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Chapter Two Asking for the Moon, Taming the Tiger
- University of Hawai'i Press
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26 ch apt er two A S K I N G F O R T H E M O O N , T A M I N G T H E T I G E R The moon (ampuli) paruvam provides an excellent example of the aesthetic of virtuosity that plays a large role in pillaittamil composition . In this paruvam the poet must address his poetry directly to the moon, using various forms of cajolery or intimidation to convince the moon to act as playmate for the extraordinary child.1 According to Tamil literary tradition, moon verses pose the greatest challenge to the poet who seeks to write a pillaittamil. As the saying goes, “Among the paruvams, ampuli is the tiger.”2 That is, among the ten paruvams , poets find the moon paruvam the hardest to master. A tradition has developed that poets usually compose moon verses by adopting one of four established rhetorical strategies (upâyams): (1) similarity (câmam), demonstrating their compatibility as playmates; (2) difference (pètam), emphasizing the child’s superiority; (3) the offer of a gift (tânam), promising the moon a reward; or (4) punishment (ta»πam), threatening the moon with unattractive consequences, if he refuses to act as playmate. An aspiring poet shows his mettle by writing a moon verse according to traditional paruvam conventions, yet showing inventiveness within those restraints. A small twist, a clever variation, skillful incorporation of material from myth, a different perspective, a striking juxtaposition, a cosmic threat—all of these appear in moon verses. They bring pleasure, surprise, relish, and amusement to the listener or reader through a fresh approach. The aesthetic here, thus, involves virtuosity within the constraints of the formal structure. Unlike all the other paruvams in the pillaittamil, here the poet asking for the moon, taming the tiger 27 addresses not the baby but the moon, in an attempt to persuade the moon to come and play with the child. Because the poet uses only one main rhetorical strategy in each verse, moon poetry tends to possess a large degree of internal coherence. The premise of the moon as companion encourages the poet’s playfulness, so the audience expects the verses to be cogent and amusing. In addition, the poet needs to master and draw upon the corpus of moonlore available to him in order to compose clever and evocative verses. Poets of different religious and political affiliations have used imagination and resourcefulness to write in the moon paruvam. Within its four traditional strategies, they explore the challenge of expressing their ultimate religious concerns and sentiments. Their treatment of this paruvam demonstrates the extent to which they, despite their individual affiliations with particular ideologies, see themselves as part of a shared poetic tradition. To show the pleasures of reading moon verses and to demonstrate the way poets from different ideological backgrounds work within shared literary frameworks , this chapter presents verses that ask the moon to come play with Hindu deities and a saint, a great monarch, the Prophet Muhammad , Baby Jesus, and an atheist hero. Moonlore and Poetics In Indian tradition, the need for calendrical and astrological calculations fostered careful observation of the moon’s cycles and characteristics. Astrologers’ knowledge of the monthly cycle of waxing and waning informs many discussions of the auspicious and inauspicious days in a month. Literary texts assume familiarity with lunar shapes such as the full orb or a sliver-like crescent moon. The periodic eclipse of the moon, although a relatively uncommon occurrence , is noted, as are the irregular markings of the moon’s surface. Within Tamil poetic tradition, imagery about recurrent lunar patterns flourishes.3 Poets regularly use the moon’s full spherical form as an image for a radiant and shapely face, coining the familiar adjectival phrase “moon-faced,” applicable to a lovely woman or a handsome man. In crescent form, the moon conventionally resembles the pleasing curve of a comely maiden’s brow or the magnificent arc of a [44.223.70.167] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 15:50 GMT) how to read a pillaittamil 28 royal elephant’s tusk. The waxing and waning of the moon often serves as an image of the moon’s lack of constancy, especially when contrasted with some unchanging entity. In some texts the dispelling of darkness by the full moonrise stands, in figurative terms, for the destruction of ignorance by wisdom. Many poets portray the relentless heat of the sun as searing the earth, withering the crops, and causing...