What is the meaning of 'athan'
Topic started by sandiren (@ cache2.nottingham.ac.uk) on Thu Feb 20 10:56:20 .
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.
Does it mean husband or brother in law?
thanks
Responses:
- From: Raj (@ 12.163.39.254)
on: Thu Feb 20 11:36:20
I used to call my elder sister's husband as athan
and my cousin (father's elder sister's son) as athan too. The former is 'by marriage athan' and the later is 'blood athan'. Usually our Tamil girls marry their aunt's (dad's sister) son and may be thats why they are calling their husbands as athan (blood and by marriage athan). I'm not sure what a 'Machaan' means.
- From: Shakthi (@ 203-195-199-244.now-india.net.in)
on: Thu Feb 20 11:58:38
Machaan...is wife's brother
nowadays even young students in college use it to refer each other...or friends...just to show their closeness and affection
- From: Sweetie (@ webcacheh02a.cache.pol.co.uk)
on: Thu Feb 20 15:05:08
Machaan or machaal is also used as a term for cross cousins as well as brothers and sisters in law.
- From: TamilNattan (@ cvg-65-27-251-73.cinci.rr.com)
on: Fri Feb 21 11:07:14
To know what Athaan means,
"Athaan
Avar ennaithaan
Eppadi solvEnadi"
- From: Joe (@ palo8.pacific.net.sg)
on: Fri Feb 21 14:41:32
I have heard only 'machini',not 'machaal'
- From: Sweetie (@ webcacheh04a.cache.pol.co.uk)
on: Sat Feb 22 12:53:09
Oh. Well I suppose only SL tamils use the term machaal then.
- From: akil (@ ac9f4bd0.ipt.aol.com)
on: Sat Feb 22 13:32:45
machaan.. is colloquial version of maithunar
machi or machini is colloquial of maithuni
and atthaan = atthai magan
(whoever u call 'athai'/aunt, his magan can be called atthan. (aunt is often used for sitthi as well - that shouldn't be included here)
so ladies in some part of tamilnadu call their mother-in- law as atthai and husbands as atthan.
but atthan is 'thiyaagaraja kaalathu' viLippu (koopiduthal)... swaaami in those puraana kaalathu stories. rajakumari calling swaami in film haridas is a fun to watch.
some ladies do call their hubbies 'maama'/baava in other telugu/kannada (?).
the very common usage i've heard is just 'ennanga' in north tamilnadu.
'daa pottu koopittaal uRavu koodum allava' is the 21st century version.
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