Ammanai ( ta, அம்மானை) is a type of

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

belonging to the family of " Tharavu kochchaga kalippa". This is a type of poetry associated with a game of the same name that was popular with teen girls. Ammanai will be in the form of questions and answers. Ammanai generally follows the rules of a

venpa Venpa or Venba ('' வெண்பா'' in Tamil) is a form of classical Tamil poetry. Classical Tamil poetry has been classified based upon the rules of metric prosody. Such rules form a context-free grammar. Every venba consists of between two ...

, but can occasionally have kalithalais and belongs to the kalippa family. The earliest ammanai poetry was composed by Saint

Manikkavasagar Manikkavacakar, or Maanikkavaasagar ''(Tamil: மாணிக்கவாசகர், "One whose words are like gems")'', was a 9th-century Tamil saint and poet who wrote '' Tiruvasakam'', a book of Shaiva hymns. Speculated to have been a mini ...

. There is an ammanai which is said to be sung by the poets Ottakuththar and Pugalzendhi. During later times, it became something like a historical ballad. Ramappaiyan Ammanai was composed to extol the wars fought by Dalavay Ramappaiyan who was the general of

Tirumalai Nayakkar Tirumalai may refer to: Geography *Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, Andhra Pradesh, India * Tirumalai, a mountain and Jain site near Polur, Tamil Nadu, India See also *''Thirumalai ''Thirumalai'' is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language masala film wr ...

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

Akilathirattu Ammanai Akilathirattu Ammanai ( ta, அகிலத்திரட்டு அம்மானை; ''akilam'' ("world"), ''thirattu'' ("collection"), ''ammanai'' ("ballad")), also called Thiru Edu ("venerable book"), is the main religious text of the T ...

, often called as

Akilam Akilathirattu Ammanai ( ta, அகிலத்திரட்டு அம்மானை; ''akilam'' ("world"), ''thirattu'' ("collection"), ''ammanai'' ("ballad")), also called Thiru Edu ("venerable book"), is the main religious text of the T ...

which includes more than 15,000 verses and is the largest Ammanai literature.N. Vivekanandan (2003), ''Akilathirattu Ammanai Moolamum Uraiyum'', Vivekananda Publications, p. 12 ''(Additional)''. The

Sivagangai Seemai Kummi Sivaganga () is a city and headquarters of the Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Sivaganga is a rani velunachiyar kingdom of Tamil Nadu. It is an important city in this district for official and commercial purposes. Its ni ...

/Ammanai relates the final wars of the valiant

Marudhu Brothers ''Marudhu'' is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by M. Muthaiah. It features Vishal in the lead role. Production began in November 2015. It was released worldwide on 20 May 2016 with mixed reviews but ended u ...

Sivagangai Sivaganga () is a city and headquarters of the Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Sivaganga is a rani velunachiyar kingdom of Tamil Nadu. It is an important city in this district for official and commercial purposes. Its ni ...

. The

Palm-leaf manuscript Palm-leaf manuscripts are manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed ...

's on Ariviyur Nagarathar Ammanai was also found in

district which explains the history of the

Nagarathar The Nagarathar (also known as Nattukottai Chettiar) is a Tamil people, Tamil caste found native in Tamil Nadu, India. They are a mercantile community who are traditionally involved in commerce, banking and Money-Lending, money lending. They u ...

community.

References

Tamil-language literature {{Poetry-stub