Know the Etymology: 258
Place Name of the Day: Tuesday, 28 May 2013

Rambuk-kana, Kanan-gama

ரம்பு₃க்கன
கனன்க₃ம
Rambukkana
Kanangama

Rambuk+kana
Kanan+gama

The Rambuk (a cane) forest
The village in the jungle or grove

Kana	Forest, jungle, grove (Sinhala, place names); from Kaanana: Forest, grove (Sinhala); Forest (Sanskrit, CDIAL 3028); Kaa, Kaal, Kaan, Kaanam, Kaanakam: Forest/ grove/ woodland/ garden (Tamil, DED 1418); Kaanal: Grove or forest on seashore, forest on slope of a hill (Tamil, DED 1418); Kaanam, Kaanakam: Jungle (Malayalam, DED 1418); Kaanal: Very dry jungle (Malayalam, DED 1418); Kaa, Kaanu: Forest (Kannada, DED 1418); Kaana: Forest, jungle, wood (Tulu, DED 1418); Forest (Telugu, DED 1418). Also see column on Kanatta.
Rambuk	Also Ramuk: A kind of cane resembling but more elegant than the sugarcane, Saccharum procerum (Sinhala); Rambhaa: Plantain (Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, Sinhala, CDIAL 10635); Pirampu: Cane, rattan, Calamus rotang (Tamil, DED 4175); Karumpu: Sugarcane (Tamil, DED 1288)
Gama	village, road (Sinhala): Graama: troop, village (Sanskrit, CDIAL 4368); Gaama: village (Pali, Prakrit, CDIAL 4368); Gama: course (Sanskrit, CDIAL 4025); way (Prakrit, CDIAL 4025); Gamana: going (Sanskrit, CDIAL 4027); journey (Pali, CDIAL 4027); Gamatha: traveller (Sanskrit, CDIAL 4026)

Kana is a popular component found in Sinhala place names. The component meaning a forest, jungle or a grove could be found from the examples of its toponymic usage (see related place names)

Kana meaning forest or wild in Sinhala could also be seen in phrases such as Kana-gonna (a wild jack), Kana-goraka (a forest gamboge tree) etc.

The toponymic usage Kana is a derivative of Kaanana in Sinhala, meaning a forest or grove.

The Sinhala word is a cognate of Kaa, Kaal, Kaan, Kaanam, Kaanakam and Kaanal in Tamil that basically mean a forest or grove, and are listed as words of Dravidian etymology (DED 1418).

Sanskrit diction also has a word Kaanana, meaning a forest (CDIAL 3028), but with the presence of root words and wider usage in the Dravidian languages, the word is taken as of Dravidian etymology (see table)

In some rare instances of Eezham Tamil place names, a form Kanai, probably reverting back from Kana, is also noticed as in examples such as Maang-kanai (Trincomalee), meaning a mango grove and Vaduk-kanai (Batticaloa) meaning a carpentry forest.

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Rambuk is a kind of cane resembling sugar cane, but more elegant than that in appearance.

It is used in making ropes, mats etc.

Rambhaa in Indo-Aryan for plantain, and Pirampu and Karumpu in Dravidian for rattan cane and sugar cane respectively, are probably some relevant comparisons.

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Rambuk-kana is a place having a division by its name in the Kegalle district. Villages having the same place name, Rambuk-kana, are also found in Bandaragama division of Kalutara district and Pitabeddara division of Matara district.

Kanan-gama is a village in Dehiovita division of Kegalle district.

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Some related place names:

Rabu-kana: The Rambuk jungle; Wariyapola division, Kurunegala district

Ramba-kanaya-gama: The village in the Rambuk jungle; Nawagattegama division, Puththa’lam district

Kumbuk-kana: The forest of Kumbuk trees; Moneragala division, Moneragala district

Neluwak-kana: The forest of Ne’lu shrub; Bulathkohupitiya division, Kegalle district. Ne’lu: Small tree abundant in the jungles of Ceylon, name applied to the whole genus Strobilanthes of which S. viscosus and many other species are peculiar to Ceylon. Strobilanthes is known for its bluish flowers. Probably, the name Ne’lu comes from the colour of the flowers. A species of Strobilanthes is the Ku’rignchi of literary fame in Tamil

Kanam-pella: The forest or grove line; Hanwella division, Colombo district. (Pella: CDIAL 8041)

Gora-kana: Probably Goraka-kana: The forest or grove of Goraka trees; Panadura division, Kalutara district

Reru-kana: The forest or grove of wild ducks; Bandaragama division, Kalutara district

Kanan-vila: The forest pond; Horana division, Kalutara district; Madurawala division, Kalutara district

Kan-kanam-goda: The bank or hill of Kan (thorn apple) forest; Beruwala division, Kalutara district. Kan: Species of Attana, Stramonium (Sinhala)

Kan-kanam-gama: The village in thorn-apple forest; Angunakolapelessa division, Hambantota district

Kana-hala-gama: Probably, the village where the forest is cleared; Athuraliya division, Matara district. Ha’la: Removed away from, put at a distance, dismissed, expelled (Sinhala, participle of Hari’nawaa, meaning ‘to remove’); Ka’lai: (verb) to weed, pull up, pluck out, remove, extirpate, exterminate (Tamil, DED 1373)

Poramba-kanan-ke: The jungle field; Welipitiya division, Matara district. Kea: field (Sinhala)

Kana-gullewa: The forest-grove; Rasnayakapura division, Kurunegala district

Kanawa: The forest; Ganewatta division, Kurunegala district

Kana-pothu-hera: The jungle part of grassland hamlet; Katupotha division, Kurunegala district

Wathu-kana: The grove-forest; Katupotha division, Kurunegala district

Kana-deniya-wala: The forest of the type of floodplain vegetation; Rideegama division, Kurunegala district. Deniya: A physiographic position on a river floodplain characterised by imperfect or poor drainage and a variety of associated trees, shrubs and rushes (Sinhala, Madduma Bandara 2009); De’niya: valley, glen (Sinhala); Dro’ni: valley (Sanskrit, CDIAL 6644) ?

Kana-mee-wala: The forest or grove of wild Mee trees; Alawwa division, Kurunegala district

Kana-mulla: The forest corner; Munthal (Mundalama) division, Puththa’lam district

Kana-dara Diwul-wewa: The tank of wood apple trees in the forestland; Medawachchiya division, Anuradhapura district

Sangili-kana-daraawa: The terrain where the forest formation is like a chain, or the forest terrain to chain elephants; Medawachchiya division, Anuradhapura district

Kanadara-Rathmale: The forest terrain part of Rathmale; The Kahatagasdigiliya division, Anuradhapura district

Maha-kana-daraawa: The great forest terrain; Mihinthale division, Anuradhapura district

Dalu-kana: The forest of Daluk trees; Dimbulagala division, Polonnaruwa district. Daluk: A tree of large thorns, Euphoria antiquorum

Kana-hela: The jungle marsh; Passara division, Badulla district

Kana-werella: Probably (the place of) the jungle variety of Wærælla (a medicinal plant); Passara division, Badulla district

Kanan-gamuwa: The forest village; Bulathkohupitiya division, Kegalle district

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Vaduk-kanai: The carpentry forest or the forest of timber trees; Poaratheevuppattu division, Batticaloa district

Maang-kanai: The mango grove: Trincomalee Town and Gravets division, Trincomalee district

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The following also could probably be related to Kana:

Weli-kanna: The sandy forest or grove; Hanwella division, Colombo district

Kanna-deniya: The forest or grove land; Thumpane division, Kandy district

Kuda-kanna: The small forest or grove; Malimbada division, Matara district

Wævuru-kannala: The planting forest or grove; Dickwella division Matara district. Wæwuma, Wæwun: Planting (Sinhala)

Dun-kannawa: The forest of Dun-gaha trees; Nattandiya division, Puththa’lam district

First published: Wednesday, 29 May 2013, 06:56