Know the Etymology: 262
Place Name of the Day: Wednesday, 05 June 2013

Kalva'lai, Galwa'la

கல்வளை
க₃ல்வள
Kalvaḷai
Galvaḷa

Kal+va'lai
Gal+wa'la

The stony surroundings/ the stone enclosure
The stone quarry

Kal	Stone (Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Kota, Gondi, Pengo, DED 1298); Kallu: Stone (Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Tulu, Telugu, DED 1298); Kalu: Stone (Kannada, Konda, Gondi, DED 1298); Kallee: Stone (Kodagu, DED 1298); Kel: Stone (Parji, DED 1298); Xal: Boulder (Brahui, Pakistan, DED 1298)
Va'lai	1 (verb) To surround; (noun) Circle, surrounding region (Tamil, DED 5313); 2. Va'lai: (verb) To bend, bend low (Tamil, DED 5314); Va'laivu: Bend, curve, arch (Tamil, DED 5314); Va'lai: 3. Pit, hole (Tamil Changkam Diction, Akanaanoo'ru 122:15); Related to the roots Vi'l and Pi'l (DED 5432, 4194). See table on Gal-wa'la below.
Gal-wa'la	Quarry, pit from which stones are cut or dig out (Sinhala); Gal: Plural of Gala: Stone, rock, hill or rocky hill in place names (Sinhala); Kal: Stone, rock, hill or rocky hill in place names (Tamil, DED 1298, Changkam Diction); Wa'la: Pit, hole (Sinhala, CDIAL traces the etymology to Avata, Avada, 774); Bila: Cave, hole, pit, opening (Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, CDIAL 9245, CDIAL suggest the probability of Dravidian origin, DED 5432); PI'l, Pi'la: (verb) To burst open, gape etc., (Tamil, DED 4194); Pi'lavu: Cleft, crevice, gap (Tamil, DED 4194); Vi'l: (verb) To open up, crack, split (Tamil, DED 5432); Vi'lavu: Cleft, crack (Tamil, DED 5432); Vi'l'lal: Hollow, rent (Tamil, DED 5432); Vi'l'lu: Crack, aperture (Tamil, DED 5432); Vil, Villu in Eezham Tamil and Vila in Sinhala meaning a pond, marsh etc., is traced to these roots (CDIAL 9245, DED 5432); Va'lai: Pit, hole (Tamil, Changkam Diction, Akanaanoo'ru 122:15)

Galwa'la, as a single phrase in Sinhala, means a quarry or pit where stones are cut or dig out.

The phrase is made of two words, Gal and Wa'la; Gal meaning stone or rock and Wa'la meaning a pit or hole.

The Dravidian etymology (DED 1298) of Kal in Tamil and Gal in Sinhala, meaning stone, rock etc., and in an attributed sense meaning a rocky hill, hill or a range of hill in place names, is discussed in the earlier columns.

Wa'la in Sinhala meaning a pit or hole corresponds to Va'lai in Tamil, meaning the same in one of its shades of meaning. In this sense, Va'lai is commonly used in Tamil to mean a rat-hole, rabbit-hole etc.

A Comparative Dictionary of Indo-Aryan Languages (CDIAL 774) traces the etymology of Wa'la to Avata in Sanskrit and Avada in Prakrit, meaning a hole in the ground. But, it seems that a more appropriate cognate in Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit is the word Bila, meaning a cave, hole, pit or opening (CDIAL 9245).

While discussing the etymology of Bila, CDIAL points out the possibilities of its Dravidian origins, corresponding to the DED entry 4459 (new number 5432) that comes out with the verb root Vi'l and derivatives in Tamil. Another comparable Tamil/ Dravidian verb root is Pi'l/ Pi'la (DED 4194). See table for the words and their meanings.

The etymological discussions on Wa'la/ Va'lai, traced to Bila in Indo-Aryan or Vi'l / Pi'l/ Pi'la in Dravidian, also have a bearing on understanding the etymology of Vil/ Villu in Eezham Tamil and Vila in Sinhala, meaning a marsh, pond, lake etc.

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Va'lai meaning a hole:

“Va'laikka'n cheaval” (Aka:naanoo'ru 122:15)

“வளைக்கண் சேவல்” (அகநானூறு 122:15)

The owl in the tree-hole

Va'lai meaning a cave:

“Oonpaal padu va'lai odungki neer irukkena” (Perungkathai 104:3)

“ஊன்பால் படு வளை ஒடுங்கி நீர் இருக்கென” (பெருங்கதை 104:3)

Let you hide and stay in the cave that exists there

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The suffix Va'lai in Eezham Tamil place names generally means surroundings, locality or enclosure. A related component Va'laivu is noticed in the place names of southern Tamil Nadu. Walawuwa in Sinhala for a house with an enclosure is also a related word.

In these contexts, the Va'lai related components correspond to DED entry 5313, in which Va'lai as a Tamil verb root means to surround.

Kal-va'lai coming as a Tamil place name may have three meanings: the stony surroundings, if we apply the general meaning noticed in other contexts; the stone quarry, and the stone enclosure or house.

Va'laippu meaning an enclosed house:

“Vaaddam in'ri un pon adik keezhea va'laippu akam vakuththuk ko'ndu irunthean” (Periyaazhvaar 5:1:5)

“வாட்டம் இன்றி உன் பொன் அடிக் கீழே வளைப்பு அகம் வகுத்துக் கொண்டு இருந்தேன்” (பெரியாழ்வார் 5:1:5)

I made an enclosed (secure) home under your golden feet and stayed without any worries

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Kal-va'lai is a place in Cha'ndilippaay division of Jaffna district. There is another Kalva'lai at Iyattaalai in Thenmaraadchi division of Jaffna district. The former is a locality of stone outcrops and the latter also is a stony area, but it is the site of an ancient fort.

Galwa'la is a place in Dehiwala–Mt Laviniya division of Colombo district

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Some related place names:

Galwa'la-goda: The quarry hill or bank; Dompe division of Gampaha district

Galwa'la-landa: The scrub jungle high ground having a quarry; Padiyathalawa division of Ampa'rai district

First published: Wednesday, 05 June 2013, 06:58