The Land-based Diet of the Sangam People and the Development of the Culinary Hierarchy

Abstract

The ancient Tamils lived with nature. They ate naturally available food and satiated their hunger. Naturally occurring foods were terrestrial foods. They ate such land-based food without any change. They were then subjected to various ripening procedures and eaten. This food culture tradition can be seen in the Sangam Songs. The food culture of the Tamils has undergone many changes and can also be regarded as a gradual development. Sangam People made a living by eating land-based food according to the situation. The study reveals the culture and the cultural attitude of consumption for the development of social civilization when one observes the movement from a naturally eaten state of uncooked food to the stage of cooking and eating food in the cooked state, by making it a mixture of food, processing and eating it.