Tamil land consisted of five tinais or physiographical divisions viz., kurinji (hilly backwoods), palai (parched zones), mullai (pastoral tract), marutam (wet land), and neital (littoral land).
The occupations associated with each one of them were:
1. The inhabitants of the hilly areas (kurinji) were hunters and gatherers.
2. In the parched zone, (palai) the inhabitants lived by plunder and cattle lifting.
3. In the pastoral tract (mullai), the inhabitants subsisted on shifting agriculture and animal husbandry.
4. Wet land (marutam) was inhabited by people subsisting on plough agriculture.
5. And finally, the littoral land (neital) was inhabited by those dependent on fishing and salt extraction.