For Immediate Release
Monday January 9, 2012
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“Ceaseless zeal and wisdom – these two –
Advance the community.”
Kural 1022
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The heritage of an ethnic group encompasses both tangible and intangible aspects of their culture, values, language, literature and history. It is unique to an ethnic group and is what identifies and unifies the members of that ethnicity.
Tamils have a rich heritage that has been preserved for thousands of years. As archaeological evidence suggests, The Tamil language, the mother of all Dravidian languages, has been in exisistence as long ago as 5000 years and serves up until today as a prime medium in which through our heritage exists.
Our Tamil culture, based upon the concept of Aham and Puram (love and life), our literary masterpieces, Tolkappium and Tirrukural, our dance, Nattiyam/Koothu, our Tamil classical music, have all added great richness to our heritage. As a Diaspora community, to ensure that our rich culture is continually preserved and protected, it is essential for Tamils to be educated about their Tamil heritage, and of the richness of our history.
Tamil Heritage Month was initiated in January 2010 as a means of achieving this goal. January, being the month in which Thai Pongal and Tamil New Year, two festivities close to the hearts of all Tamils, are celebrated, was chosen to be Tamil Heritage Month. Tamil Heritage Month serves as a month for Tamils to celebrate their culture, traditions, history, literature and festivities, providing both Tamil youth and the mainstream community an opportunity to learn about and preserve the rich heritage of Tamils.
Canadian Tamil Youth Alliance’s Arts and Culture Council is proud to be one of the many organizations that have endorsed Tamil Heritage Month. Tamil heritage can only be preserved by passing it on to our younger generations. Our heritage has spanned so many centuries because many Tamils took it upon their responsibility to protect and share our heritage, culture, and language. In that manner, this responsibility lies within the hands of the Tamil youth to renew their commitment to celebrating and practising their Tamil heritage, and safeguarding it for future generations.
Canadian Tamil Youth Alliance encourages the Tamil youth to engage themselves with the numerous activities that will be held in part of Tamil Heritage Month, and further educate themselves of the beauty of our heritage.
For further information and a list of events held in part of Tamil Heritage Month, please visit www.tamilheritagemonth.com
Tags: Arts and Culture Council, History and Culture, News, Tamil Culture, Tamil Heritage, Tamil Heritage Month, Tamil Language, Tamil literature
