Know the Etymology: 375
Place Name of the Day: Friday, 31 October 2014

Poadiyaar Road

போடியார் றோட்
Pōṭiyār Road

Poadiyaar+road

The road of the landed proprietor or chief

Poadiyaar

also Poadi: landed proprietor (Eezham Tamil, Batticaloa dialect, MTL cites Jaffna Dictionary); high caste, matrilineal, Tamil political chiefs who monopolise most of the paddy fields in the Batticaloa region (Dennis McGilvray, citing Dutch colonial documents, Crucible of Conflict, 2008, p. 392); an agrarian chief who invests on cultivation and also a divisional chief (V.C. Kanthaiya, 1964, pp 103); an honorary title of a chief, originally meant a divisional chief and later stood for a landed proprietor (citing Dutch documents and Codrington’s Glossary, V.C. Kanthaiya, 1964, pp 103-104). 1. Poddai: a general term for cultivation land (954 CE, Tamil inscriptions, Trivancore Archaeological Series, III, p. 169-71); Paatam: range of rice fields, rice-land (Malayalam, DED 4062); Paaddam: garden, paddy field (Tamil, DED 4062, inscriptions); Pate: small field for cultivation (Gondi, DED 3874); Bata: field on the hills (Pengo, DED 3874); field (Manda, DED 3874); pasture (Kuwi, DED 3874); 2. Poadu: to saw, plant (Tamil, MTL); Poadu-kaadu: land fit for raising dry crops on the hills (Tamil, MTL); Poadu-kaal: first cultivation in wasteland (Tamil, MTL); Poadu-kaal-nilam: land cultivated off and on and not annually (Tamil, MTL); 3. Wodiyaar: master, lord, ruler (Kannada); from Odeya: owner, lord, master, ruler (Kannada, DED 593); Udaiyaar: master, lord (Tamil, DED 593); Udaimai: state of possessing, possession, wealth, property (Tamil, DED 593)

The usage of the word Poadiyaar or its shortened form Poadi is peculiar to Eezham Tamil of Eastern Province of the island.

It generally means a landed proprietor and the person could be a Hindu, Muslim or Christian.

However, old records of the Dutch and British times suggest that the term was an honorary title given to a chief of an administrative division.

Pandit V.C. Kanthaiya in his 1964 publication, Mattakkalppu Thamizhakam, cites a Dutch document of 1776 CE that records the Dutch appointing a high ranking person of the Mukkuva (diving) community as the Poadi for the Ma’nmunai division in Batticaloa (pp 103-104).

Anthropologist Dennis McGilvray, citing Dutch documents, notes that the term stood for high caste, matrilineal, Tamil political chiefs who monopolise most of the paddy fields in the Batticaloa region (Crucible of Conflict, 2008, p. 392).

Pandit Kanthaiya’s own opinion is that the term, coming from the Tamil root Poadu (to invest capital in cultivation), primarily stands for a landed proprietor but it also meant a person appointed as a divisional chief.

Madras Tamil Lexicon (MTL) records three phrases related to cultivation land coming from the verb root Poadu, but they come from the shade of meaning, to saw or to plant; from, to put, to cast down etc., (Tamil, DED 4581, see table for the entries).

* * *

In old Tamil inscriptions coming from the Chera country (Kerala), a term Poddai means cultivation land in general. The term may be related to Paaddam meaning cultivation field (Tamil, DED 4062) and Paatam meaning range of rice fields (Malayalam, DED 4062). There is a possibility to relate Poddai with Poadi.

Usage of Poddai:

“Udaiyaar poddaiyum thachchanaar poddaiyum” (954 CE, Trivancore Archaeological Series, III, pp 169-71)

“உடையார் பொட்டையும் தச்சனார் பொட்டையும்” (954 CE, Trivancore Archaeological Series, III, pp 169-71)

The paddy fields of the lord and the paddy fields of the architect or carpenter

* * *

If Poadiyaar has originally stood for a chief of an administrative division, then probably the word is a variation of Udaiyaar (DED 593), meaning a lord, master, owner, ruler etc. Note that Udaiyaar in Tamil becomes Odeya/ Wodiyaar in Kannada and W/ P change is always a possibility.

* * *

Poadiyaar Road is a street name in Akkarappattu, in the Akkaraippattu division of Ampaa’rai district. The English word road is often used in Tamil and Sinhala place names.

* * *

Some related place names:

Nellip-poadiyaar-kal: The rock named after a person, Nellip-poadiyaar; Ea’raavoorpattu division, Batticaloa district

Munnam-poadi-vaddai: The paddy fields of the foremost Poadiyaar; Moothoor division, Trincomalee district

Aliyaar-poadiyaar-road: The road named after Aliyaar Poadiyaar; Ea’raavoor, Ea’raavoor division, Batticaloa district

Peer-poadiyaar-lane: The lane named after Peer Poadiyaar; Sammanthu’rai, Poththuvil division, Ampaa’rai district

First published: Friday, 31 October 2014, 10:49