Know the Etymology: 444
Place Name of the Day: Wednesday, 27 January 2016

Mahara, Maahara, Mohoriya

மஹர, மாஹர, மொஹொரிய
Mahara, Māhara, Mohoriya

Mahara
Maahara
Mohoriya

The enclosure

Mahara	a Sinhala place-name component mostly found in Colombo-Gampaha districts, and in a few instances found in the old Kandyan territories; seems to be a variation of Mohora in Sinhala and meaning a fence, enclosure or walled rampart. See box on Mohora
Maahara	a variation of Mahara as could be seen from Sinhala place names. See boxes on Mahara and Mohora for the component probably meaning a fence, enclosure or walled rampart.
Mohora	a Sinhala word meaning “Mahaa-praakaaraya”, meaning a fence, enclosure or walled rampart (Sinhala, Sorata); 1. Mahaa-Praakaara > Maa-paakaara > Maahara > Mahara > Mohora; Praakaara: wall, rampart (Sanskrit, CDIAL 8914, possibilities of Pre-Aryan/ Munda origins suggested); Paakaara: wall, rampart (Pali, CDIAL, 8914); 2. P > M change; Pagar: fence (Santala/ Munda, CDIAL 8914); Faharu: wall (Dhivehi/ Maldivian); Pakir: a kind of wall or dividing enclosure made by arranging coral stones (Eezham Tamil, Neduntheevu usage, this is probably related to Pakir: to divide, DED 3808); Pawra: (singular), Pawru (plural): fortification, walls of a fort or city (Sinhala)

Mahara is a Sinhala place name component largely confined to Gampaha-Colombo districts of the Westerm Province of the island. A few of the examples are found in Kandy, Ratnapura and Kurunegala too.

Maahara is noticed as a variation or more proper form of Mahara, as could be found from the village name Maahara-gama in the Mahara division of Gampaha district and Pannala division of Kurunegala district. Mæhera as in Thalam-mæhæra is probably another variation.

No toponymically convincing meaning is found for the word Mahara in Sinhala dictionaries, but there is probably a cognate Mohora in Sinhala, finding an entry in Sorata Thera's dictionary, meaning Mahaa-praakaaraya, i.e., a fence, enclosure or walled rampart.

In fact, Mahara in Colombo was a historical town, a part of which the British converted into the fortified Mahara Prison in the 19th century.

The term Mohora itself could be noticed in a place name Mohoriya.

The etymology of Mahara, Maahara and Mohora may be related to Mahaa-praakaaraya or to simply Praakaara itself (Paakaara in Pali) through P/ M change.

CDIAL 8914 notes pre-Aryan or probably Munda origins for Praakaara meaning wall or rampart. See box for related cognates.

There is another possibility that Mahara is related to Maharu in Sinhala meaning valuable or abundantly fit (Sorata), and in turn related to Mahaaraha/ Mahaarha in Pali/ Sanskrit (CDIAL 9956) meaning the same. But seeing Mahara coming as suffix in many of the place names, the Mohora cognate seems to be more appropriate.

* * *

Mahara was an old town where the Mahara Prison was built in the 19th century. The old town has given the name for the Mahara division in Gampaha district.

Maahara is in Eheliyagoda division of Ratnapura district.

Mohoriya is a place name found in Mahakumbukkadawala division of Puththa'lam district

* * *

Some related place names:

Mahara:

Mahara-gama: The enclosed village or the village by the ramparts; Maharagama division, Colombo district;

Mahara-wela: The enclosed paddy field; Medadumbara division, Kandy district

Mahara-thænna: The enclosed high ground; Kundasale division, Kandy district

Neela-mahara: Probably the enclosure found with a plant called Neela, or found with indigo plants; Mahara division, Gampaha district. Neelaya: Ruk-anguna, a plant in which several species are found in the island (Sinhala, Sorata, Clough); Neeli: indigo (Sinhala, Sorata). Note place names Neela-wala and Neelawa-bædda,

Neelam-mahara: See Neela-mahara; Kesbewa division, Colombo district.

Kaaliyam-mahara: Probably the enclosure having a shrine for the deity Kaa'li/ Kaalee; Kesbewa division, Colombo district

Hendi-mahara: Minuwangoda division, Gampaha district. Hendi comes as prefix in place names, Hediya-pola and Hendiya-gala in Kurunegala district also.

Bælum-mahara: The bonded enclosure; Gampaha district, Gampaha district. Bælum: = Bændum (Sorata): bond, tie, obligation (Sinhala).

Kittam-mahara: The jute cultivation enclosure; Attanagala division, Gampaha district

Kanni-mahara: Probably the enclosure for a deity called Kanni; Dompe division, Gampaha district. Or Kanni could be related to its usage as suffix in place names such as Kanniya, Aa'ndaan-kanniya, Ponnan-kanniya and Panaa-kanniya.

Hælum-mahara: The enclosure for winnowing paddy; Dompe division, Gampaha district. Hælum: winnowing; related to Hæleema, verbal noun of Halanawaa: to winnow (Sinhala); 1. Caalana: causing to move, causing to pass through a strainer (Sanskrit, CDIAL 4771); 2. Alangku: to move, shake, swing (Tamil, DED 240); 3. Chali, Challu: (verb) to sift; Chaliththal: sifting (Tamil, DED 2370); 4. Kozhi: to sift in a winnowing fan (Tamil, DED 2144)

Mahara-nugegoda: The Nugegoda (the bank or village of Nuga trees) in the Mahara division; Mahara division, Gampaha district


Maahara:

Maahara-gama: The walled or enclosed village; Mahara division, Gampaha district; Pannala division, Kurunegala district


Mæhæra:

Thalam-mæhæra: The enclosure to cultivate sesame; Pannala division, Kurunegala district

First published: Wednesday, 27 January 2016, 00:16