden.

[✞ 𝕰𝖑 𝕹𝖆𝖌𝖆 ₊⋆𖤐𓄒 @elnagamanu]

While the hindoo sees an ammonite fossil as an object of worship, the Christian sees evidence of an orderly creation, thus reaffirming his belief in a just, good Creator.

[Octavian @Octavia560]

@sifarchand Narayana: *takes a break from actively emitting his divinity in myriad configurations to attract the intellect of each individual sentient being; reads this tweet* Passive?? Listen, buddy

[Octavian @Octavia560]

@rian_vlbt mood

[Octavian @Octavia560]

@Ishodas_Thomman Noice, didn't know Christians had their own Manipravalam.

[Octavian @Octavia560]

@roseromaunt Fun fact: even the Sanskrit word is likely a borrowing from a Dravidian language, meaning the word had an extra step to travel within India before travelling the world.

[Octavian @Octavia560]

Me, consulting a chart to work out what to call my uncles: Sittappa, Periyappa, Mama, Kannappa

My uncles addressing me: "Boy"

[Octavian @Octavia560]

@pArAsharyAyaNa It looks like in these quotes, Varuna is associeted with the asuric, while Devi embodies both halves of the cosmic order. Vidya-maya. Devi-Asuri. The great knowledge, the great deluder... the great goddess, the great demoness.

[Octavian @Octavia560]

@rian_vlbt In Chidambaram, TN, the temple pond has no aquatic life. There's a story from Tiruvilayadal Puranam where a heron hears the Dikshitars preaching, attains moksha, & asks Shiva to make the pond barren, so his kin won't commit sin by killing fish in the temple. Many such cases

[Octavian @Octavia560]

@saurabhsaffron @pArAsharyAyaNa Agreed, the Ramayana is not just important to Vaishnavas, so public comments appearing to downgrade Shiva will be read as polemical. I was more responding to the idea that an amsam of the deity can't be "greater" than that deity *in some respects* (e.g. sharing mantras)

[Octavian @Octavia560]

@ftn_ale @intentionalisms Ok sorry, Michelangelo's is a twunk I guess. Twunk fits "handsome beardless youth like the (muscled) Apollo" better probably.

[Octavian @Octavia560]

@pArAsharyAyaNa *I should say it's religious hyperbole. They don't actually believe an Azvhar can be greater than Vishnu, but it can be acceptable to praise one's own guru in hyperbolic terms, even preferring him to God.

[Octavian @Octavia560]

@pArAsharyAyaNa This is just Vaishnava discourse. They say things like, "Nammazhvar is an amsham of Vishnu. But Vishnu revealed the sastras in difficult Sanskrit to dwijas; Nammazhvar distilled the Vedic essence & made it accessible in simple verse. Therefore Nammazhvar is greater than Vishnu"