அமபபயல நககல வளளயமம / Valliammai from a Structuralist Perspective

Structural analysis is a well-known approach in socio-cultural contexts. Structuralism is both a theory and a method of analysis that focuses on examining the relationships between individual components of a particular object or concept and the overall structure rather than studying the individual components in isolation. The study entitled "Valliammai from a Structuralist Perspective" is put forth on this approach. The terms Valliammai and Valliammaan are prevalent in contemporary Tamil literary discourse. Both terms refer to Valli, who was born into the Veda tribe and married to Murugan. This Valli is widely discussed in the Tamil literary sphere and has been elevated to a divine status. Kandapuranam's "Valli Thirumanappadalam" (The Chapter of Valli's Wedding) is the initial part of the work to identify her. However, in the Batticaloa Tamil region, the literary works “Valliammaan Ammaanai,” “Valliammai Kooththu,” and “Valli Thinaippunakkkaragam” discuss the personality and character of Valli. Among them, "Valli Thirumanappadalam" and "Valliammaan Ammaanai" are recited during temple festivals, while "Valliammai Kooththu" and "Valli Thinaippunakkkaragam" are performed as performing arts in certain regions. Thus, the single word Valliammai is currently central to these four literary works and highlights the greatness of Tamil culture. However, there appears to be no existing structuralist analysis of its content. So, there remains a lack of understanding of Valliammai's background and this lack has not been addressed by research. Therefore, this research paper aims to fill the gap by studying Valliammai's background from a structuralist perspective. To progress this comparative structuralist analysis of literary works, the research employs a comparative research method. A historical research method is used to understand and clarify its history and a textual reading method is adopted to clearly comprehend the subject matter. To enhance the research's precision, the books such as “Mattakkalapputh Thamizhaththil Valliammai” (Puranam – Ammaanai - Kooththu – Karagam), “Valliammai Kooththu,” and “Valliammaan Ammaanai,” edited by Murugu Thayanithy, along with other research articles and information related to this study were consulted. Besides, the book “Mattakkalapputh Thamizhaththil Valliammai” was selected for analysis based on source text criticism. Hence, this study reveals the birth of Valli in a cultural context, her unwavering determination despite being raised in the Veda community, the supportive role of her companions, the strong nature of the Veda tribe, and Valli's acceptance of Murugan.