#Tulunadu-Research-and-Stories

Since before India’s independence, the word “tulu” has been the subject of debate in literary circles. The historical data on the word “Tulu” has been collated by Dr. Palthadi Ramakrishna Achar (1999) in his book “TuLu naaDu- nuDi.” As noted by Dr. Achar, the majority of evaluations have been performed with Tulu being considered more of a characteristic of the region or the people than a language.

1. A chieftain from Udupi named Ramabhoja gave Tulbhra to the Lord in “Rajatha Peethapura Mahatme” (1913) to atone for the sin of killing a serpent. The equivalent of one’s body weight in gold or another material, depending on the worshipper’s position, is known as a tulbhra. As a result, it has been proposed that the word Tulu derives from the Tulbhra. Since Rama Bhoja seems to be a fictitious monarch without support in the historical history of the region, academics have not embraced the theory.
2. Another similar tradition recalls the rule of one “Tuluban Perumal” from Koteswara, Kundapaura area, who gave the name Tulunad for the region in “Keralotpatti,” an ancient text that originated in Kerala. Once more, this is pure fantasy because there is no proof that any Tuluban Perumal ruled Tulunad.
3. The name “Tulu” was coined by Dr. B. A. Salettur from the Kannada root “tooL,” which meaning “to attack.” Due to the fact that Tulu people never harmed anyone or held any expansionist aspirations, Dr. Gururaja Bhat had dismissed this suggestion.
4. According to Manjeswara Govinda Pai, the Tamil term “Tulai,” which means to row or play with water, is thought to have been the source of the word “tulu.”
5. According to Kudkadi Viswanatha Rai (quoted in Dr. Achar,1999), the term “Tullal naadu,” which means to wiggle or dance, may have been the source of the Tulu language. The native Mera or Muger tribes refer to their wedding ritual as “tullal.”
6. According to Dr. Gururaja Bhat, the term “turu,” which refers to cattle, has been transformed to become the word “tulu.” One of the ancient occupations in India that is still practised today is the herding and grazing of cattle. Gujarati cowherders, also known as Yadavas, are regarded as some of the first inhabitants in Tulunad. According to Harivamsha, Haritha of the Yadava tribe presided over Tulunad. However, there are no conclusive arguments in favour of the word conversion turu>tulu.
7. A section of Tulunad was governed by a royal clan known as “Tolahars.” Some employees have considered the conversion of tola to tulu.
8. Since the term “tuluve” is used to describe the soft pulpy form of jack fruit, J.Sturrock deduced in his South Canara Manual (Vol. I) that the word Tulu may refer to the “soft” nature of the locals. However, specialists like Dr. Gururaja Bhat have rejected this argument.
9. The word “Tulu” is associated with water, as Sediyapu Krishna Bhat has noted. Instead of the suggestion of “softness,” it should be remembered that “tuluve” (the name of the jack fruit) also implies “watery.” Other words in Tulu that are connected to water are talipu, teli, teLi, teLpu, tuLipu, tulavu, and tamel. TuLuku and toLe are also related to water in Kannada. The same word, tulli, has the same meaning in Tamil and Malayalam.It’s interesting to note that Manjeswar Govinda Pai had previously proposed that the word Tulu may have originated from the Tamil word tulai, which means to row, dive, or play in the water.Thus, it can be inferred that the meaning of the word Tulu is “connected to water.”
10. According to the Shimoga district’s 1203 AD Honnali inscription, the term “Tulu” was also employed as a clan name. According to the inscriptions, Dr. Gururaja Bhat has listed a number of personal names that contain Tulu as an affix, including Tuluveswara, Tuluva Chandiga, Tulu Senabova, Tuluvi Setti, Tuluvakka Heggadati, Tulu Alva, and Tulai Amma. The Basrur (in Kundapur taluk) inscription from the year 1401 AD recalls a Tuluvi Setti who donated land to cover the ongoing costs of the Basrur Tuluveswara temple. In addition, the renowned Vijayanagar monarch Krishnadevaraya was thought to be a member of the “Tuluva” lineage.Thus, it is clear that the word “Tulu” refers to something that is associated with water and also serves as the name of a clan or group.The term “tulu” is more universal than we typically realise.

The word “Tulu” itself is extremely old. You can find evidence online that the word Tulu has a wider scope than we might conceive. It appears that the word “Tulu” initially had the meaning “water and water associated characteristics” in the language of its origin, but it is possible that it later came to mean other things as a result of changes in the environment.

The morpheme “tu” in the ancient Sumerian language stood for “water spring or well” or “water-related activities like bathing or washing,” while the morpheme “lu” stood for “number or abundance,” “people,” etc. Another word from the Sumerian language, “tulu” or “tule,” signified “soft or placid.” (Compare the latter meaning’s resemblance to our ‘tuluve’ jackfruit.) The word Tulu, which may be found on the list of African given names and means “spread out in all directions,” may allude to the wandering nature of the Tulu people. The African word “Zulu,” which has a similar vocalisation, also means “water.”

Since these original ancient Tulu tribes migrated from the north African-Mediterranean region, I think the word “Tulu” has been used since the Sumerian period of early civilization (about 6000–4000 BC). Many of the Afro-Asiatic languages spoken today have evolved from ancient Sumerian and similar languages. The original meaning of the word “Tulu” was (1) water or activities involving water, and (2) calm and soft. Even if several millennia have passed in the context of time, these old concepts are still relevant today. These Sumerian meanings are comparable to those explained in the context of the current Tulu in Tulunad by Sediyapu Krishna Bhat and Manjeswar Govinda Pai.

Ethiopia can be considered the birthplace of the human race because there were discovered the oldest fossils of Homo sapiens, known as Omo I and Omo II, which date back 165,000 years. Archaeology and palaeontology, along with genetic studies, have been used to recreate the various periods of the beginning of human migrations from Africa and Ethiopia.
Place names in Tulu

Numerous cities and communities in Ethiopia go by the name of Tulu. The Ethiopian people also use “Tulu” as a surname or component of a name. For instance, Ethiopian female athlete Derartu Tulu. There are at least four localities (towns, settlements) in Ethiopia that go by the name “Tulu,” and there are also at least one each in the adjacent African nations of Kenya, Sudan, Nigeria, and Zaire. More than 12 locations in Ethiopia have “Tulu” as a prefix on web maps, including Tulu Bolo, Tulu Bora, Tulu Ferda, Tulu Guracha, etc.

Migrations of Tulu
On the basis of these findings, I propose that the original Tulu tribes left Africa due to unfavourable environmental conditions. These tribes are said to have come from Ethiopia in northern Africa.
Scientists have concluded that numerous tribes left Africa circa 2000 BC as a result of widespread desertification in northern Africa, based on environmental geological evidence. The Tulu place names found in other African nations imply that the early Tulu tribes moved in a variety of ways. The name “Tulucurrent “‘s African meaning, which is “flung in different directions,” may be the result of migrations.

It is currently difficult to determine the exact nature of the principal Tulu tribes’ native Ethiopian languages, but we can assume that some of the original terms are still extant in the modern Tulu language as fossils.
Over the past 6000 years, the Tulu language has developed or grown independently of other African languages, giving it its distinct identities and traits. Divergent evolutionary patterns cause a number of things to alter. However, some extinct root words might still survive!

Tulu place names can also be found outside of Africa in Pakistan (called “Thulu”), Afghanistan, Myanmar, China, Bolivia, Brazil, Papua New Guinea, and the Phillipines.
The current name of the Afghan television network is “Tulu TV.” In the current Afghan language, the word “Tulu” means something akin to “the rise” or “the dawn.” Keep in mind that the meaning of “Tulu” in Afghan is distinct from its African roots. Near Pirak, where many of the tribes resided between approximately 2000 and 500 BC, is Afghanistan. Several past entries on this blog have covered the Tulu tribes’ Pirak event.
The Tulu tribes initially established and inhabited the Pirak region for almost 1500 years before migrating once more (between 500 and 300 BC) to their current abode in Tulunad.

The mother’s name who travelled to Pirak with her family from Africa may have been the original “Tulu.” When the original “Tulu” family migrated from their native home, they brought a number of root words with them. In the previous millennium, a handful of these Tulu lineages or clans were also active in the Kundapur, Honavar, and Banavasi regions.
And Krishnadevaraya, the ruler of Vijayanagar, came from a family that went by the name of Tulu clan.

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