Know the Etymology: 411
Place Name of the Day: Thursday, 23 July 2015

Godawaana-goda, Waan-a'luwaawa

கொ₃ட₃வானகொ₃ட₃, வானளுவாவ
Goḍavānagoḍa, Vānaḷuvāva

Godawaana+goda
Waan+a'luwaaawa

The village at the watercourse between the edge of the fields and highland; or the village on the side of the high-level spill

The barrage or lock of the spill water/ canal

Godawaana	Goda+waana: 1. a high-level spill of a tank (Sinhala, Hambantota dialect, Codrington); 2. a channel between the edge of a field and highland for drainage (Sinhala, Codrington)
Goda	bank, heap, hill, higher ground and in an attributed sense a village (Sinhala). See earlier columns for etymology
Waana	spill water, artificial channel (Sinhala, Clough); Waan: watercourse, sluice; Jalamaargaya, Sorowwa (Sinhala, Sorata); Vaan-paaythal: A reservoir overflowing through the spill during heavy rains and flood (Eezham Tamil); Vaan, Vaanam: sky, cloud, rain (Tamil, DED 5381); Vaana: rain (Telugu, Naikri, Gonda, DED 5381); Vana: rain (Kolami, DED 5381); Vaani: rain (Parji, DED 5381); Bani: a current or flood of water caused by heavy rain (Malto, DED 5381); Vanyaa: heavy rain (Sanskrit, CDIAL 11278); Vana: water; Vaana: tidal wave (Sanskrit, late usages, Pali, Prakrit cognates not found, CDIAL 11278); Baana: tide, wave, flood (Oriya, CDIAL 11278)
A'luwa	A'lu = Adaya: prop, plug, stopper (Sinhala, Sorata, 'L/ D change); Adai: (verb) to shut, close, obstruct, block (as a passage), stop up, lock (Tamil, DED 83); Adaippu: (noun) shutting, closing, fence, obstruction, plug (Tamil, DED 83); A'l: lock (Tamil, Pingkalam, 4: 237); from A'l: strength, firmness (Tamil, Changkam diction, DED 291)

Godawaana as a phrase in Sinhala means a high-level spill of a tank, or a channel running between the edge of a field and a highland (Codrington).

The phrase is made of two components, Goda and Waana. While Goda means a bank, embankment or high ground in the context of the phrase, Waana means spill water, artificial channel, watercourse or sluice.

The suffix Goda in the context of the place name, Godawaana-goda, means a village located at a high ground. See earlier columns for the etymology of Goda.

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Waana in Sinhala meaning spill water of a tank, artificial channel or watercourse corresponds to the usage Vaan-paaythal in Eezham Tamil, which means the overflow of a tank through the spill. The related Sinhala phrase is Waan-daanawaa.

When the rains are heavy, the reservoirs would start overflowing through the spill. In such a situation, the sluice gates also will be opened full to release the water. Such an overflow of reservoirs due to heavy rains and flood is what called Vaan-paaythal/ Waan-daanawa in the vocabulary of Eezham Tamil and Sinhala farmers.

The exact shade of meaning for Vaan/ Waana in this context seems to be 'surge of rainwater'. The etymology could be traced to Vanyaa meaning heavy rain in Sanskrit, Baana meaning flood in Oriya and Vaan/ Vaanam meaning rain in old Tamil usage (CDIAL 11278, DED 5381).

Vaan basically meaning sky and then meaning cloud and rain in Tamil/ Dravidian (DED 5381) seems to explain the etymological origin better. Cognates of Vaan meaning rain could be found in 7 Dravidian languages (see box above). In Malto, one of the Dravidian languages, Bani means a current or flood of water caused by heavy rain, which is closer in the shade of meaning to the usage Vaan-paaythal/ Waan-daanawaa.

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The usage of Vaan in Tamil meaning rain and rain flood:

“Varaiyidai nin'ru izhi vaan neer aruvi” (Thirumoolar, 249)

“வரையிடை நின்று இழி வான் நீர் அருவி” (திருமூலர், 249)

The rain-flood stream that flows down the mountain

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A'luwa is a suffix that is mostly found in the Sinhala place names of the western part of the island.

Sorata's Sinhala dictionary equates A'lu with Adaya in Sinhala ('L/ D change), meaning a prop, plug or stopper. Therefore, Waana'lwa could mean a sluice or lock of a canal, or a barrage across a canal, which suits the context of some place names having the suffix A'luwa.

A'lu/ Adaya in the above said meaning in Sinhala is etymologically related to Adai as verb meaning to block and Adaippu as noun meaning an obstruction, lock or plug in Tamil/ Dravidian (DED 83). Old Tamil has another word A'l, meaning a lock (Pingkalam) as well as strength or firmness (DED 291).

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Godawaana-goda is a place in Tangalle division of Hambantota district

Waan-a'luwaawa is in Dompe division of Gampaha district.

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Some related place names:

A'luwa:

Kalapa'luwaawa: probably, Kalapu+a'luwaawa: The barrage or lock of the backwaters; Kaduwela division, Colombo district.

Paana'luwa: Probably, Pen-a'luwa: The embankment barrage; or the barrage of water for washing clothes; Pen: Wætiya, Redi theeraya (Sinhala, Sorata)

Yaka-haluwa: In this case probably, Yaka-Ha'lawa: The place from where the demon was expelled (Exorcised); Homagama division, Colombo district. Ha'la: dismissed, expelled (Sinhala)

Æmbara'luwa: 1. The wheel-turned lock or sluice; Gampaha division, Gampaha district. Æmbari: Ambaru'nu, Karakævunu: to turn round as a wheel (Sinhala, Sorata)

Daara'luwa: The barrage or lock in the flow of the stream; Attanagala division, Gampaha district. Daara-galanawaa: to stream (Sinhala)

Dara'luwa: Probably, Daara'luwa: see Daara'luwa; Pannala division, Kurunegala district

Yabara'luwa: Biyagama division, Gampaha district. Yabora: “Yakada illam u'nu ka'la vita idiri vana dravyaaya” (Sorata)

First published: Thursday, 23 July 2015, 20:43