Re: சங்க இலக்கியத்தில் விந்தைப் பூச்சி (1981)

[N. Ganesan]

முனைவர் க. தமிழமல்லன் (தலைவர், தனித்தமிழ் இயக்கம்) எழுதினார்கள்:
2013/2/2 Ka Thamizhamallan <vtth...@gmail.com>
> பயனுடைய முயற்சி
> க.தமிழமல்லன்

மூதாய் என்னும் சொல்லின் பெயர்க்காரணம்.

முதை (=முதய், wet soil) (அ) முதையல் நிலத்தில் பிறக்கும் பூச்சிக்கு
மூதாய் (wet-soil mite) எனப் பெயர் ஆயிற்று. ஆங்கிலத்தில் எழுதின
குறிப்புரை.

நா. கணேசன்

மூதாய் 'rain-mite' has the zoological name, Trombidium grandissimum.

It looks the best references on muutaay in Indian classical languages
are:
(1) Rtu in Sanskrit literature, prof. V. Ragahavan, 1972 (S. Lienhard
uses this.)
(2) caGka ilakkiyaGkaLil vintaip pUcci, by P. L. Samy, I.A.S, 1981.
(this reference was given to me by Pulavar Ce. Raasu).
I've not had occasion to see either of them & Ref. (2) is not
available in American libraries (may be in Cologne, or British
library??).
(1) is for classical Sanskrit material and (2) is for CTamil sources.

மூதாய் - பெயர்க்காரணம்:
-----------------------------------------------

mutai - wetland, wet soil.

The term, "ii"(ஈ) seems it has to do with rains, as common housefly
is abundant after the rains in the greens around. and we have iiyal/
iisal that flies right after the rains. So, the rain-mite (t.
grandissimum) is called "iiyal muutaay").

First let us look at the Sangam tamil word, mutai. It means 'wet soil
litter'. An equivalent word of this "mutai" is "mutaiyal" (vitaiyar
kon2Ra mutaiyaR pUzi. kuR. 121). In 20th century commentaries on CT,
the actual meaning of முதை is not given. It is given as "ancient"!!
which is like saying the dark-wood pAvai idol in the கலியாணச் சீர் in
aka. 136 as tuber (kizangu) incorrectly in modern commentaries. All
written by people who do not know farming. முதை mutai "wet soil land'
is the opposite of "itai" (இதை, ‘dry land'). I.e., mutai 'wet soil
(after rain or irrigation) vs. itai 'dry soil'.

(a) "mutaip pun2am kon2Ra aarkali yuzavar" kuRuntokai 155:1.
(happy farmers tilling the wet lands after the rains)

(b) "mutaipaTu pacuGkATTu arilpavar mayakkip" akanAn2URu 262:1
(In the green wet lands the joining creepers are removed by farmers)

(c) "mutaic cuval kalitta mUric centin2ai" akanAn2URu 88:1
"the ripe strong tin2ai crop grown in the wet high lands"

(d) "kavaikkatir varakin2 yANarp paintAL
mutaiccuval mUzkiya kAn2cuTu kurUuppukai" akanAn2URu 359:14-15
(after the varaku grains are harvested, the wet land (mutai)
is cleared off the plant stalks by burning, and thereby getting
readied
for the next crop season.)

(e) “ciRukaT pan2Ri perunirai kaTiya
mutaip pun2am kAvalar nin2aittirun tUtum
karuGkOT TOcaiyo ToruGkuvan ticaikkum" akanAn2URu 94:9-11
(the herd of small-eyed wild boar come to eat the wetland crops. The
farmers know the time when these wild boar come to their lands, and
they blow the black horns. This mullai landscape poem is common sight
even today near the Western Ghats).

(f) "mutaic cuval kalitta muRRA iLampul
mUtA taivantAGku" kuRuntokai 204:3-4
(In the wet highlands, grass is young and fresh. Old cows graze those
grasses.)

(g) mutaiyal - wet land in Mullai landscape ready for cultivation.
"vitaiyar kon2Ra mutaiyal pUzi
iTumuRai nirappiya Irilai varakin2" kuRuntokai 121:1-2

http://www.tamilvu.org/slet/l4330/l4330pd1.jsp?bookid=107&pno=88
"kurumpi tEriya mutaiyal" - kAJcip purANam
(= uzuta puzutiyin2ai uTaiya mullai nilam. Obviously, farmers can till
the land only when it is wet (e.g., after the monsoon rains. ))

(h) Mullai and KuRiJci can become Paalai land during the
seasons of drought when the rains fail.
("mullaiyum kuRiJciyum muRaimaiyil tirintu [...]
pAlai en2patOr paTivam koLLum" - Cilampu).

This is what happens in akanAn2URu 5:
முளிந்த வோமை முதையலங் காட்டுப்
பளிங்கத் தன்ன பல்காய் நெல்லி
(the normally wetland's Omai trees start drying up due to drought).

Modern commentaries link "mutai" with mutu 'old, ancient'. But if you
read the poems carefully, that meaning for mutai or mutaiyal does not
stand at all. And, so Mrs. Vaidehi Herbert uses mutaip pun2am 'ancient
forest'. "mutai" which means wet lands or land with irrigation, as
opposed to "itai" which is land for dry cultivation. "mutai" wet land
or wet soil has nothing to do with old or ancient (all lands or
insects are ancient), and so "mutai" should be disconnected from words
like ancient or old in English renderings.

Muutaay mite (named from 'mutai' wet soil):
------------------------------------------------

The diphthongs in Tamil (ai & au) are very late in Tamil and their
attestation in epigraphy is almost at the end of the first millennium.
In the proto-Dravidian (PD) stage or even during centuries BCE,
"mutai" (முதை) was "mutay" (முதய்). When sangam poems were written
down from oral traditions of the Megalithic period, 'mutay' was the
form in which its writing was done. Centuries later, it must have
changed to 'mutai' (like, kay(கய்) 'hand' was original PD, but then it
became kai (கை)
meaning 'to do' as Telugu 'cEyi' shows). mutay > mutai, kay > kai
etc.., are like the original Vedas have less or no retroflexes, but
Veda acquiring those Dravidian features after some centuries of their
composition.

Kayl Briggs, a biology major's website clearly gives us the reason of
how the name, "muutaay" is formed by ancient Tamils. mutay (mutai) is
"soil litter", and that is where "muutaay" spends most of its life,
but shows up briefly right after the monsoon rains for a week or two
on the ground.

http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/2011/briggs_kayl/index.htm

muutaay - classification:
http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/2011/briggs_kayl/classification.htm

"Since the Giant Red Velvet Mite spends the majority of its life in
the soil, it lives in close proximity to bacteria, nematodes, and
fungi-not to mention other insects and spiders. As you can imagine,
living in Trombidium grandissimum helps regulate soil ecosystems by
keeping other insect and spider populations in check by including them
in their diet. This also extends the life of bacteria and fungi, the
most important decomposers of organic waste in soil ecosystems. "

http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/2011/briggs_kayl/adaptation.htm
"The characteristic color of the Red Velvet Mite is also an
adaptation. The vivid red states, "I taste the way I look-dangerous
and gross," and acts as a warning to hungry birds and mammals.
Because of the bright warning color, T. grandissimumhas few known
natural enemies. Its biggest enemy is other Giant Red Velvet Mites;
to see what this could mean, please see nutrition. They also curl
their legs up into a ball when they feel threatened."

http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/2011/briggs_kayl/nutrition.htm
"Nutrition:
The larvae of T. grandissimum are parasitic. Their nutrients come
directly from their hosts. As adults, T. grandissimum are predatory.
The way T. grandissimumlocates prey is still unknown, but there is
some evidence of chemoreception. Their diet includes termites, aphids,
beetle eggs and spider mites. They are also known to partake in
cannibalism and eat each other! They have a straight through
digestive tract. This means nutrient sources enter the body through
an opening at one end and wastes are excreted at the opposite end."
"Interactions

During the larva stage, T. grandissimum is a parasite. They have a
broad range of hosts ranging from flies to spiders to moths, and in
India the most common hosts are crickets. The larva sucks fluid
through the feeding tube it inserts into the host for nutrients. They
also utilize the host for dispersal methods. While the affects vary,
overall survival and reproduction is affected by the Red Velvet Mites,
but like most smart parasites rarely do they kill the host. Not only
does the larva stage parasitize insects, but they are also known to
parasitize adult forms of Giant Red Velvet Mites! As adults, T.
grandissimum are predatory. They actively feed on termites, aphids,
spider mites, and beetle mites. They are also known to partake in
cannibalism and feast on each other!

Now, how can a little mite affect someone as big and powerful as a
human? The oil secretions of the mite have been used for centuries in
traditional Indian medicine to cure a number of different ailments.
When the mites emerge for the short time during the rainy season,
children and adults gather them up to sell. Some of the ailments the
magical oil is though to cure are immunity related diseases, such as
paralysis. Healers also use the oil to increase sexual desire, giving
the Giant Red Velvet Mite another name, "Indian Viagra."

Research is now being conducted to test the validity of the secreted
oil, and so far, the results appear promising. Research conducted
using Swiss Albino Mice shows the mice injected with oil extracts had
a higher immune response compared to the control mice and mice
injected with regular saline. With 80% of people in the world relying
on animal and plant based medicine, this little mite may be of huge
importance down the road. Another study was just recently conducted
to test the oil to determine how antifungal it may be. Oil secreted
from the skin, whole body and hemolymph were inoculated onto agar
plates containing known human fungal pathogens. All three fluids
exhibited a ring of clear zone, but the hemolymph had the largest
ring. This means the secretions and fluid of T. grandissimum contain
antifungal compounds and could be utilized in the future as
medication. Continue to facts to learn more about T. grandissimum."

Summary:
The origin of the PD name, muutaay 'monsoon mite' related to the
Sangam Tamil word, mutay 'wet soil' is shown. Note that neither mutai
nor muutaay have anything to do with "old/ancient", as all lands and
insects are pretty old and ancient. mutai (originally mutay in PD) in
CT is "wet soil land" and muutaay is the monsoon mite that appears
briefly in these mutai wetlands. 'muutaay' mite is used in traditional
Indian medicine (e.g., as Indian viagra), Pankaj Oudhia's video on
Muutaay in Indian medicine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f9qi4O2RKc

Have a great day!

N. Ganesan

PS: I thank Kayl Briggs for the informative site on the monsoon mite
(cl. Tamil muutaay) that any non-biologist can understand its life
cycle, which makes clear of what is the etymology of mutay (=wet soil)
& muutaay (=wet-soil mite).