Know the Etymology: 455
Place Name of the Day: Wednesday, 24 February 2016

Kirinda-leawaaya, Kirinda

கிரிந்த₃-லேவாய, கிரிந்த₃
Kirinda-lēvāya, Kirinda

Kirinda+leawaaya
Kirinda

The saltpan at Kirinda (mouth of the River Kirindi-oya)

The Kirindi River mouth (near Thissamaharama); or the place of Kirindi creepers/ grass; or the sacred/ prosperous place

Leawaaya	saltpan, saltern (Sinhala, Sorata); Leawaa: “Lu'nu mitena tæna” (spoken Sinhala, Sorata); Leawaa-lu'nu: sea salt made in a saltern (Sinhala, Clough); from the grid of saltpans; Lea: line, row (Sinhala); Leakhaa: line, mark, row (Sinhala); line, mark (Sanskrit, Pali, CDIAL 11101); Reakhaa: streak, line (Sanskrit, Pali, CDIAL 10810)
Kirinda1	the place where the Kirindi-oya River enters the sea (toponymic usage in the context of Kirinda in Thissamaharama). See Kirindi 1 and 2 for meanings
Kirinda 2	probably related to Kiri: = Siri, S'ree: (as in Kiri-vanta) sacred, auspicious, prosperous (spoken Sinhala, Sorata); S'ree: (Sanskrit, CDIAL 12708)
Kirindi1	a creeper, “O'linda,” (Sinhala, Sorata); Olinda-wæl: a plant, Abrus precatorius, wild liquorice, the red and black seed used as a weight (Sinhala, Clough); Kun'ri: Abrus precatorius (Tamil, DED 1865); Kirindi-wæl: a creeper Rouria santaloides (Sinhala, Clough, considered as a variety of Kun'ri in Malayalam)
Kirindi2	a kind of grass found growing along with paddy (Sinhala, Sorata); Kirindi-maanaa: a kind of grass, Coix lachryma (Sinhala, Clough); pearl barley, may be from the white colour of the seeds; Kiri: milk, white (Sinhala); or from the recognition of the seeds as Wild Kun'ri. See Kirindi 1.

The Sinhala place name component Leawaaya means a saltpan.

The term is mostly found used in the Hambntota district of Southern Province. Sorata marks it as a spoken Sinhala word.

Leawaaya seems to be literally meaning the grid of a saltpan, corresponding to Lea and Leakhaa in Sinhala meaning a line or row. The words are cognates of Leakhaa and Reakhaa in Sanskrit, meaning a line or streak (CDIAL 11101, 10810)

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Kirinda, in the context of this place name in the Hambantota district, seems to have come from its location at the mouth of the river Kirindi-oya.

The term Kirinda coming in the other Sinhala place names of the island, as well as the term Kirindi in the river-name Kirindi-oya, seem to be meaning varieties of a creeper known for their beads or a kind of grass that yields bead-like grains.

In another possibility, at least in a few instances, Kirinda may be related to Kiri in Sinhala meaning sacred or prosperous, corresponding to S'ree in Sanskrit/ Indo-Aryan (Sorata, CDIAL 12708).

However, in many of the place names, the term Kirindi obviously means a creeper or a creeping plant (see related place names).

Kirindi in Sinhala means two types of creepers, Abrus precatorius and Rouria santaloides. In meaning a kind of grass, Kirindi stands for Coix lachryma or Pearl Barley, the grains of which are edible and also usable as beads. Abrus precatorius is well known for its poisonous but attractive seeds that are used as beads or as a weight measure for gold.

In meaning the said plants, the etymology of Kirindi is not clear, but there is a probability that it may be related to the seeds. Kun'ri is the Tamil/ Dravidian term for the seeds of Abrus precatorius (DED 1865)

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Kirinda-leawaaya is a place at Kirinda in Thissamaharama division of Hambantota district (One Inch Sheet)

Kirinda is found as a place name in Thissamaharama division of Hambantota district; Ella division of Badulla district; Hali-Ela division of Badulla district; Kirinda-Puhulwella division of Matara district and in Udapalatha division of Kandy district

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Some related place names:

Leawaya:

Mahasittrarakala-lewaya: The saltpan at Mahasittarakala; Hambantota district (One Inch Sheet)

Karagan-lewaya: The coastal saltpan; Hambantota district (One Inch Sheet)

Maha-lewaya: The big saltpan; Hambantota district (One Inch Sheet)

Koholankala-lewaya: The saltpan at Koholankala; Hambantota division, Hambantota district (One Inch Sheet)

Malala-lewaya: The saltpan at Malala; Hambantota division, Hambantota district (One Inch Sheet)

Bundala-lewaya: The saltpan at Bundala; Hambantota division, Hambantota district (One Inch Sheet)

Palatupana Maha-lewaya: The big saltpan at Palatupana; Hambantota district (One Inch Sheet)

Pal-lewaawwa: The old, muddy or rotten saltpan; Okewela division, Hambantota district

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Kirinda: Kirindawa: The place of Kirindi creepers/ grass; or the sacred/ prosperous place; Kuliyapitiya West division, Kurunegala district

Maha-Kirinda: The larger part of Kirinda or the larger place known by the name Kirinda; Kotavehera division, Kurunegala district. See Kirinda

Kirinda-goda: The bank/ hill/ village found with Kirindi creepers/ grass; Akmeemana division, Galle district

Kirindalaa-heana: The shifting cultivation field found with Kirindi creepers/ grass; Baddegama division, Galle district

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Kirindi:

Kirindi-oya: The river flowing through Kirindi creepers or grass; Uva and Southern provinces

Kirindi-vita: The high ground/ mound/ hill found with Kirindi creepers or grass; Gampaha division, Gampaha district

Kirindi-wæla: The place of Kirindi creepers; Dompe division, Gampaha district

Kirindi-wæl-pola: The open field found with Kirindi creepers; Thumpane division, Kandy district

Kirindi-wela: The paddy field found with Kirindi grass; Kothmale division, Nuwara Eliya district

Kirindi-æla: The stream or canal passing through Kirindi creepers or grass; Gonapeenuwala division, Galle district

Kirindi-galla: Nikaweratiya division, Kurunegala district; Ibbagamuwa division, Kurunegala district

Kirindi-wæl-mada: The muddy place or muddy field found with Kirindi creepers; Ganewatta division, Kurunegala district

Kirindi-watta: The garden found with Kirindi grass or creepers; Palagala division, Anuradhapura district

Kirindi-gala: The rocky hill found with Kirindi creepers or grass; Balangoda division, Ratnapura district

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First published: Wednesday, 24 February 2016, 08:51