Know the Etymology: 498
Place Name of the Day: Wednesday, 07 September 2016

Koṭṭaik-kāṭu, Eḷḷuk-kāṭu, Veṭṭuk-kāṭu, Paṇṭāri-veṭṭu

கொட்டைக்காடு, எள்ளுக்காடு, வெட்டுக்காடு, பண்டாரிவெட்டு
Koṭṭaik-kāṭu, Eḷḷuk-kāṭu, Veṭṭuk-kāṭu, Paṇṭāri-veṭṭu

Koṭṭai+kāṭu
Eḷḷu+kāṭu
Veṭṭu+kāṭu
Paṇṭāri+veṭṭu

The end part of the irrigated paddy field tract

The field for sesame cultivation

The cultivation field prepared by cutting forest

The field cleared and owned by a member of the Paṇṭāri community

Kāṭu1	forest, jungle, desert (Tamil, DED 1438); cognates in 14 Dravidian languages; Kaḍa, Kaḍi, Kaḍuva: forest (Sinhala, Sorata)
Kāṭu2	paddy field, as in Vayaṟ-kāṭu (Tamil, DED 1438); any cultivation field, usually in recently cleared land (Tamil usage noticed in Koṅku region); Kaḍu: forest patch cleared for cultivation, field or garden in the forest (Irula, DED 1438); Koṭ: cultivated field (Toda, DED 1438)
Koṭṭaikkāṭu	noticed as a place name for a locality in Arāli, where a paddy field tract and an irrigation tank are found (Eezham Tamil, Jaffna); Koṭṭa-kāḍu: the tail-end part of a paddy field tract in getting water from a tank; "Vẹvakin diya labana kuṁburuvala tunvẹni (antima) koṭasa"; an extension recently developed as cultivation field, "Asvẹdduma" (Sinhala, Sorata); Koṭṭa: state of being extreme (Kannada, DED 2049); Koṭṭa-kone: the extreme point (Kannada, DED 2049); Kōṭu: end (Malayalam, DED 2049); Koḍi: end, extremity (Tulu, DED 2049); Kōṭi: end, extremity (Tamil)
Eḷḷu	also Eḷ: gingili oil seed, sesame, Sesamum indicum (Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, DED 854)
Veṭṭu	(verb) to cut as with sword or axe, dig as a well; (noun) a cut, cutting (Tamil, DED 5478); (noun) stands for a cultivation field prepared by cutting trees and clearing a forest part (Eezham Tamil place names); (adjective) as in Veṭṭuk-kāṭu: a forest-cleared cultivation field (Eezham Tamil place names); Veṭya: paddy field, "Kuṁburuyāya" (Sinhala, Sorata notes with a question mark)
Paṇṭāri	a community different from the Paṇṭāram of Jaffna, recorded in Vanni, especially in Vavuniyā region (Eezham Tamil, Vanni usage, Codrington's Glossary); Baṇḍāri: a mendicant-like community found in Vavuniyā, "Āṇḍigurungē kulaya vẹni Vavuniyāvē tibena kulayak" (Sinhala, Sorata cites Codrington); Paṇṭāram: religious mendicant, a Saiva monk, a caste of non-Brahmin Saivaites who sell garlands of flowers (Tamil, MTL); members of the Vīra-śaiva/ Lingayat religious sect found in Jaffna, whose origins are traced to Kannada Vīra-śaivism (Eezham Tamil, Jaffna usage)

Apart from meaning a forest, Kāṭu also means a paddy field in Tamil, as in the phrase Vayal-kāṭu. In the Koṅku region of Tamil Nadu, Kāṭu-ōṭṭutal means engaging in cultivation, especially in dry lands or in recently cleared lands. Cognates in this shade of meaning could be found in Irula and Toda (DED 1438). The shade of meaning might have come by the practice of deforestation for cultivation, or by Kāṭu meaning a heap of any vegetation.

The meaning of the phrase Koṭṭaik-kāṭu, which comes as a place name in Jaffna, can't be found in Tamil dictionaries, but could be traced through an entry in Sorata's Sinhala dictionary citing inscriptions.

Koṭṭa-kāḍu, according to Sorata, is the tail-end part of a paddy field tract getting water from a tank. Sorata cites "Śilālekhanasaṅgrahaya" Vol 2, a glossary of terms from Epigraphia Zeylanika.

Obviously kāḍu here corresponds to Kāṭu in Tamil meaning paddy field and Koṭṭa is related to Kōṭi in Tamil meaning extreme end. But interestingly it is in Kannada/ Dravidian (DED 2049) a direct cognate Koṭṭa could be seen (see box).

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Veṭṭu as a verb in Tamil/ Dravidian (DED 5478) means to cut, and as a noun, means a cut.

In Eezham Tamil place names, especially in the jungle tracts, Veṭṭuk-kāṭu seems to be meaning a paddy field prepared by cutting and clearing a forest part. Another comparable toponymic term is Kaṭṭaik-kāṭu (see column on Kaṭṭaik-kāṭu/ Kaṭṭa-kaḍuva). Kāṭu in these usages mean a cultivation field.

Veṭṭu as a suffix noun as in Paṇṭāri-veṭṭu, also seems to mean a cultivation field prepared by cutting and clearing a jungle part. Sorata notes that Veṭya could mean a paddy field in Sinhala too.

As noted in colonial records, Paṇṭāri in the context of Vanni and adjacent Sinhala districts mean a community, which may be different from the Paṇṭāram identity in Jaffna. Sorata differentiates the community from Bandara also, and notes that they were mendicant-like. See earlier columns for etymology and other meanings for Paṇṭāram-related place names

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Koṭṭaik-kāṭu is a paddy-field fringe locality in Arāli, in Valikamam West division of Jaffna district.

Eḷḷuk-kāṭu is in Karaichi division of Kilinochchi district.

Veṭṭuk-kāṭu is a place in Poonakari division of Kilinochchi district. There is another Veṭṭuk-kāṭu in Manmunai North Division of Batticaloa district

Paṇṭāri-veṭṭu is in Puthukkudiyiruppu division of Mullaiththeevu district

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Some related place names:

Veṭuk-kāṭu:

Aḷavakkai Veṭṭuk-kāṭu: Nanaddan, Mannar

Veṭṭuma-kaḍa: Kalutara, Kalutara

Veṭṭu:

Veṭṭuk-kaṭṭai: Kandavalai, Kilinochchi

Kāṭu as cultivation field:

Kurakkan-kāṭu: Nallur, Jaffna

Tōṭṭak-kāṭu: Manar Town, Mannar

Eḷḷu:

Eḷḷup-piṭṭi: Mannar Town, Mannar

First published: Wednesday, 07 September 2016, 18:42