16-11-2011 அன்று ஆங்கில நாளிதழில் (TIMES OF INDIA) வெளியிடப்பட்ட
செய்தியைப் படித்துதான் பாருங்களேன் !
இன்றும் வால்பாறை என்ற பெயர் தென்னமெரிக்க நாடான சிலியில் உண்டு ! குறில்
தீவுக்கூட்டம் என்ற பெயர் வட ஜப்பானிய கடலில் உண்டு ! ரசிய நாட்டின்
(ஆசிய) கீழைப் பகுதியான விலாடிவாச்டாக் அருகில் அதே குறில் தீவுகள் என்ற
பெயர் விளங்குவதை கூகிள வரைபடப் பகுதியில் தேடுபொறியால் நீங்களே
பாருங்களேன் !
மேலும் மாயன் நாகரிகத்துக்கும், தமிழருக்குமுள்ள தொடர்பெல்லாம்
வெளிவரும்.
Globetrotting man followed turtle track, claims study
M T Saju TNN
Chennai:
It was the beginning of a big voyage when he saw a school of turtles
scrawling towards the shore for nesting in the famous Gahirmatha beach
in Orissa. S Balasubramani, a marine researcher, was working on a
project when he got interested in turtle nesting and Tamil migration.
It is his belief that the two activities were linked in someway once
upon a time.
He claims that people from the Tamil coasts used to travel to all
over the world following the tracks used by the turtles even from the
Stone Age. “Turtles are considered the navigator of the oceans. They
use ocean currents to cover long distances which helped Tamil sailors
explore other countries,” according to Balasubramani. Since the
coastal climate is ideal for nesting, turtles still travel to the
coasts of Orissa and Tamil Nadu from all parts of the world. There are
particular routes where sea currents occur and the turtles can sense
it very well, he says. “There are 53 turtle nesting places in Tamil
Nadu which are all close to the ancient ports. So there is a strong
connection between the migration of Tamils and the nesting of
turtles,” he concludes with his own logic.
To prove his point, Balasubramani even has a list of turtle
nesting places in the world having Tamil names. “There are a number of
coasts having names in Tamil. Thamila (Myanmar) and Sabha Santagan
(Malaysia), Koolan, Cholawan and Ooru (Australia), Catalan (Spain)
Nanmadal and Kumari (Pacific ocean) are some examples,” he says.
In addition to the study of literary references and scientific
oceanic studies, Balasubramani conducts experiments on the Tamil Nadu
coast making use of the traditional knowledge of the fisherfolk
community along with technical advances from various forums. The
study, conducted using latest technologies like satellite tracking,
claims there used to be voyages following the routes of turtles from
the coast of Tamil Nadu to places like US, Australia, New Zealand,
China and Japan. A bell with Tamil inscriptions on it found from a
Parua Maori tribal house at Vangarai, New Zealand, in 1836 shows that
voyages took place between the Tamil coasts and Kiwi land, it says.
Why should one follow the turtles’ route? “The turtle can swim a
maximum of 85km a day, but it can cover at least 250km floating on the
ocean currents. Our ancestors must have used this system to cover the
sea,” he believes. However, more research is to be done in the field
to establish the point. “There are incidents like traveling from one
place to the other looking at the star. Likewise, there may be some
connection between turtle nesting and Tamil migration. If you take the
way the fisherfolk treat the turtles, you will know that they respect
the species. The won’t kill them, but send them back to sea. In many
temples in China, Philipines and Indonesia, people even adorn turtles.
There must be some connection. We need more research into the subject
to prove the point,” says M G Sahibhushan, a history expert. Recently,
researchers tracked over 12,700 miles of turtle swimming from the
Indonesian coast to the US. But did the human follows the turtle
species? A presentation will be made at the ICSA hall opposite the
Egmore Museum on Wednesday.
TIMES OF INDIA - 16.11.2011
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