Know the Etymology: 241
Place Name of the Day: Friday, 05 April 2013

Aanai-vizhunthaan-ku’lam, Aliyaa-wætuna-wæwa

Āṉaiviḻuntāṉ Kuḷam
Aliyā Væṭuna Væva

Aanai+vizhunthaan+ku'lam
Aliya+wætuna+wæwa

The tank where an elephant fell

Aanai	Also Yaanai: Elephant (Tamil, DED 5161); Cognates found in Malayalam, Kota, Toda, Kannada, Kodagu, Tulu, Telugu, Kolami, Naikri, Parji, Gadba, Gondi and Konda (DED 5161)
Aliyaa	(singular); Ali (plural): Elephant (Sinhala); Alliyan: Stray elephant separated from the fold (Tamil, DED 258); Alliyan: Female elephant (Malayalam, DED 258); Alli, Alliyam: An old Tamil form of dance themed on fighting an elephant; Maayavan (Vishnu as Ka’n’nan) braking the tusk of an elephant set on him (Tamil, DED 258)
Vizhunthaan	(preterite: tense expressing past action); from Vizhuntha (the ‘an’ suffix here is a feature of Eezham Tamil): Fallen (Tamil DED 5430); from the root verb Veezh: To fall, fall down, descend, fall sick, be destroyed, die (Tamil, DED 5430). Note the ZH > T interchanges in Veezh and Wæta
Wætunaa	(preterite: tense expressing past action); From Wætenawaa: (verb) To fall, to drop, to fall down (Sinhala); Wæteema: Falling, fall (Sinhala); Wætee-pææma: Adversity, declining from affluence to poverty (Sinhala); Wætee-paanawaa: To be reduced in circumstances, to be impoverished (Sinhala); Vaadu: To wither, be emaciated, perish, be removed etc., (Tamil DED 5342); Padda: (preterite) Fell, killed (Tamil, DED 3852). W > P interchanges.
Wæwa	Also Waapi: Lake, pond, large tank (Sinhala); Vaapee: Pond, tank (Sanskrit, CDIAL 11529); Vaapi: Pond (Pali, CDIAL 11529); Vaavee: Pond (Prakrit, CDIAL 11529); Vapi, Vavi: Tank (Brahmi ins. Sri Lanka); Veva: Tank (Inscriptions, Sri Lanka, c.6th century CE); Veyo: Tank (Dhivehi/ Maldivian); Vaavi: Tank, pond (Tamil, used since Changkam times, Paddinappaalai 244); Aavi: Tank, pond (Tamil, Theavaaram 1: 102: 9, Brahmi ins. Sri Lanka, Eezham Tamil place names)
Ku’lam	Tank, reservoir, lake, (Tamil, DED 1828)

The Tamil place name Aanai-vizhunthaan-ku’lam in the Ki’linochchi district of Northern Province and the Sinhala place name Aliyaa-wætuna-wæwa in the Kurunegala district of North Western Province are exact translations of each other.

Both place names originated from the incident of an elephant falling dead in the respective tanks.

It seems that remembering the spot where an elephant fell dead was in the culture of both the Sinhalese and Eezham Tamils, as there are a number place names related to marking such an incident are found in the island.

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Aanai and Yaanai in Tamil/ Dravidian mean an elephant.

The Sinhala word Aliyaa, meaning an elephant in general, is also of Dravidian etymology.

The word Alliyan is the cognate found in Tamil and Malayalam (Dravidian Etymological Dictionary 258). In Tamil, Alliyan means a stray wild elephant and in Malayalam, the word means a female elephant.

Alli or Alliyam is a term found used in old Tamil to mean a form of dance in which fighting an elephant was the theme. It was a dance that showed God Maal/ Maayavan (the Tamil term for Vishnu or Krishna) fighting an elephant set on him and breaking its tusks.

There is an etymological possibility that both the Tamil term Aanai and the Sinhala term Aliyaa (plural Ali) are connected to the root words Aa’ni (nail, spike etc., DED 10) and Alaku (beak DED 239; blade of a sward, knife, spear DED 237), denoting the tusk of an elephant.

The Sinhala word Ali (plural of Aliyaa) also means a bee and a scorpion that have the sting.

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Reference on Alliyam:

“Kagnchan vagncham kadaththatkaaka agnchana va’n’nan aadiya aadalu’l alliyath thokuthiyum” (Chilappathikaaram 6: 46-48)

“கஞ்சன் வஞ்சம் கடத்தற்காக அஞ்சன வண்ணன் ஆடிய ஆடலுள் அல்லியத் தொகுதியும்” (சிலப்பதிகாரம் 6: 46-48)

Among the dances of the Dark Coloured God, the Alliyam group of dance that was performed to overcome the conspiracy of Kagnchan (Kamsa, setting an elephant against Krishna)


Reference on Alli:

“Valloan thai-iya vari vanappu utta allip paavai aadu vanappu eayppa” (Pu’ra:naanoo’ru 33: 16-17)

“வல்லோன் தைஇய வரி வனப்பு உற்ற அல்லிப் பாவை ஆடு வனப்பு ஏய்ப்ப” (புறநானூறு 33: 16-17)

Like the dancing beauty of the beautiful image crafted by an expert for the Alli dance

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Vizhunthaan in Tamil and Wætunaa in Sinhala are words of preterite tense, i.e., expressing past action. In this case they mean the past action of falling down. Note the etymological connections between the roots Vizhu (DED 5430) and Wætu (ZH becoming T). Another Tamil word that could be a cognate is the root verb Padu and the preterite form Padda (DED 3852), meaning fall and death. Here P changes into W.

See previous columns for the etymological discussions on Wæwa (CDIAL 11529) and Ku’lam (DED 1828), both meaning a tank

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Aanai-vizhunthaan-ku’lam is in Karaichchi division of Ki’linochchi district

Aliyaa-wætuna-wæwa is in Giribawa division of Kurnegala district

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Some related place names:


Aanai:

Aanai-vizhunthaan: The place where an elephant fell (dead); Thu’nukkaay division of Mullaiththeevu district; Puthukkudiyiruppu division of Mullaiththeevu district; Oddusuddaan division of Mullaiththeevu district; I’lavaalai in Valikaamam North division of Jaffna district

Aanaith-theevu: The water-surrounded area frequented by elephants; Verukal division of Trincomalee district

Aanaich-cheanai: The slash and burn cultivation fields frequented by elephants; Moothoor division of Trincomalee district

Aanai-kaddiya-ve’li: The open land where (captured) elephants were kept tied; Vellaa-ve’li division of Batticaloa district

Aanaik-koaddai: The enclosure to keep elephants; Valikaamam Southwest division of Jaffna district

Aanaip-panthi: The elephant stable; Jaffna city, Jaffna district

Aanai-i’ravu: The elephant pass (where elephants cross the narrow lagoon); Pachchilaippa’l’li division of Ki’linochchi district

Aanaik-kidangku: The pit-trap for elephants; Puthukkudiyiruppu division of Mullaiththeevu district

Aanai-va’nangki: The place of Aanai Va’nagki herb (Indian turnsole, Heliotropium indicum); Vaazhaichcheanai division, Batticaloa district. Aanai-va’nangki literally means a thing that is bowed down by elephants

Aanaip-paappan: The place of Aanap-paappan trees; Musali division, Mannaar district. This is probably a reference to Baobab trees that are found in this region.


Aana (in recently Sinhalicised place names):

Aana-pallama: Aanaip-pa’l’lam: The shallow area frequented by elephants; Wellawaya division, Moneagala district

Aana-kata-wæwa: Aanaik-kadavai-vaavi: The tank passed by elephants or the tank at the locality frequented by elephants; Palagala division, Anuradhapura district

Aana-olondewa: Aanai-vizhunthaan: Horowpothana division, Anuradhapura district

Aana-vilundawa: Aanai vizhunthaan or Aanai-vizhuntha-vaavi: Aarachchikkattuwa division, Puththa’lam district

Aana-maduwa: Aanai-madu: The pond of elephants; the division by the same name in Puththa’lam district


Aliya/ Ali:

Ali-wanguwa: The elephant bend; Wilgamuva division, Matale district

Aliya-wala: The elephant jungle; Wilgamuwa division, Matale district

Ali-olu-aara: The elephant-head river or the river of the marsh frequented by elephants; Sooriyawewa division, Hambantota district

Aliyaa-odai: The elephant pond; Vaazhaichcheanai division, Batticaloa district

Aliyaa-watta: The elephant grove: Moneragala division, Moneragala district

Ali-sthaana: The place for elephants; Thirappane division, Anuradhapura district


Wætunu:

Æthini-wætunu-gala: The hill where an elephant fell (dead); Galgamuwa division, Kurunegala district

First published: Friday, 05 April 2013, 02:28