Know the Etymology: 452
Place Name of the Day: Sunday, 14 February 2016

Era-badda, Badu-gama, Baddea-gama

எரப₃த்₃த₃, ப₃து₃க₃ம, ப₃த்₃தே₃க₃ம
Erabadda, Badugama, Baddēgama

Era+badda
Badu+gama
Baddea+gama

The land leased on payment: or the descending land on lease

The revenue-paying village or the village of service communities

The village of the five service communities

Badda	(singular), Badu (plural): tax, revenue, tribute, rent, hire (Sinhala, Clough); lease, rent, tax (Sinhala, CDIAL 9136); Badda: = Baddhaya, Bændeema: binding, bond (Sinhala, Sorata); Bandha: bond (Rig Vedic Sanskrit, Pali, CDIAL 9136); custody, deposit, pledge (Sanskrit, later usages, CDIAL 9136)
Badu	plural and combination form of Badda (Sinhala, Clough); lease, rent, tax (Sinhala, CDIAL 9136); the part of the produce that has to be paid to the king or the landlord, lease amount given to a landlord (Sinhala, Sorata); five service castes, “Pas-mehekaru” (Sinhala, Sorata); communities of workers, Karmaantakaaraya-samoohaya; Nava-badu: nine service castes (Sinhala, Sorata); Bandha: bond (Rig Vedic Sanskrit, Pali, CDIAL 9136); custody, deposit, pledge (Sanskrit, later usages, CDIAL 9136)
Baddea	= Badu+ea (Sinhala, Sorata); five bonded-service communities, “Pas-mehekaru, Pas-kula: “Vadu, Berawaa, Rajaka, karanævææmi, Sommara” (Sinhala, Sorata); Bandha: bond (Rig Vedic Sanskrit, Pali, CDIAL 9136); custody, deposit, pledge (Sanskrit, later usages, CDIAL 9136)
Era1	from Ira: the part that has to be paid (as revenue) or the lease amount, “Geviya yutu kotasa hoa badumudala” (Sinhala, Sorata); Iræya: lease amount, “badumudala” (Sinhala, Sorata); I'rai: tax on land, duty (Tamil, DED 521); from I'ru: (verb) to pay as a tax or a debt (Tamil, DED 521); I'ra: taxes, tribute, a certain fee for land tenure (Malayalam, DED 521)
Era2	descending, coming down, “Yata yææmehi, bæseemehi” (Sinhala, Sorata); I'rangku: (verb) to descend, fall (Tamil, DED 516); Izhi: (verb) to descend, fall (Tamil, DED 502); I'rai: (verb) to fall down; (adverb) falling down (Tamil, DED 516). See column on I'rak-kaamam

The Sinhala place name component Badda, which usually comes as a suffix, and the components Badu and Baddea that come as prefixes, are related to Bændeema in Sinhala and Bandha in Sanskrit/ Pali, meaning bond or binding (CDIAL 9136). Pledge, custody and deposit are the other meanings for Bandha in Sanskrit.

In Sinhala usage Badda means a lease or a leased land that is bound by a bond or pledge to pay an amount or part of the produce to the king or the landlord.

Badda added with Wa, La and Ra affixes, i.e., Baddawa, Baddala and Baddara, are also noticed as place name suffixes (see related place names).

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Badu is the plural or combination form of Badda. Hence, in coming as prefix, Badu means the same as Badda.

However, in the usage of the past, Badu had some additional meanings as well. Badu also meant some service communities that had a bond, pledge or obligation to do certain services.

According to Sorata's Sinhala dictionary, Badu means the service communities (Karmaantakaaraya-samoohaya), of which, there were the five-fold and the nine-fold (Pas-mehekaru and Nava-badu).

Pas-mehekaru or Pas-kula: 1. Vadu (carpenter), 2. Berawaa (drummer), 3. Rajaka (washermen), 4. Karanævææmi (barber), 5. Sommara (leather workers)

Nava-badu: 1. Kottal (those who dig to plant and take care of plants), 2. Badahæla (pottery maker), 3. Hakuru (jaggery maker), 4. Hu'nu (lime maker), 5. Hulan (attendants to officials), 6. Rada (washermen), 7. Berawaa (drummers), 8. Kinnara (low-ranking weavers or mat-makers), 9. Rodee (ca'ndaalayaa)

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Explaining the word form baddea as Ea added to Badu, Sorata gives only one meaning, Pas-mehekaru, for baddea.

Baddea-related place names are found in Galle, Kurunegala and Puththa'lam districts.

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The word Era in Sinhala generally means descending, coming down, sinking etc. The term corresponds to the Tamil/ Dravidian cognates I'rai/ I'rangku (DED 516) and Izhi (DED 502, Zh/ R change), meaning the same.

However, looking at the context of the place name Era-badda, it seems that Era in this instance is a variant of another Sinhala term Ira, meaning an amount that has to be paid as revenue or lease money. Another Sinhala word Iræya has the same meaning.

Ira and Iræya in this shade of meaning correspond to I'rai in Tamil and I'ra in Malayalam meaning the same (DED 521). I'ru, meaning to pay as tax or as settlement of debt, is the root verb found in Tamil/ Dravidian (DED 521).

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Era-badda is found as a place name in Nivithigala division of Ratnapura district, Welimada division of Badulla district and Divulapitiya division of Gampaha district.

Badu-gama is a place in Mathugama division of Kalutara district.

Baddea-gama is a place as well as a divisional headquarters in Galle district. There is another village by the same name in Polpithigama division of Kurunegala district.

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Some related place names:

Badda:

Bada-badda: The garden land on lease: Hakmana division, Matara district

Baddawa:

Udu-baddawa: The upper-lying or upper part of the leased land; Udubaddawa division, Kurunegala district

Baddala:

Tiri-palaa-baddala: also Sri-Palaa- baddara, or Palaa-baddara: The place or open land given on lease (Sri/ Tiri might have been added to mean sacred or auspicious); Ratnapura division, Ratnapura district

Gom-baddala: probably, Gomu-baddala: The bushy place that is leased out; Mulatiyana division, Matara district. Gomu, Gomuwa: thicket, bushy place, jungle, “Gulmaya, Læhæba”, (Sinhala, Sorata); also, Gom: keeper, guard, protector; rock, stone (Sinhala, Clough); Goma: cow-dung (Sinhala, Sorata, Clough)

Baddara:

Kehel-baddara: The leased land under banana cultivation; Minuwangoda division, Gampaha district

Mada-baddara: The muddy paddy field on lease; Ayagama division, Ratnapura district

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Badu:

Badu-wathu-goda: The bank/ hill/ village of the leased garden or grove; Gampaha division, Gampaha district

Badu-watta: The leased garden or grove; Dompe division, Gampaha district

Baduraliya: Badura Eliya: Probably, the open grassland under lease; or the good grassland; Palindunuwara disvision, Kalutara district. Baduru: good, excellent (Sinhala)

Badun-goda: The village of the service communities; Akmeemana division, Galle district

Badun-gala: The rocky hill under lease or the rocky hill of the service communities; Yakkalamulla division, Galle district

Badulla: The place of Badulla trees; or the place under lease; or the place of the service communities; Badulla division, Badulla district. 1. Badulla, also Badulu-ruk: the tree producing the marking-nut used by washermen; Semecarpus gardneri or Semecarpus anacardium, of which 13 species peculiar to the island (Sinhala); Bhallaata: Semecarpus anacardium (Sanskrit, CDIAL 9414); Chea-paalam, Chear, Cheng-kottai: Semecarpus anacardium (Tamil, DED 2005); 2. Badu added with La suffix and doubled to mark a place.

Badullea-gama: See Badulla; Weligepola division, Ratnapura district

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Baddea:

Maha-baddea-gama: The larger village of the service communities; Madampe division, Puththa'lam district

Tha'na-baddea-gama: Probably, the village of grass-cutting service community; or the village paying lease amount for grass cutting; Welivitiya-Divitura division, Galle district.

Ella-Tha'na-baddea-gama: The village Tha'na-baddea-gama at Ælla (the waterfalls or rapid); Ælpitiya division, Galle district. See Tha'na-baddea-gama

First published: Sunday, 14 February 2016, 22:05