Know the Etymology: 478
Place Name of the Day: Friday, 22 July 2016

Gal-vaňguva, Ali-vaňguva, Vaňgiya-kuṁbura

க₃ல்-வங்கு₃வ,
அலிவங்கு₃வ,
வங்கி₃ய-கும்பு₃ர
Gal-vaňguva, Ali-vaňguva, Vaňgiya-kuṁbura

Gal+vaňguva
Ali+vaňguva
Vaňgiya+Kuṁbura

The rock pit, or the rocky bend

The elephant pit, or the bend of elephant trail

The paddy field in pit ground, or the paddy field at a bend

Vaňgu1

> related to Vaṅku: big pit, big bog, “Periya putai-kuḻi” (Eezham Tamil, Batticaloa usage, Kanthaiya, V.C.); orifice, hole, hollow in a stone, rat-hole, snake-hole, cave, cavern, hollow in a tree (Tamil, DED 5212); Vagura: slough, marsh, the deep part of a paddy field (Sinhala, Clough); Vaṅ: mortar used in pounding flour etc. (Dhivehi/ Maldivian)

Vaňgu2

“Mārgādiyehi nẹmi giya tẹna” (Sinhala, Sorata); Vaṅguva: curve, bend, turn (Sinhala, Clough); Vaňka: bend of a river, winding course of a stream, curve or bend in general (Sinhala, Clough); Vaṅka: bent, crooked, bend of a river (Sanskrit lexicons, probable non-Aryan origin suggested, CDIAL 11191); Vāṅku: (verb) to bend (Tamil, DED 5335); Vāṅkal: bending, curve, inclination (Tamil, DED 5335); Vaṅgu: (verb) to bend, stoop, bow, become crooked (Telugu, DED 5335); cognates in 16 Dravidian languages

Vaňgu in Sinhala means a bend, turn or curve, especially in the course of a river, road, trail etc.

In this meaning, the Sinhala term finds verb and noun cognates in many Dravidian languages. The closest parallel Vaṅgu could be found in Telugu, while Vāṅku is the verb form found in old Tamil (DED 5335). Probable non-Aryan origin is cited for Vaṅka meaning bent, crooked or bend of a river in Sanskrit (CDIAL 11191).

A big pit or bog is the meaning for Vaṅku found in Eezham Tamil, especially in Batticaloa usage. Vaṅku in this shade of meaning corresponds to the term meaning orifice, hole, hollow, cave, cavern etc., in Tamil/ Dravidian (DED 5212).

The Vaňgu-related place names in the island could be interpreted in both ways: i.e., referring to a pit or to a bend. Compare the Sinhala place name Ali-vaňguva to an Eezham Tamil place name, Āṉaik-kiṭaṅku (column 372), for the relevance of the meaning pit (a device to catch elephants in the past).

See earlier columns for the etymology of Gal, Ali and Kuṁbura, respectively meaning rock, elephant and paddy field.

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Gal-vaňguva is a place in Ipalogama division of Anuradhapura district.

Ali-vaňguva is in Wilgamuwa division of Matale district.

Vaňgiya-kuṁbura is a place in Welimada division of Badulla district.

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First published: Friday, 22 July 2016, 21:27