Abstract:
It is the believed that “The lament on Ariyaathai wife of Vellappnikan”
was composed during the Dutch period in the Vanni region. There is evidence to
prove this. This story is based on the sufferings faced by the inhabitants of Vanni
due to the tributes paid to the dutch by Vanni chieftains. The hierarchical relationship
among Dutch, Vanni chieftains and the inhabitants of Vanni mostly affected the
inhabitants. This story is about one of the victims of the inhabitants during the
colonial period.Vellappanikan belongs to the Pannikar caste. They had the skill of
taming the elephants, One of wife of Vellappanikan; Ariyaathai wsa appointed to
catch a tusker by the chieftains. Then Ariyaathai went to the dark forest and used her
psychic power and the tusker fell down. At the very end, Ariyaathai and the tusker
died. It is an exceptional text that Vellappanikan – husband of Ariyaathailamented
for his wife Ariyaathai. Earlier this story was composed in the elegiac form; written
on the palm leaf. Then later lament was altered and edited in the various socioculture context and also it was composed in koothu aqnd other genreas of theater
forms.This research analyses and compares the different versions of this story.
The structural method will be used to understand the changes in detail. The historical
background, the lament – voice of the weak, reflecting the histories, politics of the
story of Ariyaathai will be analyzed.It is one of the rare portrayals of woman characters with psychological
depth. In this lament the trauma of the inhabitants is recorded and also later this story
was used for socio-cultural politics of the Vanni region.
