Tamil bell
Encyclopedia
The Tamil Bell is a broken bronze
bell
discovered in approximately 1836 by the missionary
William Colenso
. It was being used as a pot to boil potatoes by Māori women near Whangarei
in the Northland Region of New Zealand
.
The bell is 13 cm long and 9 cm deep, and has an inscription. The inscription running around the rim of the bell has been identified as old Tamil
. Translated it says "Muhayideen Baksh’s ship’s bell". Some of the characters in the inscription are of an archaic form no longer seen in modern Tamil script
, thus suggesting that the bell could be about 500 years old. Eminent Indologist, V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar
claims in his The Origin and Spread of the Tamils that ancient Tamil sea-farers might have had a knowledge of Australia
and Polynesia
. The discovery of the bell has led to speculation about a possible Tamil presence in New Zealand, but the bell 'is not in itself proof of early Tamil contact with New Zealand'.
The bell was bequeathed by William Colenso to the Dominion Museum - now the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
.
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
bell
Bell (instrument)
A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
discovered in approximately 1836 by the missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
William Colenso
William Colenso
William Colenso was a Cornish Christian missionary to New Zealand, and also a printer, botanist, explorer and politician.-Life:Born in Penzance, Cornwall, he was the cousin of John William Colenso, Bishop of Natal...
. It was being used as a pot to boil potatoes by Māori women near Whangarei
Whangarei
Whangarei, pronounced , is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. Although commonly classified as a city, it is officially part of the Whangarei District, administered by the Whangarei District Council a local body created in 1989 to administer both the...
in the Northland Region of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
The bell is 13 cm long and 9 cm deep, and has an inscription. The inscription running around the rim of the bell has been identified as old Tamil
Tamil script
The Tamil script is a script that is used to write the Tamil language as well as other minority languages such as Badaga, Irulas, and Paniya...
. Translated it says "Muhayideen Baksh’s ship’s bell". Some of the characters in the inscription are of an archaic form no longer seen in modern Tamil script
Tamil script
The Tamil script is a script that is used to write the Tamil language as well as other minority languages such as Badaga, Irulas, and Paniya...
, thus suggesting that the bell could be about 500 years old. Eminent Indologist, V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar
V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar
Vishnampet R. Ramachandra Dikshitar was a historian, Indologist and Dravidologist from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu...
claims in his The Origin and Spread of the Tamils that ancient Tamil sea-farers might have had a knowledge of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
. The discovery of the bell has led to speculation about a possible Tamil presence in New Zealand, but the bell 'is not in itself proof of early Tamil contact with New Zealand'.
The bell was bequeathed by William Colenso to the Dominion Museum - now the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the national museum and art gallery of New Zealand, located in Wellington. It is branded and commonly known as Te Papa and Our Place; "Te Papa Tongarewa" is broadly translatable as "the place of treasures of this land".The museum's principles...
.
External links
- Picture of the bell at Te Ara Encyclopedia of New ZealandTe Ara Encyclopedia of New ZealandTe Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand is an online encyclopedia created by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage of the New Zealand Government. The project was established in 2002 and the website launched in 2005...
- The Tamil Bell from the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa