Courtesy: https://twitter.com/paperclip_in/status/1569543756390760448?s=46&t=eebQz9ylQa6J5ae67U628w
In 1834, when a Christian missionary arrived in Northern New Zealand to work with the Māori tribes, he saw their women using a seemingly ordinary pot to boil potatoes. This pot extraordinarily links New Zealand & Tamil Nadu, though the two lands are over 11k kms apart.
The pot was a broken bronze bell with some inscriptions on it. On enquiring about the origins of this bell, the missionary, William Colenso, was told that a strong gale had blown down a large tree; and the bell was uncovered from the tree roots.
It was being used as a cooking vessel for generations. Fascinated with the bell and its inscriptions, he swapped the bell with an iron pot.
After his death he bequeathed the bell to the Colonial Museum. The bell produced a lot of interest when it was exhibited, and discussions and theories sprouted about its origins.
The bell was 166 mm high and 153 mm in diameter with Tamil inscriptions on it. While Tamil influence is seen in South East Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia, there is no influence in Oceania.
After sending the inscriptions to various translators, it was found that the inscription reads “Mukaiyyatīṉ vakkucu uṭaiya kappal uṭaiya maṇi”. This translates in English to “Muhayiddin Bakhsh ship’s bell”.
The Tamil script was not a recent one, but dated back to the fifteenth century. The inscription suggests that the bell belonged to a man called Muhayiddin Bakhsh, from one of the ship-owning families of the port of Nagapattinam.
Now how did the bell from Tamil Nadu reach New Zealand? It was found nearly 400 years after it was made. It’s highly unlikely that an Indian ship carried the bell from India to NL. The extent of Indian contact eastwards stops near Bali.
Another theory states that it could have come from Trincomalee, in Sri Lanka. But there is no evidence of Ceylonese travel to such distances either.
The third theory suggests that somehow a Portuguese ship found the bell, and carried it to New Zealand. Different experts have suggested different theories, but none is backed by any conclusive proof.
No other Indian relic has been found in New Zealand. The problem remains unique and unsolved. The bell is the sole survivor of a generation long gone – of time preserved perpetually, in the mysteries of our deep blue seas.
Sources:
https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/213397
https://historicalleys.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-many-mysteries-behind-tamil-bell.html?spref=tw
