African Origin of the Dravidians of IndiaBy Hadar ha-Aryeh Ibn Lwiim ha-Kohani The linguistic, anthropological and linguistic data make it clear that these people came to India from Africa during the Neolithic and not the Holocene period. In the sub-continent of India, there were several main groups. The traditional view for the population origins in India suggest that the earliest inhabitants of India were the Negritos, and this was followed by the Proto-Australoid, the Mongoloid and the so-called mediterranean type which represent the ancient Egyptians and Kushites (Clyde A. Winters, "The Proto-Culture of the Dravidians, Manding and Sumerians",Tamil Civilizations 3, no.1(1985), pp.1-9. (http://olmec98.net/Fertile1.pdf ). The the Proto-Dravidians were probably one of the cattle herding groups that made up the C-Group culture of Nubia Kush (K.P. Aravanan, "Physical and Cultural Similarities between Dravidian and African", Journal of Tamil Studies, no.10 (1976, pp.23-27:24. ). Genetics as noted by Mait Metspalu et al writing in 2004, in “Most extant mtDNA boundaries in South and Southwest Asia were likely shaped during the initial settlement of Eurasia by anatomically modern humans” http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2156/5/26 can not tell which group first entered India. Mait Metspalu wrote _________________________________________________________________ Language families present today in India, such as Indo-European, Dravidic and Austro-Asiatic, are all much younger than the majority of indigenous mtDNA lineages found among the present day speakers at high frequencies. It would make it highly speculative to infer, from the extant mtDNA pools of their speakers, whether one of the listed above linguistically defined group in India should be considered more “autochthonous” than any other in respect of its presence in the subcontinent (p.9). ___________________________________________________________________ B.B. Lal ("The Only Asian expedition in threatened Nubia:Work by an Indian Mission at Afyeh and Tumas", The Illustrated London Times , 20 April 1963) and Indian Egyptologist has shown conclusively that the Dravidians originated in the Saharan area 5000 years ago. He claims they came from Kush, in the Fertile African Crescent and were related to the C-Group people who founded the Kerma dynasty in the 3rd millennium B.C. (Lal 1963) The Dravidians used a common black-and-red pottery, which spread from Nubia, through modern Ethiopia, Arabia, Iran into India as a result of the Proto-Saharan dispersal. B.B. Lal (1963) a leading Indian archaeologist in India has observed that the black and red ware (BRW) dating to the Kerma dynasty of Nubia, is related to the Dravidian megalithic pottery. Singh (1982) believes that this pottery radiated from Nubia to India. This pottery along with wavy-line pottery is associated with the Saharo-Sudanese pottery tradition of ancient Africa . Aravaanan (1980) has written extensively on the African and Dravidian relations. He has illustrated that the Africans and Dravidian share many physical similarities including the dolichocephalic indexes (Aravaanan 1980,pp.62-263; Raceand History.com,2006), platyrrhine nasal index (Aravaanan 1980,pp.25-27), stature (31-32) and blood type (Aravaanan 1980,34-35; RaceandHistory.com,2006). Aravaanan (1980,p.40) also presented much evidence for analogous African and Dravidian cultural features including the chipping of incisor teeth and the use of the lost wax process to make bronze works of arts (Aravaanan 1980,p.41). There are also similarities between the Dravidian and African religions. For example, both groups held a common interest in the cult of the Serpent and believed in a Supreme God, who lived in a place of peace and tranquility ( Thundy, p.87; J.T. Cornelius,"Are Dravidians Dynastic Egyptians", Trans. of the Archaeological Society of South India 1951-1957, pp.90-117; and U.P. Upadhyaya, "Dravidian and Negro-African", International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics 5, no.1) . There are also affinities between the names of many gods including Amun/Amma and Murugan . Murugan the Dravidian god of the mountains parallels a common god in East Africa worshipped by 25 ethnic groups called Murungu, the god who resides in the mountains . MEEN MA FATHER APPAN. Kui-Gondi. Kananda (Kanarese).).Malayalam.MBEY BE . Some researchers due to the genetic relationship between the Dravidians and Niger-Congo speaking groups they call the Indians the Sudroid (Indo-African) Race (RaceandHistory. and Telugu and the Mande group.1951.1964).). and (l0) use of reduplication for emphasis.BAABA BA PREGNANCY BASARU BIIR BARA SKIN URI NGURU.GURI GURU BLOOD NETTARU DERET DYERI KING MANNAN MAANSA. They are (1) simple set of five basic vowels with short-long consonants. Homburger's theory of unity between the Dravidian and the Senegalese languages.P. She was also convinced that the kinship existed between Kannanda and the Bantu languages.8 As a result of the linguistic evidence the Congolese linguist Th. Dravidian languages are predominately spoken in southern India and Sri Lanka. N'Diaye (1972) a Senegalese linguist. Telugu and etc.1 Many scholars have recognized the linguistic unity of Black African (BA) and Dravidian (Dr.3 There has been a long development in the recognition of the linguistic unity of African and Dravidian languages. These affinities are found not only in the modern African languages but also that of ancient Egypt. Fulani group. have proved conclusively Dr. Obenga suggested that there was an Indo-African group of related languages. morphological and lexical parallels between Bantu and Dravidians 1.).(9) two separate sets of paradigms for declarative and negative forms of verbs. Prof.2006). Kurukh. Arvaanan (1976) has noted that there are ten common elements shared by BA languages and the Dr.7 C. morphological and phonetic unity exist between African languages in West and North Africa as well as the Bantu group. and U.OMAAD MANSA GRAND BIIRA BUUR BA SALIVA TUPPAL TUUDDE TU CULTIVATE BEY .6 By the 1970's numerous scholars had moved their investigation into links between Dr. Telugu (Tel. Linguistic Evidence 1. Kannanda/Kanarese (Ka. has identified nearly 500 cognates of Dravidian and the Senegalese languages. Upadhyaya (1973) of India . Malayalam (Mal. The Dravidians live in South India. group.T.1957.) languages. and Senegalese (Sn. The Dravidians are remnants of the ancient Black population who occupied most of ancient Asia and Europe. (8)distinction of completed action among verbal paradigms as against specific tense distinction. L.There is physical evidence which suggest an African origin for the Dravidians. These scholars have made it clear that lexical. Homburger is credited with the discovery for the first time of phonetic. and BA languages on into the Senegambia region. 1. 1. (6) absence of degrees of comparison for adjectives and adverbs as distinct morphological categories. The Dravidian ethnic group includes the Tamil. 1. Homburger (1950.P. morphological and lexical parallels between the Dravidian group: Tamil (Ta.Egyptian (E. N'Diaye.(2) vowel harmony. and Black African languages: Manding (Man.). Dr. who studied Tamil in India. (4) abundance of geminated consonants. To prove this point we will discuss the numerous examples of phonetic.) and Brahui. Homburger who is best known for her research into African languages was convinced that the Dravidian languages explained the morphology of the Senegalese group particularly the Serere. (7) consonant alternation on nominal increments noticed by different classes. The first scholar to document this fact was the French linguist L. Tulu (Tu.ABBA AMPA. (3) absence of initial clusters of consonants. These languages are genetically related to African languages.).) _________________________________________________________________ code: COMMON INDO-AFRICAN TERMS ENGLISH DRAVIDIAN SENEGALESE MANDING MOTHER AMMA AMA.2 K. Such scholars as Cheikh T. Tulu. There are around 125 million Dravidian speakers. (5) distinction of inclusive and exclusive pronouns in first person plural. Upadhyaya (1973) after field work in Senegal discovered around 509 Dravidian and Senegambian words that show full or slight correspondence. 1.). xol. They present grammatical. fanfan 'very much'. . hirime 'greatness'.B Lal (1963) which proved that the Dravidians originated in the Fertile African Crescent. nanmay 'goodness'. -itt. Cheikh T. baaxaay 'goodness'.7 Dravidian and Senegalese cognates. kawar kavaram 'shoot' D. kamara dol tool W. the past participle in Fulani (F) -o. e.4 The Wolof (W) -aay and Dyolo ay . W. 6. windudo 'written'. The evidence is clear that the Dravidian and Black African languages should be classed in a family called Indo-African as suggested by Th. Obenga. Upadhyaya (1976) have firmly established the linguistic unity of the Dravidian and Senegalese languages. kuuci o-new ney Above we provided linguistic examples from many different African Supersets (Families) including the Mande and Niger-Congo groups to prove the analogy between Dravidian and Black African languages. beega 'quick'. fan 'more'. abstract noun formative corresponds to Dravidian ay. ta. 6. xoor karalu W. windoowo 'writer'. fuko. and oowo the agent formative..xoox kukk W. nag naku W. phonetic and lexical parallels to prove their point. B. Upadhyaya (1976) has recognized that there are many medial geminated consonants in Dravidian and Senegalese.3 There are numerous parallel participle and abstract noun suffixes in Dravidian and Senegalese. Dr. Dr. For example. kuti kutti W. vaay W. Dr. hiri 'big'. and nal 'good'. bapalay 'friendship'.BOAT KULAM GAAL FEATHER SOOGE SIIGE MOUNTAIN KUNRU TUUD ROCK KALLU XEER STREAM KOLLI KAL KULU SI. khan D. xar 'ram' W. yaram uru D.S. baax 'good'.5 There is also analogy in the Wolof abstract noun formative suffix -it. yaay aayi D.g. D. tun. Due to their preference for open syllables final consonants are rare in these languages.1 Dravidian and Senegalese.P.g. 6. 6. e. 6. beega 'very quick'. This data further supports the archaeological evidence accumulated by Dr. code: English body head hair eye mouth lip heart pup sheep cow hoe bronze blacksmith skin mother child ghee Senegalese Dravidian W. SIGI KURU KULU KOLI 6. and Dravidian ita. N'Diaye (1972) and U. butum baayi. xanjar xancara W. morphological.. 6. hari 'to cut'. corresponds to Dravidian -a.. konki W. dog 'to cut'. apala 'friend'. hanita 'sharp-ness'. dogit 'sharpness'.g. tondu tuti W. e.6 The Dravidian and Senegalese languages use reduplication of the bases to emphasize or modify the sense of the word. kil kan.F. Accent is usually found on the initial syllable of a word in both these groups. W. F. Dr. kunil kunnu. -aya.2 In the Dravidian and Senegalese languages there is a tendency for the appearance of open syllables and the avoidance of non-identical consonant clusters. br/pdf?hg07022 Did the Dravidian Speakers Originate in Africa http://academia.krepublishers. they would share analogous terms for millet with African groups that formerly lived in the Sahara. This failure to correlate the archaeological evidence of African millets in countries bordering on the Indian Ocean. leads to the corollary theory that if the Dravidians originated in Africa. Weber (1998) and Wigboldus (1996) were surprised to discover that African millets and bicolor sorghum . There is mtDNA data uniting Africans and Dravidians. Yet. Wigboldus (1996) on the other hand argues that African millets may have arrived from Africa via the Indian Ocean in Harappan times. The linguistic and anthropological data make it clear that the Dravidian speaking people were part of the C-Group people who formed the backbone of the Niger-Congo speakers.the yam and pennisetum. To test this hypothesis we will compare Dravidian and African terms for millet. Weber (1998) believes that African millets may have come to India by way of Arabia.com/02-Journals/IJHG/IJHG-08-0-000-000-2008-Web/IJHG-08-4-317-368-2008-AbstPDF/IJHG-08-4-325-08-362-Winder-C/IJHG-08-4-325-08-362-Winder-C-Tt.com/journal/the_internet_journal_of_hematology/volume_7_number_1_40/article/sickle-cell-anemiain-india-and-africa. Winters (1985) has suggested that the Proto-Dravidians formerly lived in the Sahara.org/ijgmb/PDF/pdf2010/Mar/Winters.academicjournals.html Y-Chromosome evidence of African Origin of Dravidian Agriculture http://www. (McIntosh & McIntosh 1983a.pdf Origin and Spread of Dravidian Speakers http://www. Both of these theories involve the transport of African millets from a country bordering on the Indian Ocean.ispub. and the cultivation of millet.The major grain exploited by Saharan populations was rice . This is an interesting theory. McIntosh and McIntosh (1988) has shown that the principal domesticate in the southern Sahara was bulrush millet.1988.pdf The most interesting fact about this evidence is that the Dravidian language is closely related to the Niger-Congo group. There are other linguistic groups that separate the Niger-Congo speakers from the Dravidians. The evidence makes it clear that genetic evidence can not be used to effectively document historic population movements. There has been considerable debate concerning the transport of African millets to India. The fact that they are . Winters 1986b. The Dravidian people given the evidence for the first cultivation of millet and red-and-black pottery is firmly dated and put these cultural elements in the Neolithic. Andah 1981) Given the archaeological evidence for millets in the Sahara. It indicates that the Dravidians took there red-and-black pottery with them from Africa to India. and Dar Tichitt in Mauritania between 4000 and 3000 BP.com/1773184/PossibleDraOrigin. Can Parallel Mutation and neutral genome selection explain Eastern African M1 consensus HVS-1 motifs in Indian M haplogroup http://www.documents. because it is in the Sahara that the earliest archaeological pennisetum has been found. did not reach many East African countries until millennia after they had been exploited as a major subsistence crop at Harappan and Gujarat sites. Millet impressions have been found on Mande ceramics from both Karkarchinkat in the Tilemsi Valley of Mali. and the antiquity of African millets in India suggest that African millets such as Pennisetum and Sorghum must have come to India from another part of Africa.edu.pdf Sickle Cell Anemia in Africa and India http://www.amazonaws.s3.org.bioline. The evidence makes it clear that the genetic evidence indicating a Holocene migration to India for the Dravidian speaking people is wrong. doro koro kural --- connal colam tinai tina --. you will also find a similar pattern for other Malinke and Dravidian cognates. 1986). The Kol term for millet ‘sonna’. baga varaga varaku de-n. The Norther Mande speakers are divided into the Soninke and Malinke-Bambara groups..1980. Moreover.org/letters/ .which does retain the complete African form indicates that the development in Tamil and Malayalam of c < s. were northern Mande speakers.g. is very similar to the terms for millet used by the Wolof ‘suna’ ( a West Atlantic Language).. the difference in the Kol term ‘ soona’.oxfordjournals. Tamil cel.htm One of the principal groups to use millet in Africa are the Northern Mande speaking people (Winters. buy: Malinke ‘sa. 4300 and 2671. Tamil ‘caalai’. to the /c/ in Tamil and Malayalam is consistent with the cognate Tamil and Malayalam terms compared by Aranavan(1979 . and road: Malinke ‘sila’. e.genetically related indicates that the Dravidians recently came to India. especially Northern Mande. The Proto-Dravidian terms *baraga and *tena have little if any affinity to the African terms for millet. Mande and Wolof languages show a close relationship between these language. African Millets Carried to India by Dravidian Speakers http://aob. Holl (1985. We will call the ancestor of this group Paleo-Dravido-Africans.korle *kora *tenä It is clear that the Dravidian and African terms for millet are very similar. http://arutkural.baraga. and Mande ‘suna’ (a Mande language).com/tolcampus/drav-african. The linguistic evidence suggest that the Proto-Dravidians belonged to an ancient sedentary culture which exitsed in Saharan Africa. The agreement of these terms in sound structure suggest that these terms may be related. baragu *sona *baraga tene korale. The sound change of the initial /s/ in the African languages .) sonna suna suna ----- ------ ------ Malinke (AF) Tamil Malayalam Kannanda bara. 1994). These terms are outlined below: code: Kol Wolof (AF. To test this theory we will compare Dravidian and Black African agricultural terms. was a natural evolutionary development in some South Dravidian languages.) and Winters ( 1981.C.tripod. The Dravidian terms for millet are listed in the Dravidian Etymological Dictionary at 2359. Moreover.1989) believes that the founders of the Dhar Tichitt site where millet was cultivated in the 2nd millenium B. A cursory review of the linguistic examples provided below from the Dravidian.
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