290. Vaiyāli-kaval: Origin and significance

Have you ever wondered about the origin or significance of some of the odd sounding place names in the burgeoning city of Bengaluru? Bengaluru (or Bangalore), originally built by Kempegowda in the year ca.1537 CE, is presently the capital of Karnataka, where Kannada is the official State language; however, you can find several local place names within Bangalore that cannot easily be explained by Kannada pundits or lexicons. Vyalikaval (Vaiyalikaval) is one such place name within Bengaluru. The significance of this place name is that the cosmopolitan  nature of Bengaluru dates back to a period not less than two millennia.

Vyalikaval

Normally pronounced as Vaiyāli-kāval, this particular area is located between Malleshwaram (Originally Mallapura village) and Sadashivanagar (named after freedom fighter Karnad Sadashiva Rao) Extensions in the Northwest part of Bangalore. The suffix ‘kāval’ refers to areas reserved as sylvan zones or protected forests during the historical regime of kings and chieftains. However the word ‘vaiyali’ appears unintelligible in general. Some have tried to explain it as a Kannada version of Tamil word ‘yali’, a mythical animal figurine displayed in temple sculptures in the form of half-lion-half elephant. The mythical ’Yali‘  is generally known as ‘Shārdūla’ in Kannada-Tulu areas.

Google map of Vayalikaval, Bangalore.

 However, the term ‘Vaiyali’ can be traced to an immigrant tribal community that settled in parts of ancient Bengaluru and spread in parts of Tamilnadu and Kerala during or before the early years of Common Era. The ancient tribe of Vayali was of Afghan origin and they used to speak a kind of Paisachi language now extinct in Southern India.

Waynad

Waynad is the name of a popular town and district in Kerala. Like the mysterious Vaiyali-kaval, the place name Waynad also begins with the unusual prefix ‘Wai’. The word Wai normally can be mistaken for ‘Vāyu’ the equivalent  Sanskrit word for the air or the wind.    

Vai  or Vaiyal tribes

Vaiyalikaval or Waynad are not the only places that bear the signature of ancient Vai or Vaiyal tribes. There are numerous villages and settlements spread across the Southern India that bear the name of Vai or Vaiyal people. In Kerala, besides Wayanād, several villages and towns like Vaikom (Kottayam dt), Vaithiri (Wayanad dt), Vayalar and Vyttila (Ernakulam dt), Vailattur (Mallapuram dt), Vaipur (Pathanamthitta dt), and Vylathur (Thrissur dt) have preserved the prefix of the ancient Vai tribes. In Tamilnadu, numerous villages and towns such as: Vayalakkavoor (Uthiramerur dt), Vaipoor and Valayakkaranai (Kundrathur dt), Vayalur (Tirukkalukundram dt), Vayalur(Minjur dt), Voyalanallur (Poonamallee dt), Veialoor (Keerapalyam dt), Vayalamoor (Panagipettai dt), Vaiyangudi (Manglur dt),Vayalur (Kilpennattur dt), Vaividanthangal (Pudupalyam dt), Vayalathur (Vembakam dt), Vaikundam (Mac Choultry dt), Vayalappatti (Mohanur dt), Voipadi (Chennimalai dt), Vaithianathanpettai (Tiruvaiyaru dt), Vaimedu (Vedaranyam dt), Vaipur (Tiruvarur dt), Vayalore (Kodavasal dt), Vaiyampatti (Vaiyampatti dt), Vaiganallur (Kulithalai dt), Vayalaur (Krishna-rayapuram dt), Vayalur (Madurai west),  Vaiyapuripatti (Singamapunari dt) still carry the tag of the extinct ancient Vai tribes. In Maharastra, Wai , Vaijapur etc places bear the signatures of these ancient Vai (or Wai) tribes.

Wai-Ala language

Vai or Vaiyala were an ancient tribe speaking a kind of Paisachi language. Waiyala or waiyali has been considered as a variant of Paisachi languages. Grierson (1906) has described Wai-Ala as one of the Dardic-Kafir languages belonging to class of modern Paisachi languages.  Waigala is a town in Nuristan, Afghanistan. Hence ,it is also known as Waigali; and other alternate names for the language in Afghanistan are Wai, Waigala, Waigalii, Waygali,  Waigeli, Kalasha-Ala, Chima-Nishei, Suki and  Zhonjigali etc.

Vāyuvya: Northwest

The Vai tribes migrated to India from the northwest direction. The Northwest is known as Vāyuvya in Sanskrit. It seems the Sanskrit word for the Wind God ‘Vāyu’ and the Northwest direction,  ‘Vāyuvya’ have been named after the Vai tribes that came from the NW direction.

Suffix -Ala                                                                                                              

The suffix ‘-Ala’ in Paisachi languages of Northwestern Indian subcontinent such as Wai-Ala, Kalasa- Ala etc remind us of the Al suffix in Tulu-Kannada  place names such as Kodiyala Kadiyali, Madivala, Ilawala, Horeyala, etc. These Tulu Kannada place names apparently have been coined while Paisachi- Prakrit was the common language in southern India during the early years of Common Era.

Immigration of Paisacha speakers

The Paisachi languages have been considered as extinct languages that originated in NW part of Indian subcontinent and spread to rest of India Before Christ and during early centuries of Common Era.  Even though any disdained these as languages of devils (pisāchi= devil), it seems the term has been totally misrepresented as the word ‘pai-sa-chi’ essentially means languages of the Pai tribes. All over Southern India including parts of Tulunadu, have place names that suggest existence of Pai-sa-chi speakers, possibly before the advent of Common Era. The Paisachi languages in the NW Indian subcontinent had several variants like Vaiyala, Basgali, Pasai, Sina, Kalasa, Kashmiri, Garwi etc of which some of the variants also survived in the southern Indian villages in the antiquity, as a result of migration of relevant human tribes, before the dominance of Dravidian languages. This aspect is evident from the elaborate list of Paisacha- Vaiyala and other related place names in Southern India. Grierson (1906) proposed that with passage of time Paisachi language evolved into Sauraseni and Maharastri Prakrit language forms.

Grierson map(1906) showing distribution of of Paisacha languages of North-western Indian subcontinent.

 Several Afghan place names like Kalasa, Hunza-nagar etc have apparently been replicated in parts of Karnataka like Kalasa (Chikmagalur dt), Huncha (Shimoga dt) suggesting that these were the ancient settlements of immigrant communities from Northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. Similarly, place names Sindhanur (Raichur dt), Sindhudurga (Maharastra), and surname Sindhya remind us signatures of Sindh and Sindhi culture. Maiya was one of the Paisachi- Prakrit tribes and their language; likewise, the surname ‘Maiya’ or ‘Mayya’ surviving in present Tulunadu could have been a vestige of immigrant ancient Maiya tribes from the Northwest. The suffix –gāli in many of the place names such as Parthagāli, Poorigāli, is a Paisachi word meaning valley.

We have described in Older Posts the significance of the Tulu word ‘pirāk’ (=ancient) that is derived from the ancient place name Pirak, now in Pakistan.

We can see that  a number of ancient place names have survived vagaries of time and tides and  still serve as marker clues to the ancient migrations that affected this land in the bygone pages of the forgotten history.

References:

George Abraham Grierson (1906). The Pisaca languages of the North-western India. Royal Asiatic Society, London. Online source: http://www.archive.org/stream/pisacalanguageso00grie/pisacalanguageso00grie_djvu.txt

Older links herein: 
259.Bekanata and Paisachi; 
262. Significance of Paisachi language.

289. In search of Punnata

Many of us may not have heard about the existence of a Kingdom called Punnata in ancient Karnataka during the early part of Common Era. Punnata or Punanadu (pron: puNanāDu) was a minor kingdom in southern India dating back to 1^st Century CE (or earlier) and persisted until 14th Century CE. The existence of Punnata has been documented in some of the ancient Tamil Sangam texts like Periyapurana, wherein it is described as a land perennially washed by rivers.

Based on Mamballi inscription (ca 5-6 Century CE) scholars consider the area between Rivers Kaveri and Kabini was the ancient Punnata kingdom, with Kittur (formerly Kirthipura) in Heggadadevanakote Taluk (Mysore district) as its capital. It is said that the boundaries of Punnata in its heydays covered parts of Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Hassan, Mysore and Bangalore  districts (in present Karnataka) parts of Kerala and Coimbatore (in present Tamilnadu). It is said that regal families of  Punnata  had matrimonial relations with members of Ganga dynasty. References in Sangam literature describe skirmishes between Nannan (Nanda King) and tribal kings of Punnata.

According to Chandravalli inscriptions Kadamba Mayura Sharma defeated king of Punnata during 4^th Century CE. Punnata is recorded in the Shivapura inscription (ca.1320) of Doddaballapura taluk, suggesting the time range of Punnata Kings in Karnataka.

Beryls of Punnata

Greek geographers Pliny (ca 23-78 CE) and Ptolemy (ca 127 CE) have described emerald gem stones that originated from the land of ‘Pounnata’. Egyptian accounts described ‘Punt’ which is supposed to be a corruption of the word Punnata.

Emerald is a green colored precious stone, known as beryl in mineralogy. Beryl is known to be occurring in small quantities in pegmatite rocks randomly distributed around Krishnaraja sagara, in Mysore district. This mineralized area was a part of Punnata kingdom in the past and the cut and polished green colored emerald gems derived from beryl crystals were apparently exported to Mediterranean markets in the past.

Emerald or beryl is known as ‘pachche’ in Tulu as well as in Old Kannada. The term ‘pachche’ means green. The ‘che’ or ‘cha’ at the end of this word ‘pachche’ is reminiscent of the ‘-cha’ suffix in some of the Paisachi words.

Punnata Sangha

Punnata region was also known as an ancient centre of Jainism in the southern India. It is said that during 4^th Century BC Jain monk Bhadrabahu accompanied Chandragupta Maurya and travelled to southern India. Chandragupta is said to have settled in Sravanabelagola at the end of his lifetime. A Jain religious association was established known as ‘Punnata Sangha’. Later these Jain monks migrated to northwestern India and branches of Punnata Sangha were subsequently found in Gujarat.

According to some authors the term ‘punnaTa’ derived its name from punal which means a stream or river. The word ‘punal’ became ‘honal’ (flow, flood or river) in modern Kannada. This interpretation is based on the fact that an ancient Tamil text Periyapurana described Punnata as a region located on the bank of a river.

However simpler analysis suggests that ‘punnaTa’ should be pun+nata wherein ‘PuNa’ represents the name of an ancient tribe and ‘nāTa’ represents a ‘nāDu, a cultivated region or a country. Therefore it can be described as a country built by PuNa or Punar tribes. Evolution of the term ‘nāDu’ from ‘naDu’ (=to plant) has been explained in earlier posts.

 In other words ‘PunnaTa’ was also known as PunnāDu or PuNa-nāDu.  Thus the term ‘Puna’ or ‘punar’ refers to the people or the tribes inhabited in Punnadu.

 In fact, we find several strings of evidence for the existence of an ancient tribe called ‘Puna’ (singular) or ‘Punar’(plural)  in names of sour fruits and in place names in various parts of Indian subcontinent. In this post let us explore traces of ‘Punnata’ and ‘Punar’ tribal people in  southern India and especially in ancient Tulunadu.

Pune, punaka

Pune, one of the major cities of India is also referred to as ‘Purna nagari’ or ‘Punya nagari’ (Purna=complete; punya=divine blessing) in some medieval Sanskrit texts. Before that it was known as “Punaka Vishaya” (Vishaya=territory). Thus it is clear that refined form of nomenclature ‘Purna’ was derived from the older name of ‘Punaka’. The term ‘punaka’ can be analysed as puna+ka wherein suffix ‘ka’ represents a village or habitation.

Now the place name ‘Punaka’ is a not unique word restricted to southern India. There is a ‘Punakha’ town Bhutan.

Origin of names of some of our popular sour fruits can be traced to ancient Punar tribes.

Punarpuli

Punarpuli (pron: puNar-puLi) is the common name in Tulu for that well known maroon coloured ethnic, wild plum or berry fruit, also alternately known as baDupuli, birinda, binda, murla hannu, kokumm, etc. Botanically it is known as Garcinia indica and is similar and related to mangosteen Garcinia mangostana L. popular in other tropical countries. It commonly used as base for sherbats and juices in Karavali and Malnad regions and is considered to be of medicinal value especially in the treatment of bile disorders, especially in controlling excessive ‘pitta’.

Now what is the origin of the conventional Tulu word Punarpuli?

The term ‘puNar’ in puNar+puli does not have a well defined genetic meaning in Tulu or in Kannada since the word ‘punar’ is non-speciifc, even though ‘puli’ clearly means sour tasting berry or plum. It is suggested here that it was a sour berry named after or discovered by the ancient Punar tribes.

Punake da puli

The conventional and widely popular source of sour ingredient in Indian cooking, the tamarind (botanical name: Tamarindus indica) is called ‘Punake da puli’ in Tulu. The term ‘Punake’ refers to the tamarind tree in general. It was ‘punase’ in Old Kannada which became ‘Hunase’ in modern Kannada. Puna-se, apparently is an old Prakrit word that means the one brought  from Puna!

Similarly,the phrase ‘Punake da puli’ in Tulu also means the sour berry from Punake, where the latter represents name of a place or region (Puna or Punak) in ancient Deccan. The English word Tamarind is derived from the Arabian word ‘Tamar Hind’ (or Indian date) that suggests that Arabs learnt about the usage of this sour berry from India. However, the Tamarind tree is said to be native of Sudan and other African countries originally where it grows wilderness. It is believed that the Tamarind was carried to India and other Asian countries along with human migrations before the Common Era.

The existing terms for some of the Indian sour berries -Punar, Punake or Punase- have analogous root affinities that may be attributed to the extinct (or assimilated) Punar tribes. One of the logical possibilities is that the ancient Punar tribes were pioneers in introducing sour berries in Indian cooking.

Location map of Punacha and Punachapadi villages, Dakshina Kannada District.

Punacha

There are several analogous place names in Tulunadu relevant to Puna tribes. One is Punacha, a large village in Bantwal Taluk, Dakshina Kannada district, near the Kerala border. This village could have been an older colony or domain of Punar tribes. Researchers may look for strings of historical data on Punar tribes in this village.

There is also one Punchame or ‘Punachame’ near Polali Kariangala, Bantwal Taluk and another Punchapādi  or Punachapādi  near Sarve village, Puttur Taluk.Besides, there is also a Punachatār near Kaniyur, Puttur Taluk.

Punimchattaya

In these place names the term ‘Punacha’ is generally being confused with similar sounding term ‘puncha’ (= anthill) the common residing place of snakes. There is another clue to conclude that the word is Punacha and not puncha. In Tulu Brahmins, there is a surname known as Punamchattaya or Punimchattaya. (This particular surname is popular since Dr Venkataraja Punimchattaya discovered several ancient texts written in Tulu script.) The surname ‘Punanachattaya’ can be analysed as Punancha+ttaya which means a person from Punancha, wherein ‘Punancha’ is an alternate old Tulu/Kannada word form of ‘Punacha’.

Poonacha

It is also pertinent here to note that proper name ‘PooNachcha’ is popular among the natives of Kodagu. It apparently is a remnant from the ancient tribe of Punars that pervaded Kodagu and surrounding regions in the past.

Punarur

 There is also a Punarur (punar+ur) near Kinnigoli, Mangalore Taluk, which has been made popular by celebrity, Kannada activist, Harikrishna Punarur.

Similarly, Tulu paDdanas refer to a legendary place in Tulunadu known as ’PuNakedoTTu’.

Prakrit vs. Paisachi

Puna+cha and its analogous place names area related to Punaka places, wherein spatial suffix ‘cha’ replaces suffix ‘ka’ or ‘ga’. There is also a ‘Punekodi’ (kodi=corner) hamlet near Addur. The suffix –cha is widely used in ancient place names of Tulunadu such as Kodachadri (Koda+cha+adri), Paichar (Pai+cha+ar), Chara (Cha+ara), Konchadi (Kom+cha+adi), etc. The suffix -cha, now obsolete, apparently was part of Paisachi language that prevailed in these areas in the early centuries of Common Era, whereas the suffix –ka (or -‘ga’) as in Punaka, Madaka, Pun(a)ga(nur), Binaga, Gadaga etc can be traced to Prakrit language.

Punattur, Punalur, Punganur

There are more such places in several other parts of southern India. Ponnani. Punattur, Punalur, Punnala, Punnaveli, Punnamada etc in Kerala; Punganur in Andhra Pradesh; Punnakayal, Pungavrnattam, Punnamallee, Ponnai, Ponmeni, Ponnarkulam (Punnayurkulam) in Tamilnadu. In Indonesia there is a Punaga beach.

Punar tribes

Overall analysis of the available strings of data suggest that enterprising Punar tribes established their own territory in parts of southern India. However their signatures can be traced as far as Bhutan in Himalayan region. They were cultivators settled on river banks, had knowledge of edible wild sour berries like Punarpuli and Punake puli, possibly also discovered ‘Punangu’ (‘punagu’) or glandular excretion (musk)  from civet cat. They had discovered green colored beryl mineral resources that could be fashioned into emerald gemstones.

It appears that Punar (Punnar)  tribes used Paisachi and Prakrit languages before the early years of Common Era as indicated by the surviving words of that period, like the term ‘pachche’ which was then absorbed into Old Tulu and Old Kannada. It is documented in inscriptions that later the Punar tribes adopted Kannada as administrative language. Punnar tribes were also spread in parts of Gujarat and Rajastan. East Indian Gazetteer by Walter Hamilton mentions that Jahrejahs of Gujarat selected their brides from Rajaput families of Punnar, Surweyo, Goel, Walla etc tribes.

It appears that the Punar tribes migrated to southern India from the north from the Himalayan region as suggested by the existence of a Punakha town in Bhutan. It is possible that Pun(n)a(r) tribe was an older variant of the Central Asian Huna tribe that later invaded northern India. It would worthwhile to delve further into the mysteries of this lost or assimilated tribe that had cast distinct footprints in the early history of southern India.

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References:

S Shettar (2007). “Shangam Tamilagam mattu Kannada naadu nudi,” (in Kannada) Abhinava, Bangalore. p.266.  6^th Edition,2010

The East Indian gazetteer: Volume 1.  Walter Hamilton M. (also in Google Books).

288.Manja in Tulu

 Words, being vehicle of thoughts and actions, are born every now and then and are ever living – generation after generation – may be with varying meanings, which crystallize with the passage of time.  Some words attain sublimity and some others notoriety.  Some are having different shades of meaning and that too  undergo changes in usage over the time.

What is striking about the word ‘Manja’?  It means different things to different people, regions and culture.  It needs no illustration for those who know about it.    To give just an example, ‘manja’ in kite flying is known to everybody, particularly in Maharashtra and Gujarat.  Here ‘manja’ is a special string, smeared with glass powder, to give it a cutting edge in kite fighting.

‘Manja’ in Tulu

‘Manja’ in Tulu language of coastal Karnataka and Kasaragod (Kerala) means generally an ‘elevated place’.  There are many usages of Manja, as documented painstakingly in Tulu Lexicon by scholars.

1.     Kayimanja:  Kaimanja is a small shrine for departed souls, also known as ‘Kayimada’.  On the burial place, a mound is made so as to place food, offered to manes.  Well-to-do people make a shed-like structure for this purpose.

Kadri Kambla 2010, Mangalore

2.    Manjotti:   In Kambala (Buffalo race), it is a raised place at other end of buffalo race slushy field.  It is a reaching point for buffalo as speedily as possible with adept handling by handler.  Speed is measured by time.  Pair of buffalos taking the least time is declared a winner.  Winning buffalos are known as ‘Manjottigone’.  There is a folk narration (PadDana) by name ‘Manjottigona’, which tells about exploits of a young he-buffalo and its tragic end.  This song is sung in group by women in agriculture field while planting nursery plants of paddy.  It is sung when buffalos are not around.

Coming to spirit worship, it means a purification ritual to ward off pollution of the shrine.

3.       Ritualistic act:  Tuluvas are animists. ‘Manja’ is an archaic use in worship of Divine Spirits in Tulunadu.  Manja ritual is a vow fulfilled periodically or on special occasions for appeasement of Divine Spirits of household, village or group of villages (Maganes). There are several Bhutas (Divine Spirits), exploits of whose are described in respective PadDanas, a kind of Tulu literature orally preserved. It is a custom (which is in vogue in Tulunadu) of offering meat (chicken), fish, etc. (with toddy in certain cases). The ritual is known as ‘Manja Balasuni/Malpuni’.

In Siri Festival, a main and lengthy ritualistic celebration, ‘Manja Balasuni’ to Siri Kumara is a less known performance.  RRC News Bulletin of Jan-March 2003 throws light on this performance (q.v. Prasanga – Udupipages.com).

4        Place & personal names: Manja is used in place names, such as Kalmanja, Ballamanja, etc., with specific meaning of ‘elevated place’.  Probably, Kalmanja means a village, beset with rocky mounds and Ballamanja, a high place, full of creepers and bushes.

As for popular names, we can cite Manja and Manjanna as male proper names and Manjakka, a feminine name.  Probably, giving these names has some bearing on physiques.

5      Times of a day:  Manja is used either for evening, darkness or early morning. So it indicates different shades of light as day proceeds.

6       Raised Platform in market: Primarily, it means a ‘raised platform’ for a seller. So, ‘Manja’ literally means a market-place.

7        Engagement Feast: ‘Manja’ is used for a ceremonial feast in bride’s place on consummation of an engagement. In these days, we do not hear this word for the function.  It is now just an engagement party in a hotel.

      Manjarur

     The term ‘Manja’ has been explicitly used in several Tulu place names. Mangalore was known as Manjarur especially during 10th and 11^th Century CE. Manjanadi is a village in Mangalore Taluk, bordering with Kerala. There are several Manjanakatte, Manjara pāde, Manjarapalke, etc hamlets across Tulunadu.

      Similar analogous names exist in Uttara Kannada district also. For example Manjuguni near Ankola.

      The Lord of Kadri Temple, Mangalore is well known as Manjunatha. The Lords name was later replicated in now renowned Dharmastala temple. Manjeshwara is a coastal town in Kasargod Taluk, south of Mangalore. There is a locality known as Vamanjur in Mangalore as well as in Manjeshwara. In earlier posts we interpreted that’ Vamanjur’ could have been originally Om-manjur, named after immigrant Om tribes of Africa.

    Manjanna, Manjappa, Manjamma etc proper names were common in  Tulunadu and adjoining Kannada areas. These may have an obscure tribal heritage that needs to be explored further. The proper name 'Manja' in these could possibly be traced to an ancient Paisachi-Prakrit word 'manja' that represented man (Post 261). The old word 'manja' evidently evolved into 'manuja' with passage of time.

Words are not dead objects, though they undergo changes with passage of time.  They live with people of a region, state and country, perpetuating the  extant beliefs, traditions and culture. This is manifest on exploration of ‘manja’, pertaining to Tulunadu.
 Sometimes, in the antiquity the words have crossed borders to remote countries or words  in usage in different continents may had similar roots to begin with.Note for example: An 'Igloo' means a hut/house made of ice blocks among the Eskimos. Another parallel word 'Illu' in Tulu and some of the other Dravidian languages  means a dwelling place.

-Hosabettu Vishwanath, Pune

link: Omanjur, forgotten word