Know the Etymology: 357
Place Name of the Day: Monday, 23 June 2014

Maanaveriya

மானவெரிய
Mānaveriya

Maanaveriya

The rain-fed cultivation field

Maanaveriya	From Maanaavaari: Paddy field fit to cultivate only when there is rain (Sinhala, Sorata Thera, “Væsi diyenma vagaa ka'la yutu kumbura”); Maanaa-vaari, Maanaa-maari, Maana-vaari, Maana-maari: Rain-fed arable land, or cultivation depending upon rain; literally meaning 'sky water' or 'sky-given produce' (Tamil, MTL, inscriptions); Maana-vaari-nilam, Maanam-paarththa-poomi: Rain-fed arable land; the latter literally meaning 'the land that looks upon the sky' (Tamil, MTL); Maaana-vaarik-ku'lam: Rain-fed tank (Tamil, MTL); Goda-maanavaari, Goda-maanaavaari, Goda-vaanaavaari: Sinhala phrases cited by Sorata in his dictionary.
Maanam	Sky (Tamil, DED 5381); a variation form of Vaanam: Sky (Tamil, DED 5381, V/ M interchange)
Vaari 1	from Maari: Water, rain, shower, cloud (Tamil, DED 4819, M/ V interchange);
Vaari 2	from the root Vaar: (verb) To pour, flow, trickle, overflow, (Tamil, DED 5356); Vaari: Water (Tamil, Thirukku'ra'l, 2: 4); Sea (Tamil, Chilappathikaaram, 6: 128); Rain, flood, sluice (Tamil, early literature and lexicons). See column on Ku'lakkaadu, Vaarivanam.
Vaari 3	from Vaar: Water (Sanskrit, Rig Vedic, CDIAL 11546); Varsha: Rain (Sanskrit, Rig Vedic, CDIAL 11392); Vassa: Rain (Pali, CDIAL); Was, Wæssa, Wæsi: Rain (Sinhala); Vasi: Rain (Tamil, Chilappathikaaram, 5: 73); Vaari: Water, Rain (Sanskrit, CDIAL 11556, comparatively later usage in Sanskrit, Manu.); Water (Pali, Prakrit, CDIAL 11556); Wærælla: Rain, drizzling (Sinhala); Waar, Waari: Water (Sinhala); Vaare: Rain (Dhivehi/ Maldivian)
Vaari 4	Produce, income (Tamil, DED 5270); from the roots Vaa, Vaar and Varu: To come (Tamil, DED 5270); Vaari: Produce of crops (Tamil, Pu'ra:naanoo'ru, 35: 27); incoming water (Tamil, Thivaakaram, 11: 368)

The term Maanaveriya, appearing in Sinhala place names, is a changed form of Maanaavaari, a word in Sinhala diction, meaning a paddy field that is fit to cultivate only when there is rain, i.e., a solely rain-fed cultivation field.

According to Sri Sumangala Sabdakoshaya (Sinhala to Sinhala dictionary) of Sorata Nayaka Thera, Maanaavaari means “Væsi diyenma vagaa ka'la yutu kumbura.” Sorata cites Codrington's glossary. Another meaning given by him for the word Maanaawaari is a kind of millet (which is usually a rain-fed crop).

Maanaa-vaari is a commonly used Tamil term to denote a cultivation field that solely depends on rainwater, a pond that receives water solely through rain-floods and cultivation that solely depends on rainwater.

Maana-vaari, Maana-maari and Maanaa-maari are alternative phrases in Tamil for Maanaa-vaari.

In Tamil, the terms literally mean, the “sky-water,” (if Vaari/ Maari is taken as water) or the “sky-given produce,” (if Vaari is taken as produce).

Maanam, as an alternative form of Vaanam, means sky (Tamil, DED 5381); and Maari (Tamil, DED 4819), as well as Vaari (either M changing into V, or from the root Vaar, Tamil DED 5356), mean water, shower, pour, rain etc. From another verb root Vaa/ Vaar/ Varu, the word Vaari in Tamil also means produce of crops (DED 5270, Changkam diction).

Note the interchange of M and V in both Maanam/ Vaanam and Maari/ Vaari.

However, Indo-Aryan diction also has the word Vaari, meaning water and rain in Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit (CDIAL 11556). The root Vaar, meaning water (CDIAL 11546) and Varsha meaning rain (CDIAL 11392) are Rig Vedic Sanskrit words. Vaari is of late usage in Sanskrit (Manusmrti). While Varsha-related words have taken the forms Was, Wæssa and Wæsi in Sinhala, there are also parallel Sinhala words Waar and Waari meaning water and Wærælla meaning rain. In Dhivehi/ Maldivian, Vaare means rain. See box, Vaari 3 and compare it with the Dravidian entries Vaari 1, 2 and 4.

Maanaa-vaari-nilam (the cultivation land depending on rainwater), Maanam-paarththa-poomi (the land looking upon the sky for water), Maanaa-vaarik-ku'lam (the pond getting water from the rains), Maanaa-vaarip-payirch-cheykai (the cultivation depending on rainwater) are some phrasal usages in Tamil.

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Usage in inscriptions:

Maana-vaari:

“Maanavaari karaippulaththu vidda nilaththukku keezhpaatkellai” (1178 CE, South Indian Inscriptions, XVII, 540)

“மானவாரி கரைப்புலத்து விட்ட நிலத்துக்கு கீழ்பாற்கெல்லை” (1178 CE, South Indian Inscriptions, XVII, 540)

The eastern boundary of the land assigned as rain-fed fringe field or dry field


Maana-poakam:

“Kurukulaththaraiyatku nilavilai pramaa'nam isaivu theeddu engka'l maanapoakamaana paappaara vayal” (1346 CE, Inscriptions of the Pudukottai State, 445)

“குருகுலத்தரையற்கு நிலவிலை ப்ரமாணம் இசைவு தீட்டு எங்கள் மானபோகமான பாப்பார வயல்” (1346 CE, Inscriptions of the Pudukottai State, 445)

The agreed writing of the deed of land sale to the Kurukula (a coastal community) commander/ lord/ chief: our rain-fed-cultivation field named as the Brahmin's Paddy Field…

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Vaanam/ Maanam and Maari/ Vaari in literature:

Vaanam itself meaning sky as well as rain:

“Vaanam vea'ndaa uzhavinem” (Natti'nai 254: 11)

“வானம் வேண்டா உழவினெம்” (நற்றிணை 254: 11)

We don't need the sky (rains) for our land produce [The line coming from a poetry of the littoral tract intends to tell that they produce salt in their salterns, using sea water, but nevertheless get paddy through barter]


Maanam as an alternative form of Vaanam:

“Chem maanaththu o'li anna meaniyaan” (Appar Theavaaram, 6: 24: 1)

“செம் மானத்து ஒளி அன்ன மேனியான்” (அப்பர் தேவாரம், 6: 24: 1)

(Siva) of the form, comparable to the light of the red sky


Maari meaning rain:

“Maari tha'li chi'ranthu ear tharu kadu neer theruvu tho'ru ozhuka” (Aka:naanoo'ru 264:7-8)

“மாரி தளி சிறந்து ஏர் தரு கடு நீர் தெருவு தொறு ஒழுக” (அகநானூறு 264:7-8)

The speeding water, arising from the rain profuse in drops, was flowing in every street


Vaari meaning the pour of rain:

“Earin uzhaar uzhavar puyal ennum vaari va'lam kun'rikkaal” (Thirukku'ra'l 2:4)

“ஏரின் உழார் உழவர் புயல் என்னும் வாரி வளம் குன்றிக்கால்” (திருக்குறள் 2:4)

The farmers won't plough if the cloud-water that is the pouring wealth is reduced


Vaari meaning produce of crop:

“Maari poyppinum vaari kun'rinum” (Pu'ra:naanoo'ru, 35: 27)

“மாரி பொய்ப்பினும் வாரி குன்றினும்” (புறநானூறு, 35: 27)

If the rain fails and the produce of crops is reduced

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Maanaveriya is a place in Katana division of Gampaha district

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Some related place names:

Meneri-gama: Meneari-gama: The village cultivating Meneari millet (a kind of grass Panicum psilopodium, the grains of which are used as food); or the village of rain-fed cultivation fields; Ingiriya division, Kalutara district. Goda-Meneari is equated to Goda-Maanaavaari in Sorata's dictionary. He takes both as a kind of grain. But it is likely that they refer to high ground dry farming and the name of the millet might have come from the ground it is cultivated.

Meneri-pitiya: Meneari-pitiya: The high, flat ground cultivated with Meneari millet; or the high, flat ground for rain-fed cultivation; Kuruvita division, Ratnapura district. See meneri-gama.

Maneruwa: Maanearuwa: Probably, the rain-fed cultivation fields; or the place to cultivate a kind of millet; Palagala division, Anuradhapura district. See Meneri-gama.

First published: Monday, 23 June 2014, 15:43