“Centuries old bell, with lettering in Tamil, exhibited in the New Zealand Museum Te Papa in Wellington and brought to international attention by the reputed Tamil scholar and researcher of Sri Lanka Rev Father Thaninayagam evoked my interest to do further research into the antiquity of the bell and the Tamil migration to New Zealand,” says A T Arumugam, author of Tamil Imprints in New Zealand.
The English translation of the book (the original Tamil version was published in Wellington in 2007) will be released at a Tamil cultural festival on 21, January 2012 in Wellington.
Mr Arumugam, who was earlier employed at the Sri Lankan Educational service, has been a resident of the Capital for the past 15 years.
He is a freelancer and has written books on Language, Grammar, Mathematics and Hinduism.
Tamil Imprints in New Zealand is a product of long time research, consultation and interviews, which took him to various historical sites from Christchurch in the south to Whangarei in the north.
He has drawn conclusions from many authors, historians and academics including Rubyn Gosset (New Zealand Mysteries), J T Thomson (The Whence of the Maoris), Ross Wiseman ( Pre-Tasman Explorers ) and John Crawfurd.
According to Mr Arumugam, the Bell, popularly known as ‘The Tamil Bell,’ was found after a shipwreck along the coast of Raglan. Explorer William Colenso recovered it in 1836 from local Maoris, whose antiquity is from Tahitian and Polynesian Islands.
‘The Tamil Bell’ was later shown at an exhibition held in Dunedin in 1862.
Mr Arumugam has drawn three conclusions as to how the ‘Tamil Bell’ reached the shores of this country. They include recovery from a shipwreck, delivery by whale hunters or purchase made by Tamil traders.
According to his findings, the Tamil lettering found on the Bell was similar to those found on the rock inscriptions of Weka Pass of Canterbury in Wellington and Manu Bay.
The Bell could have been brought by Tamil traders who were active in the Pacific and the Far East in the 14th and 15th Centuries.
His comparison also refers to Tamil inscriptions in China and Korea that are similar to those of New Zealand.
Tamil Imprints in New Zealand could provide an incentive to historians and researchers to go further into the migratory pattern of this multicultural country.
Editor’s Note: A related story titled, Temple Bell rings notes of Tamil-Maori ties appeared in our July 15, 2011 issue.
