Know the Etymology: 248
Place Name of the Day: Sunday, 28 April 2013

Panguwa, Kittam-pahuwa

பங்கு₃வ
கித்தம்பஹுவ
Paṅguva
Kittam Pahuva

Pangkuwa
Kittam+pahuwa

The part

The jute (producing) part

Panguwa	Part, share, half (Sinhala); Panku-kaaraya: Partner, shareholder (Sinhala); Pangku: Part, share, portion, half (Tamil, DED 3808); from verb the root Paku: To divide, separate, split (Tamil, DED 3808); Pakuthi: Portion, allotment (Tamil, DED 3808); Pakir: (verb) To divide, split, separate, distribute; (noun) Share, section, piece (Tamil, DED 3808). Cognates found in 18 Dravidian languages (DED 3808)
Pahuwa	Part, share; seems to be a variation of Panguwa (Sinhala, place names); From Paku (DED 3808).
Kiththam	Probably from Kiththan: Tow, marline, hemp (Sinhala, Clough); Jute (Sinhala, Sorata); Kiththaan: Linen, canvas (Tamil, Malayalam, MTL); A kind of coarse fabric (Tamil, Kathiraiver Pillai); Kiththaan-kayi'ru: Hemp rope, Jute rope (Tamil, MTL); Kiththaan-pagnchu: Tow, oakum for caulking ships (Tamil, MTL); Kiththaan-paay: Canvas sail (Tamil, MTL); Kathaan: Linen, canvas (Urdu)

Panguwa means a part, share or half in Sinhala. In place names it means a part of a land or a shared land.

The closest cognate is Pangku in Tamil, meaning the same as in Sinhala.

Pangu, coming from the verb root Paku, meaning to divide, is classified as a word of Dravidian etymology (DED 3808).

Another component Pahuwa, found in the Sinhala place names, also seems to be a cognate of Panguwa, when viewed in the context of place names having that component. Note that Pahuwa also shares the same Tamil verb root Paku.

There is another set of Sinhala words, Baa, Baaga and Baagaya, meaning the same as Panguwa, but this set of words are taken as related to Indo-Aryan etymology and as cognates of Bhaaga in Sanskrit (CDIAL 9430).

The components Kiththam, Kithan, Kiththa and Kitha found in the Sinhala place names probably correspond to the Sinhala word Kiththan, meaning jute, hemp, tow or marline.

Kiththan, in this sense of meaning is a cognate of the Urdu word Kathan.

Tamil and Malayalam also have a corresponding word Kiththaan, meaning linen, canvas, jute etc., as well as coarse fabric, gunny bag, sail etc., made out them.

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Panguwa is a place in Madulla division, Moneragala district

Kittam-pahuwa is in Kolonnawa division, Colombo district

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Some related place names:

Panguwa:

Idame-panguwa: The shared place or the part of the place; Soranathota division, Badulla district

Uda-panguwa: The upper part; Lunugala division, Badulla district

Pahuwa:

Therap-pahuwa: The Buddhist monk's part; Badalkumbura division, Moneragala district

Hathalis-pahuwa: The seven parts; Polgahawela division, Kurunegala district

Hamanna-pahuwa: The part of the master; Bingriya division, Kurunegala district. 1. Haamu: Lord, master (Sinhala); from Swami; Swamin > Haamun; 2. Haamu'na: Six amu'nas

Ketta-pahuwa: The paddy field part; Ambanpola division, Kurunegala district

Kittam:

Kithana-watta: The jute garden; Mirigama division, Gampaha district

Kiri-kitta-mulla: The corner of white jute plants; Attanagalla division, Gampaha district

Kiri-kitta: The (place of) white jute plants; Mahara division, Gampaha district

Kittam-mahara: The jute producing part of the place Mahara; Attanagalla division, Gampaha district

He-kitta: Probably, the rope-bridge; Wattala division, Gampaha district. Hea, Heya, Heathu, Seathu: bridge (Sinhala)

Edandu-kitha: Probably, (the place of) the log and rope bridge; Pitabeddara division, Matara district

Kithala/ Kithalaa:

Kithala-gama: The village of a sort of plantains; or the village of Kithalaa birds; Thihagoda division, Matara district. Kithala: A sort of plantain, Musa sapientum; Kithalaa: Water-cock, gallicrex cincrea; Indian blue coat, Porphyrio polliocephalus (Sinhala)

Kitha-gama: Probably, the village of jute/ Kithala plantains; Kobeigane division, Kurunegala district

Kithalawa: The place of Kithala plantains: Kuliyapitiya divisiom, Kurunegala district

Kithal-ella: The waterfall or rapid of water-cocks; Ella division, Badulla district

First published: Sunday, 28 April 2013, 21:49