Tamil Bell

Bell with inscription and translation

Image of the bell from another source

The Tamil Bell is a broken bell of bronze , which was discovered by the missionary William Colenso in 1836 in New Zealand. It was used by Māori women near the Whangarei Northland region of New Zealand as a pot to cook potatoes.

Nature and meaning

The bell is 13 cm high and 9 cm wide. An inscription is engraved around its edge . The script is an old variant of the Tamil script . Translated, the inscription means "Mukiayaten's ship's bell". Since some of the characters in the inscription have an archaic form that no longer exists in modern Tamil script, the age of the bell could be dated to over 500 years.

The discovery of the bell sparked suspicions of a possible Tamil presence in New Zealand, but it could also have come into the area through trade contacts with the Māori . The bell is kept in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa .

literature

• Kerry R. Howe (2003). The Quest for Origins: Who First Discovered and Settled New Zealand and the Pacific Islands? Auckland: Penguin.
• Nancy Swarbrick. 'Sri Lankans', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand , updated 25-Jul-2007. URL: [1]

Web links

• History - What is the Tamil Bell? . TePapa, archived from the original onSeptember 27, 2007; accessed on January 11, 2016(English, original website no longer available). 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Sri Lankans - The Tamil Bell . Ministry for Culture & Heritage , September 21, 2012, accessed January 11, 2016 .