SILAMBAM : THE MOST MISUNDERSTOOD FIGHTING ART OF THE TAMILS

Silambam is a weapon based Martial Art, originating from the South Indian State of Tamil Nadu.

Silambam is a Weapon based Battlefield Art of the Tamils, which is actually less known among others, though it is most commonly practiced in areas where the Tamil Communities form a Minor or a Major Group, either inside or outside India.

Silambam is commonly practiced in Tamil Nadu, South Kerala (Trivandrum, Kollam, Kochi regions), South Karnataka, South Andhra, Goa, and Bombay and Pune regions of Maharashtra.

Silambam is also practiced by the Tamil Communities of Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, UK, and USA.

The History, Origin, Development and the Practices of this art has been distorted and is now shrouded in deep mysteries.

I would like to throw some light on this art, its origin, history, development and modern changes that it has undergone.

But, before doing that, I would like to point out to some of the false and inaccuraciesspreading arond on the internet, concerning and regarding this art.

Points of Controversies regarding Silambam

1. The Tamil word Silambam comes from the Tamil Word "Silam" meaning 'Hills' and the English Word "Bamboo" from which Silambamboo comes and its Shortform is "Silambam"
2. Oral Folklore traces Silambam back to 2nd Century BC, to the enlightened sage Agathiyar, while on his way to Vellimallai, he discussed Hindu Philosophy with an old man in disguise, called the Tamil God - Murugan.
3. Agathiyar practiced this method of meditation and eventually compiled 3 texts on palm leaves, based on the god's teaching. One of these texts is the "Kampu Sutram', which records advanced staff fighting theories in verses. These poems and the art they describe were allegedly passed on to other Siddhars of Agathiyamuni Akhara (Agathiya School) which forms the basis for Silambam, Siddha Medicine and Southern style Kalaripayattu.
4. Silambam was derived from Kalaripayattu
5. Silambam is a part of Southern Style Kalaripayattu.
6. Silambam is a Staff based art.
7. The first reference to Silambam is found in Sangam Literature  Texts dating back to 2nd - 1st Century BC
8. Kuttu Varisai, Silamba Nadasaari, Varma Adimurai and Kai Silambam

Now, let us consider the points of objection, before we move on to the actual Silambam Martial Art.

CONTROVERSY NO. 1 : The word 'SilamBam' - It's origin and history.

First of all the word 'Silam' does not mean "Hill" in Tamil, and the word 'Bamboo' is of Sanskrit origin. Both these words do not come from a Tamil background. Moreover, bamboo is NOT a suitable weapon for Silambam fights.
Actually, in the very first place, Sanskrit or Marathi or English CANNOT give a name for a Tamil Martial Art, as Tamil is proved to be the Oldest Language on earth.

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"TAMIL - THE OLDEST LANGUAGE ON EARTH BY BENJAMIN FURROWS"

In Tamil, the word 'Silam' means "Sound". This refers to the sound that is produced when Silambam practitioners fence their weapons or fight against an opponent with their weapon.
Some of the other names used to refer to this sound are:
PULAMBAL - The sound of people lamenting their sadness
ALAMBAM - The sound made by waters kept in a vessel
SALA SALA - The sound of water flowing (There is also a river in Madurai called Silambaru)
KEECH KEECH - The sound made by birds in the morning

"SILAMBAM" IS ALSO THE OTHER NAME OF THE TRADITIONAL DANCE ART FORM OF TAMIL NADU, CALLED "BHARATHANATTIYA,"

The word 'Silambu' also means "Shaking sound of Diamond" or "Shaking sound of Pearls inside the anklet" of a Bharathanattiyam dancer.

THUS, IT IS VERY CLEAR THAT THE WORD "SILAMBAM" IS A TAMIL WORD THAT REFERS TO THE SOUND THAT IS PRODUCED BY THE WEAPONS USED IN THIS ART WHILE THE PRACTITIONER FENCES THE WEAPONS OR FIGHTS A COMBAT WITH THOSE WEAPONS; AND DOES NOT MEAN "BAMBOO FROM THE HILLS".

CONTROVERSY NO. 2 : Oral Folklore - Date of Silambam and the Hindu Mythology

Oral folklore traces the origin of Silambam only to the 2nd Century BC, and is associated with Mythological Characters, among whom are the Hindu god Murugan and Sage Agathiyar (also known as Agathiyan or Agasthya) are very common.

It is said that Sage Agathiyar who on his way to Vellimalai, discussed Hindu Philosophy with Hindu God Murugan (described as a old man in disguise). 

One of the palm leaf manuscripts describes Sage Agathiyar this way

"தென் பொதிகை நாதன் துணையால் பாடி வைத்தேன்முறை நன்றாமே" 

"Then pothigai nathan thunaiyaal paadi vaithaen murai nanraamae"

It describes Sage Agathiyar as the sage from Podhigai Hills, located near Ambasamudhram in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.

First of all, it is ORAL Folklore, and we need to know about its authentication. But, the actual historical evidences have been rejected or not considered, for the dating of this Martial Art.

In a recent (year 1913) Archaeological excavation that took place in Adichanalloor village of Tirunelveli district, there were 32 different types of weapons found.

These weapons were taken to Manipur for optical simulation at Luminiscene and were dated to ATLEAST 2050 BC. 

While on the other hand foreign researchers date these weapons between 12,000 - 10,000 BC

Tamils on the other hand were and still are living without any discrimination based on their religion, which is hardly found in any other state of India.

Religion came to play inside Silambam, only when the Britishers sent a command to ban Martial Arts. (I will discuss about this topic later), but after the British Government forced to stop the practice of Traditional Martial Arts, Silambam (which was a deadly battlefield art - as it was a threat as to whether it is life or death) became and was played as a game in front of the Temples, because the Britishers do not wish to even go near the Temples, as it was abominable for them.

THUS, THE PART OF HINDU RELIGION CAME INTO THIS ART ONLY DURING THE BRITISH RULE.

CONTROVERSY NO. 3 : Agathiyars Kampu Sutram : The 3 texts and the Base of Silambam, Siddha Medicine and Southern style Kalaripayattu.

Agathiyars Kampu Sutram (Staff Classic) records the fighting method with staffs of different sizes and shapes from the easiest way to the most complex method of Stick Swirling and Stick Fighting.

Let us see what these texts describe now.

Palm leaf manuscript no 1:

The first palm leaf on Silambam, starts with the phrase

"paarappa silambadikka................" a poem with 159 lines, consisting of 19 songs/poems about long stick in Tamil Language.

Palm leaf manuscript no 2:

The second palm leaf on Silambam starts with the phrase

"adavudan vandhi tharman............Kambudhaan" with 980 line about 3 feet stick.

Palm leaf manuscript no 3:

The third palm leaf on Silambam starts with the phrase 

"adimuraikki...............nadasaari arivithane" with 128 lines about Verum Kai (Bare Hand) fight.

Apart from Kampu Sutram, various other palm leaf manuscripts have been written by Sage Agathiyar about Silambam, Vaazh Veechu, Adimurai Naadasaari, Varma Kalai, Pancha Patchi Jothidam, Kai Maruthuvam and Siddha Maruthuvam.

There are also many folksongs about Silambam written by some authors of the 15th Century, which focuses on Silambam Martial Art Schools.

"Silambam palli koodathil

  serndhu padithu varan 

  aanukkan aanalagan

  alagur mikkiya perumal thevan" from Metchum perumal Kadhai

which means a handsome man (or rather a body builder in modern English) called Perumal Thevan joined the Silambam Gym (Silambak Koodam) to learn Silambam Martial Art.

These important descriptions about Silambam are not given in Wikipedia, as Wikipedia and other Internet sources are not reliable, but are subject to change.

And most of the Silambam Grand Masters (Maha Gurus) can be found only in remote villages, who do not have access to internet facilities, and hence to find a true and real authentic Silambam maha Guru is very difficult, even now.

Siddha Medicine and Silambam :

Practitioners of Silambam martial art, also practice Siddha Medicine, a Traditional Tamil Medicine handed down by Tamil Siddhars, and hence is known as Siddham or Siddha Medical System, which is said to be The Mother of ALL Medical Systems on earth.

Siddha Medicine is based on another art called "Varma Kalai". Varma Kalai is known as the art of pressure points. As per the Siddha System of Medicine, there are 108 lethal vital spots in the Human Body, which, when affected, 

1. some cause death immediately,
2. some causes delayed death
3. some points cause injury in the internal organs
4. some paralyzes the opponents
5. some points cause severe other injuries to the victim 
6. some points cause severe unbearable pain to the victim
7. some causes swelling and blood clot in the body of the victim etc

The above mentioned facts refer to the martial art component of Varma Kalai.

Varma Kalai, like a coin has got two different faces. One is Harming and the other is Healing.

Now, coming to the healing part of Varma Kalai, there are more than 800 therapeutic vital points on the human body (as per the Siddha System of Medicine) which can cure any types of diseases.

Varma Kalai can be used to cure :

1. Diabetes
2. Hyper Tension 
3. ALL forms of Arthritis
4. ALL kinds of pains in human body (neck, back, shoulder, hip,arms, legs, frozen shoulders etc)
5. ALL kinds of Heart Problems
6. Cholesterol 
7. Asthma 
8. Thyroid Disorders
9. Spinal Cord Problems 
10. Hormonal Disorders
11. Sexual Disorders 
12. Infertility 
13. Impotence 
14. Eye sight problems
15. ALL Neurological problems 
16. ALL kinds of Ortho, Bone and Joint problems 
17. Stress and Anxiety 
18. Sleep Disorders 
19. Psychological Problems 
20. Speech Disorders 
21. Irritable Bowel Syndrome 
22. Gastro Intestinal Disorders
23. Vertigo and Ulcers
24. ALL kinds of Skin problems to name a few

Silambam practitioners learn Varma Kalai and Siddha Medicine as a part of their Silambam training.
The two reasons for Silambam practitioners to learn Siddha Medicine and Varma Kalai are:

1. To know where to hit the opponent correctly using weapons (staff or sword) in order to defeat the victim
2. To know how to restore the injured victim to his normal state again, by using adangal therapy in Varma Kalai.

Thus, Siddha Medicine is a part of Silambam Martial Art.

Southern Style Kalaripayattu and Silambam :

Before I start speaking about the relation between these two arts. First of all, I would like to give you a brief information about Kalaripayattu.

Kalaripayattu has got 5 major sub divisions. They are:

1. Thulunadan Kalaripayattu 
2. Kadathanadan Kalaripayattu 
3. Northern Style Kalaripayattu (Vadakkan Kalari)
4. Central Style Kalaripayattu (Madhya Kalari) and 
5. Southern Style Kalaripayattu (Thekkan Kalari)

Now , we would be studying about the Southern Style Kalaripayattu or Thekkan Kalari and Silambam. 

I happened to come across this article, which states that there are 5 different types of Southern Style Kalari. 

http://martial-arts-of-tamil-nadu.blogspot.in/2015/09/thekkan-art-of-controversy-thekkan.html 

They are:

1. Adi Murai Martial Art, classified as Southern Style Kalari in Kanyakumari and Trivandrum districts, practiced by Nadars of this region
2. A combination of Silambam, Adi Murai and Malyutham as declared by the "Kerala Kalaripayattu Association"
3. Modified version of Empty Hand Adi Murai incorporated in to Northern Style Kalari and taught as Southern style (practiced in North Travancore region)
4. Bare Hand fighting styles of Kadathanadan and Thulunadan style incorporated into Adi Murai and taught as Southern Kalari.
5. Some styles practiced by the lower castes of Kerala, which neither falls into any of the above said 5 categories is practiced as Southern style Kalari.

CONTROVERSY NO. 4: Silambam was derived from Kalaripayattu 

This is the most popular myth that is being spread abroad by practitioners of another Indian Martial Art called Kalaripayattu, claimed to be the mother of all martial arts by its practitioners.
Both Kalaripayattu and Silambam are two different martial arts, from two different locations of India. Silambam from Tamil Nadu and Kalaripayattu from Kerala.
Though both, Silambam and Kalaripayattu are very closely related to each other, they are two very different and very distinct arts.

Was Silambam derived from Kalaripayattu, as said by Kalaripayattu practitioners?

First of all, we need to know the history of these arts.

The prime difference between Silambam and Kalaripayattu are:

Silambam is basically a long staff based art, though other weapons (more than 30) are used, while Kalaripayattu is basically a Sword and Shield based art, though other weapons, including the long staff are used.

Before the formation of Kerala in 1956, the whole of Kerala and Tamil Nadu were called as Madras Presidency, which was led by the British Government. It was during this time that, in the Madras Presidency, there were many different types of Martial arts in practice; namely, Kalaripayattu in Malabar regions, Adi Murai in Travancore regions and Silambam, Kuttu Varisai and Varma Kalai in present day Tamil Nadu regions.

After the (South) Travancore regions comprising of Kollam, Trivandrum and Kanyakumari districts, of which Kollam and Trivandrum districts were given to Kerala, while the Kanyakumari district still remains in Tamil Nadu, Adi Murai practiced in these regions is referred to as Southern Style Kalaripayattu or Thekkan Kalaripayattu.

Not only that, Silambam Stick fight and Kalaripayattu Stick fight are two distinct arts.

Today, while Silambam, Malyutham and Adi Murai combine together to form Thekkan Kalari, as announced by the Kerala Kalaripayattu Association, Thekkan Kalari Stick Fight is from Silambam, while the Vadakkan Kalari stick fight is a totally different game.

Here is are some videos of Silambam and Thekkan Kalari Stick fight and Vadakkan Kalari stick fight.

Silambam Stick Rotation Fight Techniques

Southern Kalari Stick Fighting, same as that of Silambam and Adi Murai Stick Fighting

Northern Style Kalaripayattu Stick Fight

I hope people could have identified the difference in Silambam, Adi Murai and Northern Kalaripayattu systems of Stick Fighting Methods. 

{If not, please keep in touch via comment section and I will explain the difference}.

So, it is clear and evident that 

1. Silambam Stick Fight did NOT evolve from Kalaripayattu Stick Fight.
2. Southern Kalari Stick Fight IS from Silambam, as declared by Kerala Kalaripayattu Association.

CONTROVERSY NO 5 : Silambam developed as a part of Southern Style Kalari

Coming to this point, I would like to point out that I have already cleared the doubt regarding this point also in the previous one.

Southern Style Kalari masters attribute the creation of Thekkan Kalari to Sage Agathiyar. But, a research conducted on the palm leaf manuscripts (pertaining to martial and healing arts) supposed to be written by Agathiyar, it was found that not even once that the word "Kalari" appears in any of Agathiyars manuscripts.

Agathiyar has written in detail about many different field including martial arts, varma therapy, siddha medicine, astrology, occultism etc.But, there is not a single mention of the word "Kalari" in any of his manuscripts.

Agathiyar's manuscript describe about Silambam - 6' Staff, 5'6'' staff, 3' staff and 1'6'' staff. They also describe about Vaazh Veechu 9Different Kinds of Sword Fight) and Bare Hand fighting techniques like Naadasaari - Adi Murai , Kuttu Varisai (Boxing), Adithadi (Kickboxing), Malyutham (Wrestling) and Kusthi (Throwing art, similar to modern Judo).

Silambam did NOT develop as a part of Southern style Kalari, but rather since, Southern Style Kalari is a compound of Silambam, Adi Murai, Malyutham and Kusthi, Southern Kalari masters confuse it to be so,

Moreover, Silambam was developed as a Battlefield Art, Adi Murai developed as a Combat Science, while Malyutham and Kusthi (also known as Eri Murai) developed as Combat Sports, to combine all these together as one Martial Art, is totally inaccurate, but devastatingly effective.

CONTROVERSY NO 6 : Silambam is a Staff or Stick Based Art.

This is the most popular myth going on around the internet regarding this art. Although Silambam gives primary importance to the long staff, there are more than 32 weapons used in Silambam till date.

Some of the weapons used in Silambam are NOT found in ANY other Martial Arts of the World.

The first video above gives you the reasons for the Long Stick to being the Main Weapon of this Martial Art.

CONTROVERSY NO 7 : First reference to Silambam is 2 -1 Century BC

The first reference to Silambam is NOT between 2nd - 1st Century BC. There is a palm leaf manuscript titled "Silamba Naadasaari", which describes the Bare Hand Fighting Method in Silambam.

It is evident that Silambam is a Weapon Based Battlefield Art. Silamba Naadasaari means, in Silambam, there is a method of Walking (Nadai) and Fighting (Saari).

In the manuscript "Silamba Nadasaari" there is a verse that states that 

"Kediyaga irukaramum veesichadi

  thongiye karangi adi tholliyagum

  adi vilumum mun idi vilumena 

  Anuman Beemanukku Upadesitha Nadassari"

It states that the art of silamba nadasaari was taught by Anuman to Beeman.

Anuman is a character of the Ramayana epic. The age of Ramayana is calculated to be 3500BC and proved as per astrological evidence.

So, it is very clearly seen that Silambam and Silamba Nadasaari are much older than 2nd Century BC, as mentioned wrongly in Wikipedia articles.

This proves that Silambam and Silamba Nadasaari are older than 3500BC, if not the Oldest Fighting System on earth.

CONTROVERSY NO 8 : Kuttu Varisai, Silamba Nadasaari, Varma Adimurai VS Kai Silambam

Kuttu Varisai is a system of empty hand Martial Art, practiced along with Silambam. Here are some short video clippings of Kuttu Varisai, which is supposed to be the mother of Shaolin Kung Fu, Okinawan Karate and most of the other East Asian Martial Arts.

Silamba Nadasaari is another unarmed combat practiced along with Silambam. I would not like to make a big blog, so I am uploading the following videos on Nadasaari. here they are:

Varma Adimurai is the most advanced and the most powerful system of Martial Art. This art does not require much physical strength. Since Varma Adimurai is an internal art, this art can be used with all effectiveness even to bring down a stronger and bigger opponent than oneself.

Varma Adimurai is the only art that teaches INSTANT KNOCKOUT SECRETS of greater size opponents.

This is the ONLY martial art that can really and practically be applied in street fights.

Here are some videos of Varma Adimurai.

THOUGH MODERN SILAMBAM MASTERS WHO ALSO TEACH KUTTU VARISAI (OR KUTHU VARISAI) CALL IT AS KAI SILAMBAM, THE TERM "KAI SILAMBAM" IS TECHNICALLYU WRONG

BECAUSE,

THE TERM "KAI SILAMBAM" IS USED TO REFER TO THE TRADITIONAL DANCE ART OF TAMIL NADU CALLED "BHARATHANATTIYAM"

Thus, in this article, I have debunked most of the myths that surround the Silambam Martial Art.

My following articles would be some basic outline on the Martial Arts of

1. Silambam
2. Kalari Payat and 
3. Angampora

I would be comparing each of these martial arts and explaining the similarities and differences and their historic developments.