246. Kudla : A controversy

-->

The word ‘Kudla’ is an ancient name and refers to the city of Mangalore.What is the meaning of this word Kudla? If you answer me that ‘Kudla’ means ‘kooDla’ or a confluence of two rivers, you may not be precisely reflecting the original meaning of this word!

Let us analyse this controversy.

A Confluence  of Rivers?

 Fluvial Geography of Mangalore city at present

Yes! Most of us, including this blogger, were under the impression that ‘kuDla’ means a confluence region of two rivers, Gurpur and Nethravati. You can also find this explanation in some of the earlier posts filed in this blog or write-ups published in periodicals.This opinion is also shared by the mighty Tulu Nighantu.

The Tulu Nighantu lists three meanings for the word Kudla (p.823):

1. Mangalore town, a confluence of two rivers.

2. Again. [The Tulu usage ‘kuDala kuDala’ means to repeat again and again.]

3. (a) a confluence of two rivers, (b) a   confluence of a stream and a river. [Latter, also known as ’KooTel’]

Thus the  cited entries 1 and 3 above suggest emphatically that kuDla means a confluence.

The assertion that KuDla= confluence is based on the word koodla as in place names ‘KooDala Sangama’ (of Basaveshwara fame, Bagalkot district) or ‘KooDali’ (a confluence of Tunga and Bhadra rivers, Bhadravati Taluk).

Paleo-geography of Mangalore:

In Mangalore we have a confluence of Gurupur and Nethravati rivers between Bengare and southwestern corner of Mangalore city.However,the confluence of Gurpur with Nethravati River occurred relatively recently ie in the year 1887.That is to say that confluence as seen now did not exist in the historical past! Thus ancient word ‘kudla’ may not be referring to any recent confluence!

Secondly, the word ‘Kudla’ even though applied at present to Mangalore as a whole in general, was originally referring to apart of present Mangalore, especially the Kodialbail area.Kudla was the Kudla bail to begin with which with passage of time changed into Kodial-bail or simply Kodial. This Kudla bail or Kodial bail is a valley region once upon a time occupied by Phalguni River which changed its course (probably around 7^th Century CE or earlier) further northwards in the course of time.

Thus the truth is that KuDla is not kooDla!

It was an fertile river plain in the antiquity that was amenable for good agricultural crops!

Let us explore the alternative explanation.

Agricultural settlement

Dr Gururaj Bhat (1963) in his work ‘Tulunadu’ passingly remarked that Kudla is not ‘kooDla’ or a confluence (p.29, 2009 edition). He pointed out that Kuduva tribes iniated agricultural practices in ancient Tulunadu.Kuduva tribes in different areas and times were also known as Kudi, Kudu, Kudubi, Kudumbi, Koda, Kunubi etc. The Munda word kuDa reffered to ‘good agricultural lands’ and those tribes associated with agriculture were known as KuDi or KuDubi.

Ku+ Da + ala. = An agricultural settlement on the river plains.

Ku=good, Da=land, earth. KuDa=good land, agricultural land. Ala= river plain or habitation on the river plain.

There are many villages in the Karavali having the prefix of KuDu.

KuDupu .(A village in eastern Mangalore on Nanthur -Vamanjur NH13 road).

KuDuma.  (Old name for Dharmastala, Belthangadi taluk).

KuDumbi hittil ( A residential area near Falnir, Mangalore).

KuDipäDi .( A village near Vamadapadavu, Bantval taluk)

Kudne, Maharastra

Kudle  beach, Gokarna, Uttar Kannada.

Note that in above place names suffixes –pu, Ne,-le etc are indicative of settlement or habitation areas.

According to Dr Padur Gururaja Bhat (ibid) ‘kuDu’ later transformed into ‘koDu’ as seen in place names KoDiala,KoDimbadi, KoDavur,KoDlaDi,KoDangala, KoDange etc.

KuDu

KuDu also represents horse gram which incidentally is the first agricultural food crop grown in southern India. Agriculture in southern Indian River plains was in vogue ca. 2000-2500 BC according to archeo-botanical studies. This takes the age of the place name Kudla to that period, ca 2000-2500BC. The word KuDäla is derived from ancient and pre-Dravidian Munda languages of southern India.

®

245. Shibarur

In the northern part of Mangalore Taluk, to the east of Surathkal and to the south of Kinnigoli, we have this hamlet known as Shibarur. Shibarur (Shibar + ur) is well known for a Kodamanithaya spirit shrine which has been renovated recently in the form of temple. Shibarur is known as Tibaar in Tulu parlance. The Shibarur village is proximal to Delanthabettu hamlet which forms a part of Surinje village. The Kodamanithaya shrine of Shibarur is a popular piligrimage centre and was recently in the news on account of the religious festivities associated with the shrine.

Shibrikere
There is one more hamlet in Mangalore Taluk known as ‘Shibrikere’ (Shibari+kere) referring to a now dried up ‘kere’ (=pond) near Yedapadavu.
Similarly there is a village known as Shibaje in Belthangadi Taluk.
As you can see all these hamlets carry a lesser known prefix of Shiba, Shibara or Shibari. There may be many more such hamlets in other parts of Tulunadu or rest of India and these may be cited by our knowledgeable readers.Similarly,there is a locality with a large rocky outcrop known as 'Shibiri-kallu' in Maadathadka near Vitla Mudnur village, Bantval Taluk.
Let us explore and endeavor to document some of the lost strings of history and evolution connected with the habitation known as Shibarur and other 'Shiba",'Shibara' or 'Shibari' localities.
Shabara
Shibara is also the name of a mountain pass in Afghanistan where from many invaders and immigrants found their way to India in the historical past.The word Shibara also appears like a word related to ‘shibira’(= a field camp).
However, the word ‘Shibara’ could be an ancient variant of the word ‘Shabara’. Shabara signifies a tribe of hunters.Lord Shiva in the legends has been considered in the form of a Shabara or a tribal hunter. There is an estate valley known as ‘Sabarabail’ on the Bantval to Guruvayankere road. The place name Sabarbail documents the historical presence of Sabara hunter tribes in the Karavali.
Among older generation of Tulu people there is a proper name: 'Tabura' or 'Tabara' or 'Tabaranna'. This could not be the Tabur ant found on trees but a variant of the word Shabara or Shibura. Poornachandra Tejasvi wrote a novel known as 'Tabarana kathe', woven around an innocent rustic person called Tabara.
Shabari
Shabari is a well known character of an old woman, an epitome of devotion envisaged by poet Valmiki in the great epic Ramayana. The old woman from the hunter tribe was an ardent devotee of Rama. She collected various fruits from the forest and tasted each of the fruits before offering them to Rama. Mind you, she personally checked the taste and edibility of each of the fruit collected from the wild forest.Her innocent act was not to spoil the sanctity of the offering, but to verify personally if any of the wild fruits are poisonous or taste badly. Note that the poet Valmiki himself was from a tribe of hunters. The overall picture of the Shabari in Ramayana takes us back to the period of wild hunting stage in the human evolution.
Savara, Sora
The Sabara (or Shabara) tribe is also known as Savara (Orissa, Kerala, Karnataka), Severa (Assam), Sapera (Uttar Pradesh, Jamu, Maharstra), Soara or Sora (Andhra Pradesh, Orissa Bihar) tribes in other parts of India. These tribes have been considered as part of the Munda group of Austro-Asiatic tribes in India. One of the possibility is that Shibara (Karavali Karnataka), so far undocumented, was a variant of this large and wide spread tribal group of ancient hunters.
Kirata tribes
Apart from the Shabara-Sabara-Shibara-Savara- Severa-Sapera-Soara-Sora tribal hunters group, there were other hunter groups known as Kirata or Kirataka and Bhils.
Kirata (or Kiranta) tribes were the ancient inhabitants of foothills of Himalaya in northern and northeastern India and considered to be of Indo-Mongoloid or Indo-Tibetan origin. Kiranta tribes ruled ancient Tripura in northeastern India and claim that they were also part of the pre-Vedic Indus Valley civilization.The Kirata and related tribes like Yaksha and Kinnara were part of the ancient legends of India.
Shibarai - Shiva
It appears that Shibara or shibari could have been a word modified from Shibarai. Bengalis use the term Shiba for Lord Shiva.The Shibarai or Shibaroy means Lord Shiva.It is a northeast Indian equivalent of the south Indian usage of Shiva-roy. In Karavali and Kannada areas Lord Shiva was earlier also known as Shivaraya. There is Shevroy hills in Salem district of Tamilnadu.
It is well known that Lord Shiva is an anthropomorphic divinity in the form of a hunter, wearing a tiger/deer skin as loin cloth.Thus the origin of the Shiva cult clearly dates back to hunting stage of human civilization.
Lord Shiva has been variously described as Shabareswara or Kirateshwara etc implying the origin of the cult from hunting tribes.Originally the Shibarai (Shiba or Shiva) could have have been a leader of hunting tribes. Legends associated with him imply that he had ability to withstand poison (Vishakanta), tame serpents (Nagabharana) and wild life, knowledge of astronomy (crescent on head),ability to understand and utilize water resources(Ganga on the head). His exceptional qualities, talents and abilities made him a great leader who was worshipped subsequently by the communities. It is said in Puranas that Lord Shiva mastered the art of 'Yoga' first and then it is passed on to Lord Vishnu.
Kiranti people claim that Shibarai, the Shiva, hailed from their community.
The Indo- Aryan sages who composed Vedas (ca 1700-1000 BC) in northwestern India worshipped Indra Varuna Agni etc Gods who later attained the status of demigods in Indian Hindu culture.Subsequently these Indo-Aryans when migrated and settled in northern Indian Gangetic plains assimilated with pre-existing Indians and adopted their divinities and cults existing in the region. Thus Shiva and Vishnu ruled the religious spheres and Vedic Gods like Indra, Varuna, Agni etc were relegated to the staus of demigods.
Besides, Shibi is one of the male proper names used during the history. We hear legends of King Shibi.
Shibi Chakravarti
Shibi is a King in the line of Ikshwaku of Solar Dynasty (Surya Vamsha). He is the embodiment of kindness and generosity. He is kind and generous not only to his subjects but also to anybody who seeks his help when in need. His name spread far and wide as a man of benevolence and righteousness. Indra, the Lord of Heaven, and Agni, one of his Deputies, decided to test his dedication to duty (Dharma) and compassion by creating a predicament to Shibi. Indra took the form of an eagle, a bird of prey, and Agni as a dove, a prey. Being chased by the eagle, the dove took refuge in the lap of King Shibi while he was giving audience to his subjects. The dove begged for its protection. The request was readily granted. Thereupon, the eagle entered his Court, demanding him to give back its prey and raising the question of propriety of Shibi in sheltering the dove, which is a natural prey. The eagle threatened the King that he would be committing a sin by depriving its food when it was in the verge of dying by starvation. To come out of this intricate situation, i.e. clash of moral duty and promise, he decided to offer his own flesh to the eagle in equal weight of the dove. But the pan of the balance with dove would every time outweigh the pan of with King's flesh. Ultimately, Shibi offered his whole body whereupon the Gods Indra and Agni appeared in their real forms, restored his body and blessed him that his name would remain for ever as a King of Righteousness and unbounded Kindness. This story is told in Epics Ramayana and Mahabharata and also in Jataka stories of Buddhism.

Shibara-Shibari
Overall analysis as above leads us to conclude that Shibara or Shibari in place names such as Shibarur and Shibrikere possibly represent a tribal sect of hunters that pervaded parts of ancient India including the Karavali. Shibarai (or Shivaray) the original form of Lord Shiva could have originally been a leader turned divinity hailing from Shibar or Shibari tribe of hunters. The term Shiba in Shibarur also hints at the cultural connection between the Karavali Karnataka and the Bengal/Assam region in the antiquity.
Besides, the word ‘shibira’ ( =camp) as used in Kannada may have been derived from the forest camps of Shibara tribes.
Readers may send in their inputs and opinions on these and related place names.
-Ravi and Vish.
®

244. Eliya tribe

You might have encountered a village called Eliya Nadugodu (in Bantval Taluk) or a hill known as Elimale (in Sullia Taluk). If you are new to the field of analysis of place names you are likely to translate Eliya Nadugodu as ‘Small Mid ridge’ [because Eliya means small in Tulu] or Elimale as ‘Hill of Rats’ { because eli means rat in Tulu] !
Similarly, the place name ‘Elinje’ near Kinnigoli, Mangalore Taluk may have confusing interpretations as the prefix here might be representing either ‘El’(=seven) or ‘Eli’(=rat).
However, the words ‘Eliya’ or ‘Eli’ in the above place names represent name of a tribe which may or may not necessarily represent rats! The nature of these ethnic names are distinct when you take up a place name like ‘Eliyara padavu’ (= the plateau of Eliya people).
Eli, Eliya (or Hiliya), or Eliyar castes have been recorded in the census of southern states of India. The village name ‘Hiliyana’ near Goliangadi, Hebri in Udupi district has preserved another variant of this tribal name.
Similarly there is Hillur near Kumta in Uttar Kannada.
Apart from these, the prefix ‘Ela’ or ‘Ila’ could be another ancient variant name of these tribe. There are place names like ‘Ilantila’ (Ila+anta+ila=habitation of Ila people) in Belthangadi Taluk or ‘Ilavala’ (Ila+va+ala= habitation of Ila people), near Mysore city. There are other places elsewhere in like Elattur,Yelandur, Yellapura,... etc.
Ellamma
‘Ella’ tribe could be another variant of the Eliya group. Place names like ‘Ellur’ (Udupi Taluk), Yellapura (Uttara Kannada),‘Ellammana gudda’ (Savadatti, Belgaum) have preserved this vestiges of 'Ella' people. Proper names like Yellamma, Yellappa appear to have derived from the root ‘ella’. Ellamma or Yellamma (of Savadatti) could have been originally a tribal goddess that was absorbed into the fold of Hinduism subsequently.Ellamma also refers to Runuka Devi, a Princess married to Sage Jamadagni, and she is the mother of Parashurama.
‘Hela’ tribal caste has been recorded in Census from Rajastan, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.Helva, Helve or Hilava have been recorded in Pondicherry and Maharastra. In Maharastra surnames like Yelkar, Yelamar, Yewale, etc are found.
Similarly,’Iliga’ and ‘Eliga’ variants considered equivalent to ‘Ediga’ or ‘Idiga’ have been documented in the census records from Karnataka. Ezhava or Ezhyva of Kerala and Tamilandu 'Hilka' of Kashmir region and Hill Reddis of Maharastra, Karnatka, Hill Pulaya of Tamilnadu may be equivalents or variants of Eliya tribe.
Kowdoor Narayana Shetty reminds the presence of "Eliyaal" in Kowdoor village of Karkala taluk. Bunts with surname "maaDa" are originally either from "Eliyaal" or from BelaDi.
Similarly, there is one 'Haliyal' near Sirsi, Uttara Kannada district. Could Haliyal be a modified variant of possible original Elihal or Helihal?

These varying names could be the variants of the same ancient tribe that lived in different parts of southern India and Srilanka. The ‘Eliya’ word can also be seen frequently in Srilankan place names.

Mushaka: Rat people?
The word ‘Eli’ means rat (or mouse) in Tulu. The place name Elinje, near Kinnigoli in Mangalore Taluk. Apart from ‘Elimale’ in Sullia, Dakshina Kannada, there is a similar ‘Ezhimalai’ in Kerala. Also there is an equivalent meaning place called Cherakkal in Kerala which means 'Rat hill' in Malayalam and Tamil!
Added to this, the great Epic Mahabharat mentions the existence of ‘Mushaka’ kingdom in southern India which has been interpreted as apart of present Kerala State. The Sanskrit word ‘Mushaka’ means the rat. The ‘Mushaka’ apparently was the translation or Sanskritization of the word local Eli. Yet the Sanskrit word Mushaka in Mahabharat identifies the existence of a ruling class of people that can be considered as ‘rat people’.
Civilized
The royal tag to this tribe also hints at civilized features of the Eliya community and it is possible that the ‘eli’, the rat, could have been the totem of these tribes. Note that the tiny animal rat has been adopted as official vehicle for Lord Ganesha in our legends.Further researchers may look for totem insignia of these people. Implication of civilization is also hinted, in Srilankan place names where the word Eliya is applied to towns and cities.
Possible evolutionary trends
Some of the possibilities that have taken shape during the course of evolutionary trends can be outlined for the benefit of those who pursue further research on these lines:
Yadava community is a well known and dominant community in northern India since or even prior to Vedic times (ca.2000 BC and earlier). They were basically cowherds and shepards. Later they also have been soldiers and rulers in different parts of India. Legendary hero Lord Krishna has been considered to be the famous icon from Yadava (Jadhav) community.Variants or several earlier forms of the word ‘Yadava’ can be found in southern India.
Yadava: Yedea, Ediya, Yada, Eda, Yedi, Edi, Ida, Ideya, Yeya, Yagava,. . etc are found as variants in ethno-toponyms of Tulunadu and other parts of southern India.(Check for example, the place names like Yadapadavu,Yadamangala, Yedatore, Yediyur, Iddya, Idakki, Yeyyadi Yagavakote etc. discussed in older posts.)
Apparently ‘Ida’ (pron: ‘iDa’) word was taken into Sanskrit from pre-existing native word ‘Ida’ or ‘Eda’ to signify the left or the sinistral part.
One of the possibilities is that word ‘Eliya’ was another variant of the word ‘Ediya’. And the word Eliya could have been later modified to Eli or Ela. If rats were not the totem of these tribes then the ‘rat ‘ Eli tag might have been the nick name given by other tribes.
In Kerala and other parts of south India tribe ‘Ezhava’, ‘Erava’, ‘Eravlliar’, ‘Illava’, etc have been noted in the census records. Erva and Irava tribal signatures are found in the place names of Tulunadu also. Whether these are all spatio-temporal variants of Eliya is to be studied further.

Mahabharat
Many writers have speculated on existence of ‘Mooshika kingdom’ based on the reference given in the mighty Mahabharat. While the reference documents the existence of a dominant tribes who had a nick-name of ‘rats’ during the period of compilation of Mahabharat (ca 500 BC), the actual size of the qualifier ‘kingdom’ has to be taken with a pinch of salt, in the absence of verifiable historical data, since the great epic is well known for poetic licenses and exaggerations.

Ezhimalai
Confusion regarding the meaning of the word 'Eli' (or Ezhi in Malayalam)can be understood by the lack of unanimity and different meanings attributed to the name of this hill in Kerala. Ezhimalai has been translated by various authors as :1. Rat mountain, 2.Seven hills and 3. High hills.

Mountain Rat
Guerrilla fighters were commonly known as rats. Shivaji Maharaja, who founded the Maratha Kingdom, was nick-named as 'Mountain Rat' by Western Historians. He was skillful in ambushing and attacking Forts in Hill tops, under Mogul's sway.
Thus, it seems the original meaning of the word Eliya or Hiliya may not have been rat! The word Eliya/Hiliya could have been a non-Dravidian word probably from Apabramsha or similar pre-Dravidian tribal language.


Further detailed studies on these aspects and the genome studies on the tribes would be desirable. In the meanwhile readers may send in tidbits of connected data available at their disposal.

-Ravi and Vish.
®

243. Kom tribes in Tulunadu

The word ‘kom’ or ‘komu’ in many of the south Indian languages like Kannada means tribe or caste. Origin of the word is generally traced to the Arabic word ‘quom ‘. It seems the Arabic word ‘quom’ (or kom) was derived from the name of an ancient tribe called Kom.(Besides, consider the possible relation and analogy between the words 'kom' and 'community'.)
The Kom tribes inhabited in parts of southern India in the antiquity.They were farmers, artisans and soldiers.The Koms were known as 'Komme' or 'Komar' in Kannada. There is an area called 'Komarbeedu' in the outskirt of Mysore city.
Similarly,'Komarpanths' form a significant population in present coastal Uttara Kannada and Goa. In British records they were known as 'Comarapeca', the 'peca' (or 'paika') being equivalent word for soldier.Thus Komarpanths of Uttar Kannada consider themselves as Kshatriyas.
The great reformer Basavanna is said to have been from 'Komme' caste. In Andhra Pradesh there is a community known as 'Komma' or 'Kamma'. One of the regions in Andhra is known as 'Khammam'.

However, there are no direct evidences of existence of Kom tribes in present Tulunadu or in other parts of southern India, except recent migrants from Uttara Kannada and Goa region. However, there are a number of village names in Tulunadu that carry the signatures of the ancient Kom tribes and these place names start with the prefix of ‘kom’.

Kompadavu
Kompadavu ( d, pronounced mild as in English ‘the’)is a large village, covered with hard outcrops of laterite, near Mucchur and Niddodi. The village name Kompadavu (kom +padavu) means the plateau of Kom tribes.
Komdodi
Komdodi is a hamlet near Yedapadavu and Kuppepadavu. The place name can be split into Kom +da +oDi or the habitation of Koms.
Kombār
Kombar is a village in Puttur taluk. Kom+bār means the area of Kom tribes.
Kammaje
Kammaje is a hamlet in Karopadi village, Bantval Taluk.
Konchadi
‘Konchādi ‘(pron: kon-chāDi ) forms a large village, now amalgamated into the city in the northern part of Mangalore. Konchadi, the western part, can be accessed partly from Bijai Derebail road and the eastern part from Kadri -Yeyyadi road. The place name Konchadi can be analysed as follows: Kom+cha+aDi. (=Village of the koms).The ‘kom’ is the name of the tribe that inhabited in this area probably in the antiquity (ca 200BC-200 CE?). The suffix ‘-aDi ‘refers to habitation or a village. The modifier ‘cha’ = of, in Prakrit group of languages( Or was it a word from Kom language?).'Koncham' were also recognized as a tribe or caste in south Indian census records.
Kom-jaal guttu. This is the name of a 'guttu' located in Elinje village, East of Mulki, Mangalore Taluk.
Kom-da-Odi. Komdodi is a hamlet east of Yedapadavu on the way to Kuppepadavu, in Mangalore Taluk.

Ancient Kom tribes
The’ kom’ is the name of a tribe (and language) of Northwestern Cameroon, Africa. The Cameroon Kom language is a member of African Bantu language family. According to prevalent legends they came from northern Africa to Cameroon following trails of a python.
Similarly, there are ‘kom’ tribes in northeastern States of India especially Manipur. They also speak Kom language, a member of Tibeto-Burmese language family. Legends among the ‘Kom’ people of Manipur suggest that they came from a large cave located in China. One of their leader ancestor who rescued these tribal people from a tiger was known as ‘Saichepa’. Another legend suggests that these tribes came from Middle East. Probably these two legends suggest dual origin of these tribes. Kom tribes from Africa possibly migrated in segments to Asia and parts of northeastern India.
Sajipa
The Kom tribes that inhabited coastal Tulunadu in the antiquity could have been from North eastern India, as can be deduced from the following possible legendary link.
Sajipa is a large village on the southern bank of River Nethravathy in Bantval Taluk. The exact meaning of the word ‘Sajipa’ is not known now as it has been lost in the wilderness of obscure past history.
It is possible that the word Sajipa is a variant of the word ‘Saichepa’. Saichepa was an ancestor of Kom people, as indicated by the legends of Manipur.
Therefore one of the possibility is that the village name ‘Sajipa’ represents the name of one the ancestor of Kom tribes. Saichepa is also one of the sub-tribes of Koms in Manipur. The Kom tribes who inhabited in Tulunadu once upon a time could have designated the place name 'Sachepa' (later modified to 'Sajipa') in honour of one of their their forefather and a sub-tribe.
Manipur link ?
There are several 'Mani'villages in Tulunadu such as 'Manipur', Manipal(Udupi Taluk), 'Mani-Nalkur' and MaaNi (Bantval Taluk). These village names have been generally unexplainable.
It needs to be explored whether these place names suggest vestigial emotional links introduced by immigrant tribes to Tulunadu from Manipur region in the antiquity.
®