Telugu words found in Hebrew literature

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CHENNAI: In a path-breaking revelation, a young research scholar of

Potti Sriramulu Telugu University has come out with recorded evidence

linking Telugus and Israelis on the basis of Telugu words found in

Hebrew literature.

 

The disclosure was made by Samyuktha Koonaiah in her presentation at

a seminar on `Telugu History and Culture' on the concluding day of

the three-day All India Telugu Conference here on Sunday. She quoted

epigraphic evidence traced from Bahrain in support of her argument.

 

Ms. Samyuktha, who is doing her research on `Andhra Pradesh - The

missing link - Tilmun language and Telugu', said a 1794 BC stone

tablet established that the Sumerian-Assyrian culture had its roots

in Andhra Pradesh.

 

Interesting revelations

 

In fact, an article titled `The Seafaring Merchants of Ur' published

in the American Oriental Society in1954 by A. L. Oppenheim contains

several Telugu words to prove that Abraham migrated from the `land of

darkness', the `Andhaka Desa' as the Andhra region was known in the

past, she said.

 

Research findings suggest that `Barbar' or `Barbaras', a native tribe

living in the south of the Vindhyas was a common name in Assyrian

culture. An earliest instance of calling children `Bullutu' was

similar to that of the Telugu usage Bulli, Bullodu etc, she said.

Another `provincial spelling' in Telmun literature and references to

Sumero-Akkadian vocabularies contain this sentence `ni imta ha-is'

similar to that of `nee intiki vachchi' (come to my home).

 

Letter on tablet

 

A stone tablet also contained a letter from a seafarer to a local

trader demanding to know why he did not sell a particular commodity

at a price agreed upon and why it was not weighed properly too.

 

Old Babylonian legal documents which were unearthed by archaeologists

contain evidence of this letter belonging to one member of the Guild

of Dilmun, Ea-Nasir. One of its lines when pronounced in Telugu

becomes " ayya adhi annakimmani, tusi (tuchi) immani, maaki antundhi "

(something to the effect `I have asked you to give it to my brother

after weighing'. It was a deal about copper ingots.

 

Telling proof

 

Quoting several such examples Ms. Samyuktha said there was sufficient

proof to link those Sumerian cultures with the Telugus. Hebrew,

Sumerian and Assyrian records abound in such descriptions and suggest

that the present Israelis belonged to Andhra Pradesh.

 

Ms. Samyuktha argues that Kamakur village in Balayapalli mandal of

Nellore district still has 21 Jewish families. Only they are not even

aware that they are Jews. She is one among them and her first name

Kooniah could be found in Hebrew as Koni, she says.