Know the Etymology: 403
Place Name of the Day: Thursday, 14 May 2015

Mukkuvath-thoduvaay

முக்குவத் தொடுவாய்
Mukkuvat-toṭuvāy

Mukkuvar+thoduvaay

The touching sandbar (crossing point or ferrying point at the lagoon mouth) of the Mukkuvar community

Mukkuvar

also Mukkiyar: a major coastal community, especially in the northern, eastern, northwest and western parts of the island, specialised in conch-shell and pearl diving in the past (Eezham Tamil); Mukkar: the same community (Sinhala, as in the Sinhala literature Mukkara Hatana of 17th century that speaks of the conquest of Mukkuvar of the western part of the island by Karaiyaar, another coastal community, in the 13th century); Mukkuvar: a class of fishermen (Tamil, Malayalam DED 4993); Mukkove: a class of fishermen (Kodagu, DED 4993); from Mukku: (verb) to immerse, press under water (Tamil, DED 4993); Mukku'li: to dive (Tamil, DED 4993); Mukkuka: to plunge, dip, immerse (Malayalam, DED 4993); Moozhku: to get immersed (Tamil, DED 4993); Muzhukku: to immerse (Tamil, DED 4993). See column on Udaippu.

Thoduvaay

Thodu+vaay: a sandbar at the mouth of a lagoon that almost touches the other side, thus providing the closest crossing point or ferrying point (Eezham Tamil, DED 3480 + DED 5352); Thoduwaawa: Sinhalicised form of Thoduvaay. See column on Kokkuth-thoduvaay for the possible relationship between Thota in Sinhala meaning a port or ferry point and Thoduvaay in Eezham Tamil, and their Dravidian etymology.

Mukkuvar is one of the major coastal communities in the island, along with Karaiyaar, Thimilar and Paravar.

In the past, Mukkuvar were primarily engaged in conch shell and pearl diving, in competition with Paravar, the other major community in the profession.

The Jaffna Lagoon, Puththa'lam Lagoon and the several lagoons in the Batticaloa region were the major conch-shell diving localities, while the banks in the Gulf of Mannaar were known for pearls.

The distribution of Mukkuvar is largely found in the Batticaloa region, compared to Puththa'lam and Jaffna. Due to significant demography and social traditions of Mukkuvar, a separate civil law was observed for them during the colonial times.

The identity of the community of Mukkuvar in the island seems to have come from the times prior to 13th century, as could be seen from the narrative of a 17th century literature, Mukara Hatana in Sinhala. The literature speaks of Karaiyaar chieftains conquering Mukkuvar and occupying the Puththa'lam – Negombo coast, on the request of a king in the island.

“Mukara Hatana” means the conquest of Mukkar (Mukkuvar). Hatana, Satana: fight, conflict, contest, war, battle (Sinhala); Hatha: violence, to use violence, to treat with violence (Sinhala); Atu (Adu): to pound, kill, destroy, conquer (Tamil, DED 77); Ati: to beat, strike, defeat, punish (Tamil, DED 77); Atal, Atalai: killing, battle (Tamil, DED 77). Atar, Attu, Atta: verb forms related to Atu (Tamil). Note the H/ S addition to Sinhala word forms in this case.

There is a strong probability that the origins of Mukkuvar in the island could be traced to the Chera country (Kerala), when it was part of the ancient Tamil country.

The etymology of the term Mukkuvar is obviously related to the Dravidian verb root Mukku (to dive, DED 4993, also to hold breath, DED 4896) and Mukku'li (to dive, DED 4993).

Like many other communities in the region that have constructed mythical origins, the Mukkuvar also later came out with the Mut-kuka (Mut-guha) myth, tracing their origin to a Ramayana character. The Malayalam word-form Mukkuka (to dive, DED 4993) and Mukkukar (divers), could have been the source for the conflation.

See column on Kokkuth-thoduvaay for the Tamil/ Dravidian term Thoduvaay meaning a touching sandbar making the mouth of a lagoon and its possible relationship with Thota in Sinhala meaning a port or ferry point.

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Mukkuvath-thoduvaay is a place in Munthal division of Puththa'lam district. Mukkuth-thoduwaawa is the Sinhalicised form of the place name today.

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Some related place names:

Mukkan-da'luwa: Mukkuvan-thaazhvu: The low-lying land of a member of the Mukkuvar community; Arachchikkattuwa division, Puththa'lam district

Mukkara-wæwa: The tank of the Mukkuvar community (probably used for fishing); Horowpothana division, Anuradhapura district

First published: Thursday, 14 May 2015, 19:12