Sunday, January 27, 2008

81. Barakur II

Some more explanation on the origin of the word Baraka+Oor!
Viswanath pointed out an interesting and related Tulu word ‘barakane’ that helps us to understand the meaning and significance of the word ‘baraka’ or ‘barka’ in Barakur/ Barkur. The word ‘barakaNe’ finds entry under the variant ‘barankaNe’ in the Tulu nighanTu (p.2236; Vol. 5).
barakaNe
The word barakane is used commonly along the beaches of Kapu, Kaipunjal, Polipu where the devastating effect of severe sea erosion is a commonplace event during monsoons. The severe sea erosions along beaches of Karavali initiate during the peak monsoon, with development of beach-parallel linear faults (fractures) in the near-shore seabed (triggered by storms, as a consequence of increase of pore water pressure in the beach-estuary environs).On the linear fault, the seaward sandy layer usually slumps vertically downwards leaving a depression or ‘gundi’. The opposite, beach-ward face raises vertically upward like a wall, one to two meters in height. The process is called ‘barakaNe’.
Hence, the word ‘baraka’ refers to the raised or elevated part of land by the side of river. There are several related words in Tulu that provide shades of similar meanings: bare (=linear ridge), barike (=large house/manor on an elevated ground), barak (=raised, filled), barata (=high tide), barakel (=filled, flooded), etc.
Earth movements
The Karavali region has undergone several periods of earth movements even during the recent history (of last four to five thousand years).The Barkur- Hoode -Bengre area has also experienced such changes in the morphology of the earth.
Our observant ancestors have employed meaningful place names that document the significant past events.
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