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Telugus
Notable Telugus: Prabhas Uppalapati · Diana Hayden · N.T. Rama Rao P.V. Narasimha Rao · Anji Reddy Chiranjeevi
Total population
81 million[citation needed]
Regions with significant populations
India  Malaysia 103,000  France 10,000  South Africa  USA  Australia  UK  Canada
Languages
Telugu
Religions
Hinduism · Islam · Christian · Judaism
Related ethnic groups
Dravidian · Brahui · Gondi · Kalinga · Kannadiga · Kodava · Malayali · Tamilian · Tuluva

Telugu/Andhra people are a Dravidian linguistic-ethnic group in India. They are one of the most ancient ethnic groups found in India, existing prior to the writing of the Vedas and mentioned in the Ramayana and Mahabharat epics. They are also the largest of the Dravidian ethnic groups by population and Telugu, which falls in the central Dravidian language group, is the most spoken of the Dravidian languages and the third most commonly spoken language in India after Hindi and Bengali. There are spread throughout India and abroad but the state of Andra Pradesh is their homeland. The most significant populations outside of Andhra are found in Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh and Orissa.

Countries in North America, Europe, Africa, Australia, Mauritius, Fiji, Réunion and Malaysia also have significant populations. In the Americas they have two large associations called TANA [1] (Telugu Association of America) and ATA [2] (American Telugu Association).

Contents 1 History 1.1 Andhra/Kalinga 1.2 Ancient Territory 1.3 Language 1.4 Satavahanas 1.5 Modern Community 1.5.1 Character 1.5.2 Military 1.5.3 Civil life 1.6 Language 1.6.1 Literature 1.6.2 Art/Games 1.6.3 Traditional Dress 1.7 Food 1.8 Wedding 1.9 See also 2 References 2.1 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Andhra/Kalinga

Telugu/Andhra/Kalinga refers to the branches of the same race. They were also called Andhri, which can be traced to the various races living in the northern and southern borders of Aryavarta^[1] Magadha, Anga, Asmaka, Mulaka and Kalinga were all branches of the same tribe.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} They are mentioned in the Aitareya Brahmana as the sons of the sage Viswamitra banished from Aryavarta.^[7] In the Ramayana tale, Viswamitra condemned the Naramedha Yagna, freed Shunahshepa, and adopted him as his son. Viswamitra's children disliked this act and were cursed by him and banished to the east and south. It is understood from this tale that these children of Viswamitra were Andhras. This myth is most likely a way of explaining that Andhras were a part of the earliest waves of Indo-Aryan tribes to come to India who had fully integrate into the Dravidian populace and thus no longer pure Indo-Aryans. ^[8]

They are also mentioned in the Vayu and Matsya Purana.^[9] In the Mahabharata the infantry of Satyaki was composed of a tribe called Andhras, known for their long hair, sweet language, and mighty prowess.^[10] They lived along the banks of Yamuna river. Andhras and Kalingas supported the Kauravas during the Bharata war. Sahadeva defeated the kingdoms of Pandya, Dravida, Odhra, Chera, Andhra, and Kalinga while performing the Rajasuya yajna. Chanoora was killed by Krishna in Madhura. Hari Vamsa Purana corroborates the fact that Chanoora was the king of Karoosa Desa (on the north side of Vindhya and on the north banks of Yamuna river) and was an Andhra. Buddhist references to Andhras are also found. ^[11]

[edit] Ancient Territory

Andhras were nomads for several centuries. Some tribes migrated and others did not and remained in their older settlements. Apastamba Rishi states that around 700 BC some Andhra tribes inhabited Salvadesa on the banks of the Yamuna River. Apastamba sutra has been widely practiced among Andhra Brahmin families and continues to be followed even today. A single Rishi was the teacher (acharya) of each tribe. Apastamba was one such teacher. Apastamba wrote these rules in Salva Desam on the banks of Yamuna river. After Apastamba's death the Andhra tribes crossed the Vindhya mountains, reached the south, and merged with the other Andhra tribes. Atreya Brahmana tells us that Andhras lived on the south side of Vindhya along with Pundra, Pulinda, Sabaras, Mootibas.

Some of those Andhras who came to the south settled on the west side of Vindhya mountains (present Northern regions of Hyderabad). Another tribe crossed the Eastern Ghats over Orissa and reached the Kalinga Desam. Serivanijo Jataka tale explains that Andhras built the Andhaka-puram on the banks of Tel river.

Jataka tales were written during 200-250 BC. Tel river is a subriver of Mahanadi in Orissa. The people in this tribe are Kalingas. The books cited above describe the Andhras and Kalingas as two different branches of a single tribe. Sometimes these two words (Andhras and Kalingas) are used as synonyms.

Andhra tribes established relationships with Naga, Yaksha, and Dravida tribes of Vindhya mountains who already were living there. In Tamil and Kannada Ten means south side and Tenugu is a person travels to the south. The name Tenugu transformed into Telugu. From Telugu, words like Telagalu, Telangana, and Teligiri originated. A tribe called Tailang in Burma is proposed to be related to Telugu people.[3]

[edit] Language

In Ancient times Telugu the language of the Andhras, seems to have been spoken as far north as the mouth of Ganges. This appears both from the geographic limits which the Greeks have assigned, to the territory of the Andhra race and from many of the names and places mentioned by Ptolemy up to that delta being found to be Telugu. Telugu is a name mentioned by the Greek geographers as that of a nation dwelling on or near the Ganges. In respect to antiquity of culture and glossarial copiousness, it ranks next to Tamil in the list of Dravidian Idioms, but it surpasses all of them in euphonic sweetness. It is also named as the "Italian of the East" specifying it as sweet as Italian.

[edit] Satavahanas

The first great Andhra empire was that of the Satavahanas,^[12] who came to power when the last Kanva emperor Sisuman, was assassinated by his prime minister Sipraca, of the Andhra tribe. They reigned for 450 years and the last was Puliman or Puloma the pious, who after conquering India put an end to his life by downing himself in the holy waters of the Ganges, after the example of his grandfather. From this king, India was called by the Chinese Poulomeun-koue, the country of Puliman. While in the west the inhabitants of the Gangetic provinces to be denominated Andhra Hindus. The rulers of this race are said to be held in the highest veneration all over India; and their fame was extended to the peninsulas of Malaya. The Maharaja of India, being a favorite subject of the Malayan poetry^[13].

[edit] Modern Community

Ethnically the Telugu race has been described as partly Aryan, mostly Dravidian. Linguistically, Tamil and Telugu roots are in the great majority the same, but peculiarities in inflection and dialectic changes have so modified the modern tongues that they differ from each other as much as Portuguese from Spanish, Irish from Welsh, Hebrew from Aramaic, and Hindi from Bengali.

The great similarity of Kannada and Telugu imparts an impression that the Telugus and Kannadas are of the same stock who have separated in more recent times^[14]. They are described as large, robust, tall, graceful figures with drooping yet broad shoulders, generally fairer than other South Indians with regular Caucasian features, partaking much of the Aryan element. As far as religion and culture they are more Brahminical than the other South Indians but adhere to many unorthodox rites.

[edit] Character

They are described as free, independent, self-reliant spirits with a propensity for emigration. Slavery is unknown among them. Though they are very conscious of caste status, and will make great sacrifices for it, nothing like the extreme homage paid by the northern and southern outcastes to the superior castes is either demanded or yielded in the Telugu country. The people avail themselves with avidity of their rights as soon as they become aware of them. Abuses that prevailed under the Sircars, whenever it became known that it was unlawful, soon passed away. Though they are very faithful to lawful authority, even the most ignorant members of Telugu society are ever ready to petition, appeal and fight for their rights to the last.

They are sober, staid and not easily excited or impressionable. They are a very energetic and enterprising race that held large dominions for centuries. An extensive colonization of southern India took place under the Vijayanagar dynasty, and they still exist there as distinct communities within Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Kerala, Karnataka, Orissa and Maharastra.

[edit] Military

They are described as being good infantry soldiers, but are not horsemen; they had repeatedly driven back the Muslim armies. Except along the coast, hardly any Europeans penetrated into the Telugu country earlier than the beginning of the 19th century, and only within the later 19th century have the efforts of missionaries extended beyond the limits of the town where they established themselves. A considerable portion of the force with which Lord Clive fought the battle of Plassey was composed of Telugus, and until later years, 'Tiling' was the term given in northern India to the irregular foot soldiers employed there. Due to the mutiny of 1857, the British imposed the Disarming Act (Act XXXI of 1860). Up until that time, the people of all classes were in the habit of carrying arms with them.

[edit] Civil life

Those engaged in civil life, push their way fearlessly amongst the other nations. They were a seafaring race, undertaking long voyages, and a portion of them, in former ages conquered and held large islands in the eastern archipelago, where under the term Kling, derived from the Kalingapatnam rulers, the people of India are still known. They are also good farmers who carefully store the rainfall in artificial ponds or lakes. The Telugu people are used to emigrating and wherever they go, they attain respectability among the several classes to which they belong^[15].

[edit] Language

Main article: Telugu language

Telugu is a Dravidian language that has been greatly influenced by Sanskrit. Adi Kavi Nannayya incorporated Sanskrit words into Telugu to increase the vocabulary.

[edit] Literature

Main article: Telugu literature