Citation link:
https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/taprobanian1885/0186
170
THE TAPROBANTAN.
[Avgust, '1886',
but even this word is yielding to kurumba, a
modern word, perhaps taken from the young
nut being offered to the kurumba yakkho.
Uhan evidently connected with Rod. uhaella and
stands probably for the maha of ruk, since
in uhaella “ a lofty tree” the sense of maha is
partially involved. The use of uhan in uhan-ba
“ to pound” shows this connection of uhan
with uhaella.
To collect, rahi kara.— R&si or rahi is
closely allied to Old Eng. raci-an “ to rake,”
and is also the Sinh, rasi “ collection,” and rasibhu-
tha “ collected,” Elu rasiwu, Latin traho, tracta}
Old Eng. drag. The forms rahi and rac may
possibly be Dravidianised from the Aryan or
Aryanised forms t (a) raha, d-(a)-raga (seen in
traho, drag), by a peculiar rule of practice which
in such cases might allow taraha, daraga the
Dravidian expression of traho, or drag, to be
changed to ra-a-ka, ra-a-ga or raka, raga, as
if from ra-(h)-aka and ra-(h)-aga. If, however
this is really an Aryan word, as Sans, rhaga,
Welsh rhacai, Sinh, ra, Eng. rake, rage,
seem to be in the original Aryan sense of
the sound ra-a or ra, the ta or da prefix is
in reality most essential, and such a radical
change as its omission is scarcely, if at all, needed.
If a Skythic root rahaka or raka, however, with
a very rough or double r, was the primal form,
all those in use might well branch off from it,
the Sinhalese softening the r and the Latin
hardening it, but shortening the vowel to balance
prefixed d or t. I suspect then the Sinhalese
owes this word to the Goyi, and that it is not
Dravidian.
To come, lesa wena.—Sinh, lesa, ee a little,”
short, and lesaya, “ ease,’ if related, are only so
by an idiomatic use, such as yahapat wena “to
come,” that is “ to be pleased (to come).” The
Goyi words are, however, admittedly corrupt, the
true words only to be got by comparison and
correction, and this one is very open to doubt.
I do not believe Sinh. 16sa can have any connec-
tion in reality. Kami and Kumi “ la,” to go, is of
course allied to lesa. But while Mr. levers gives
lesa, las wena is used in the Southern Province,
and this evidently comes from lasa, “ speed,” “ dili-
gence,” and the word is equivalent to “ hasten,”
and its use is similar to that of modern duwa,
“ run,” used for “ go” with a sense of diligence.
There is an obscure word laswa, a dancer, in
Sinhalese, which perhaps was once connected.
This suggests a possible origin in common with
Latin salio to leap or dance. Sinhalese hala to
shake, may also be connected. An ancient idio-
matic expression, sas gaha, “ to hasten,” may
possibly also be corrupted from the same source,
but the only conclusion to be adopted on these
materials is that lasa, las wena, are importations
to the Sinhalese through the Goyi dialect.
To cook, udaw kara.—An Elu term still in use
in Sinhalese for cooking by astrological rules.
Old Eng. seath, “ seethe” and sodden come from
the same well-known root.
Crock, kalugediya.—This means46 black lump”
or “fruit” in modern Sinhalese, but is most pro-
bably kali gediya, “the clay thing” or clay pot,
A similar word, kala gediya, exists in Sinhalese^
but restricted to an earthen gourd-shaped vessel
of clay. Kalu then must be here a variant mode
of expressing kal “ clay” as an adjective, and if
correct, the use of kalu where the Sinhalese use
kala may be of ultimate service in inquiry into
the language, and is therefore noticed by me at
length. Tam. kali as in kali man must be com-
pared also. I have translated it “ crock,” as it
has a vague sense of “-pots and pans,” and not of
one of any particular shape.
Crook, daeththa, daeththi goyiya.—Daeththa
is the real name of the tool, and means
“pronged” or “toothed” from datha tooth. The
goyiya is an honorific derived from its use as a,
sacred emblem. A shepherd’s crook is the form
it takes with us, curiously enough also used as
an emblem. Ukunugaha is used in some parts
of the Matala district. I take it to mean the
scooping stick, and to be a form of Sinh, ukana,
to scoop up, as with a spoon, or one’s hand.
This existence of ukunu as a form of ukana,
explains Sinh, ukunu-wala, the hollow of the
back of the head, which at first sight seems in
modern Sinhalese to derive from ukunu wala,
the louse pit. Ukuna, “a louse,” no doubt comes
from the root in its Goyi form, and alluded to
its “ scraping the skin.”
Deei’ (cervulus), (rabbodaya), rabbadaya.—-
The deer here denoted is the “red deer” of Ceylon,
muntjac of India, in size and appearance ex-
tremely like the Reh or Roe deer of Europe, the
horns also being very similar. The form rab-
badaya or “ red belly” (as if for rat-bada-ya) is
used in Sinhalese as a descriptive term for cattle,
red beneath and dark above. I think rabbadaya
should therefore be read here. The cattle term
comes probably from this name for muntjac or
red deer, but that is possibly a compromise with
rat-botah which would be the Vaedda name for
‘ red beast.’ Rat-badaya is the hunter’s name for
THE TAPROBANTAN.
[Avgust, '1886',
but even this word is yielding to kurumba, a
modern word, perhaps taken from the young
nut being offered to the kurumba yakkho.
Uhan evidently connected with Rod. uhaella and
stands probably for the maha of ruk, since
in uhaella “ a lofty tree” the sense of maha is
partially involved. The use of uhan in uhan-ba
“ to pound” shows this connection of uhan
with uhaella.
To collect, rahi kara.— R&si or rahi is
closely allied to Old Eng. raci-an “ to rake,”
and is also the Sinh, rasi “ collection,” and rasibhu-
tha “ collected,” Elu rasiwu, Latin traho, tracta}
Old Eng. drag. The forms rahi and rac may
possibly be Dravidianised from the Aryan or
Aryanised forms t (a) raha, d-(a)-raga (seen in
traho, drag), by a peculiar rule of practice which
in such cases might allow taraha, daraga the
Dravidian expression of traho, or drag, to be
changed to ra-a-ka, ra-a-ga or raka, raga, as
if from ra-(h)-aka and ra-(h)-aga. If, however
this is really an Aryan word, as Sans, rhaga,
Welsh rhacai, Sinh, ra, Eng. rake, rage,
seem to be in the original Aryan sense of
the sound ra-a or ra, the ta or da prefix is
in reality most essential, and such a radical
change as its omission is scarcely, if at all, needed.
If a Skythic root rahaka or raka, however, with
a very rough or double r, was the primal form,
all those in use might well branch off from it,
the Sinhalese softening the r and the Latin
hardening it, but shortening the vowel to balance
prefixed d or t. I suspect then the Sinhalese
owes this word to the Goyi, and that it is not
Dravidian.
To come, lesa wena.—Sinh, lesa, ee a little,”
short, and lesaya, “ ease,’ if related, are only so
by an idiomatic use, such as yahapat wena “to
come,” that is “ to be pleased (to come).” The
Goyi words are, however, admittedly corrupt, the
true words only to be got by comparison and
correction, and this one is very open to doubt.
I do not believe Sinh. 16sa can have any connec-
tion in reality. Kami and Kumi “ la,” to go, is of
course allied to lesa. But while Mr. levers gives
lesa, las wena is used in the Southern Province,
and this evidently comes from lasa, “ speed,” “ dili-
gence,” and the word is equivalent to “ hasten,”
and its use is similar to that of modern duwa,
“ run,” used for “ go” with a sense of diligence.
There is an obscure word laswa, a dancer, in
Sinhalese, which perhaps was once connected.
This suggests a possible origin in common with
Latin salio to leap or dance. Sinhalese hala to
shake, may also be connected. An ancient idio-
matic expression, sas gaha, “ to hasten,” may
possibly also be corrupted from the same source,
but the only conclusion to be adopted on these
materials is that lasa, las wena, are importations
to the Sinhalese through the Goyi dialect.
To cook, udaw kara.—An Elu term still in use
in Sinhalese for cooking by astrological rules.
Old Eng. seath, “ seethe” and sodden come from
the same well-known root.
Crock, kalugediya.—This means46 black lump”
or “fruit” in modern Sinhalese, but is most pro-
bably kali gediya, “the clay thing” or clay pot,
A similar word, kala gediya, exists in Sinhalese^
but restricted to an earthen gourd-shaped vessel
of clay. Kalu then must be here a variant mode
of expressing kal “ clay” as an adjective, and if
correct, the use of kalu where the Sinhalese use
kala may be of ultimate service in inquiry into
the language, and is therefore noticed by me at
length. Tam. kali as in kali man must be com-
pared also. I have translated it “ crock,” as it
has a vague sense of “-pots and pans,” and not of
one of any particular shape.
Crook, daeththa, daeththi goyiya.—Daeththa
is the real name of the tool, and means
“pronged” or “toothed” from datha tooth. The
goyiya is an honorific derived from its use as a,
sacred emblem. A shepherd’s crook is the form
it takes with us, curiously enough also used as
an emblem. Ukunugaha is used in some parts
of the Matala district. I take it to mean the
scooping stick, and to be a form of Sinh, ukana,
to scoop up, as with a spoon, or one’s hand.
This existence of ukunu as a form of ukana,
explains Sinh, ukunu-wala, the hollow of the
back of the head, which at first sight seems in
modern Sinhalese to derive from ukunu wala,
the louse pit. Ukuna, “a louse,” no doubt comes
from the root in its Goyi form, and alluded to
its “ scraping the skin.”
Deei’ (cervulus), (rabbodaya), rabbadaya.—-
The deer here denoted is the “red deer” of Ceylon,
muntjac of India, in size and appearance ex-
tremely like the Reh or Roe deer of Europe, the
horns also being very similar. The form rab-
badaya or “ red belly” (as if for rat-bada-ya) is
used in Sinhalese as a descriptive term for cattle,
red beneath and dark above. I think rabbadaya
should therefore be read here. The cattle term
comes probably from this name for muntjac or
red deer, but that is possibly a compromise with
rat-botah which would be the Vaedda name for
‘ red beast.’ Rat-badaya is the hunter’s name for