Know the Etymology: 328
Place Name of the Day: Thursday, 18 May 2017

Taṭṭuk-kaḷari, Go-taṭuva

தட்டுக்களரி, கொ₃த[ட்]டுவ
Taṭṭuk-kaḷari, Go-taṭuva

Taṭṭu+kaḷari
Go+taṭuva

The ground to play Taṭṭu game or the alkaline ground

The place to keep cattle

Kaḷari1	arena, area for dramatic, gladiatorial or gymnastic exhibitions, assembly, place of work or of business, (Tamil, DED 1376); Kaḷam: place, open space, threshing floor, battlefield, (Tamil, DED 1376); cognates in 17 Dravidian languages. See column 240
Kaḷari2	saline soil (Tamil, DED 1359); Kaḷar: saline soil (Tamil, DED 1359); saline soil, alkaline earth (Malayalam, DED 1359); Kaḻi: backwater, salt-river, marsh, saltpan (Tamil, DED 1359). See column 126
Taṭṭu1	side, direction (Tamil. Kannada, Tulu, DED 3040); Toṭ: side, bank, as in A-toṭ: that bank; I-toṭ: this bank (Toda, DED 3040)
Taṭṭu2	anything flat, area, plain surface, floor, balcony (Tamil, DED 3035); compartment, plot of a field, platform, deck, upper story, square frame (Tamil, MTL); yard, "muṟṟam" (Tamil, Kathiraiverpillai); cognates in 8 Dravidian languages; Taṭṭa meaning flat bowl in Pali is traced to Tamil/ Dravidian (CDIAL 5631); Taṭṭu: (verb) to knock, pat, strike, thresh, clap, beat; (noun) knocking, patting, striking against (Tamil, DED 3039); Taṭṭaḻi: a drum or percussion musical instrument similar to Tappaṭṭai/ Tampaṭṭam (Tamil, inscription, 789 CE, SII, ii, 99); Kiḷit-taṭṭu: a popular native field game played between two groups of boys (Tamil, MTL); Taṭṭu in this case may mean either the ‘touch’ played in the game or the grid in which the game is played; Taṭṭuk-kiḷi, Taṭṭup-pāytal, Taṭṭu-maṟittal: = Kiḷit-taṭṭu (Tamil, MTL) See column 119
Taṭṭu3	(Sinhala) 1. layers (Sinhala, Clough); Pas-taṭṭuva: layer of earth (Sinhala, Sorata noting the phrase under Illama); 2. upstairs, "Soldaraya" (Sinhala, Sorata); 3. = Taṭu, flat bowl (Sinhala, Sorata); 4: knocking, tapping (Sinhala, Clough); 5. side or direction as in Taṭṭu-māru: a place changing from hand to hand, "Himiyan kīpa denekun visin māruvaṭa butti vińdina iḍama" (Sinhala, Sorata, DED 3040+4834). See Taṭṭu 1 and 2 in Tamil
Taṭu	(Sinhala) in Sinhala place names probably related to Taṭṭu or Taṭa: 1. shore, bank of a river, "Verala, Ivura" (Sinhala, Sorata); 2. high ground, bank, "Usbima, Goḍabima" (Sinhala, Sorata); 3. place in general, "Pradeśaya" (Sinhala, Sorata); 4. wing of a bird (Sinhala, Sorata); Taṭam: bank, shore, high ground, mound, hill, broad place (Tamil, Tivākaram, 5: 16; Cūṭāmaṇi, 5: 18); Taṭu: (verb) to obstruct, dam, block up, check, restrain (Tamil, DED 3031); Taṭai: (verb) to hinder, stop; (noun) obstructing, bund, embankment (Tamil, DED 3031). See box on Taṭṭu 1 in Tamil for the wing meaning and Taṭṭu 2 for place in general meaning. Also see column 119
Go	cattle, "Gavayā" (Sinhala); Gō: ox, cow (Sanskrit, Rig Vedic, CDIAL 4255)

Taṭṭu in Tamil and Sinhala, and Taṭu/ Taṭa in Sinhala have several shades of meaning. But they are basically related to either flatness or bank/ side, corresponding to the verbs Taṭṭu meaning to make flat and to Taṭu meaning to obstruct (DED 3039, 3031). See boxes above for related meanings in toponymy

The component Kaḷari in Tamil may mean an arena or alkaline ground, coming from two different etyma (DED 1376, 1359). See boxes above.

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Taṭṭuk-kaḷari is a locality in Vatiri in Vaṭamaratchi, Jaffna (V. Almanac, 2013-14, p. 104)

Go-taṭuva is found as a place name in Baddegama division of Galle district and in Kolannawa division of Colombo district.

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Some related place names:

Taṭṭu: (Tamil)

Taṭṭu-muṉaic-cēṉai: Katiraveli OIS. Muṉai: front, frontier; Cēṉai: shifting cultivation field

Taṭṭān-tarai: Kaccāy, Thenmaradchi (V. Almanac). See column 119

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Taṭṭu/ Taṭu/ Taṭa: (Sinhala)

Go-taṭu-vela: Doluwa, Kandy

Pot-taṭa-vela: Laggala-Pallegama, Matale. See box on Taṭu

Taṭṭệva: Anaimadu, Puttalam


Revised: Thursday, 18 May 2017, 18:30

First published: Tuesday, 25 February 2014, 16:55