Some Dravidian Features in Indo-Chinese Social Life

This article explores cultural continuities between South India and Indo‑China and Java. It notes that the East Indies share a tropical climate with South India and were once part of a contiguous landmass known as Lemuria. Such geological proximity facilitated cultural exchange. The author lists practices in Java that resemble South Indian customs, including the use of the boomerang, tooth filing, tattooing and place‑names ending in –pura or –puri. He suggests that the weapons and rituals were borrowed from Dravidian peoples. The article also observes that royal titles in Cambodia and Champa often end in ‘Varman’, reflecting influence from the Pallavas of South India. It describes the shadow‑play theatre of Java, which dramatizes episodes from the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata using puppets—a tradition likely derived from the ‘Pavakkuttu’ puppet shows of Malabar. By assembling these parallels, the author argues that Indo‑Chinese societies assimilated Dravidian social practices through ancient migration and sustained trade and religious contact.

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