Names of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා, romanized: Śrī Lankā; Tamil: சிறி லங்கா / இலங்கை, romanized: Ilaṅkai), officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in the northern Indian Ocean which has been known under various names over time.

The oldest name of Sri Lanka is Tamraparni[1] (= Taprobane). Six centuries before Christ, it was named Simhalam[2] (Simhala [3]in Pali). Simhalam became Saylan mentioned from the 9th century.[4] Lanka appears between the 10th[5]and the 12th centuries after Christ.[3]

Taprobana, Tamraparni
Main article: Taprobana
Taprobane in the Catalan Atlas (1375): "Illa Trapobana".

Tamraparni is the oldest name of Sri Lanka.[6] According to some legends, Tamraparni is the name given by Prince Vijaya when he arrived on the island. The word can be translated as "copper-coloured leaf", from the words Thamiram (copper in Sanskrit) and Varni (colour). Another scholar states that Tamara means red and parani means tree, therefore it could mean "tree with red leaves".[7] Tamraparni is also a name of Tirunelveli, the capital of the Pandyan kingdom in Tamil Nadu.[8] The name was adopted in Pali as Tambaparni.

The name was adopted into Greek as Taprobana, used by Megasthenes in the 4th century BC.[9] The Greek name was adopted in medieval Irish (Lebor Gabala Erenn) as Deprofane (Recension 2) and Tibra Faine (Recension 3), off the coast of India, supposedly one of the countries where the Milesians / Gaedel, ancestors of today's Irish, had sojourned in their previous migrations.[10][11]

The name remained in use in early modern Europe, alongside the Persianate Serendip, with Traprobana mentioned in the first strophe of the Portuguese national epic poem Os Lusíadas by Luís de Camões.

John Milton borrowed this for his epic poem Paradise Lost and Miguel de Cervantes mentions a fantastic Trapobana in Don Quixote.[12]

Simhalam, Saylan, Ceylon

Six centuries BC, it was named Simhalam or Simhala [3] (in Pali)(Sinhale[2] in Sinhala, Eelam in Tamil).

From Simhalam came the forms Saylan (that is mentioned from the 9th century AD [4]), Silam [13] (Ilam in Tamil[14]).

Faxian (3rd and 4th century), the Chinese Buddhist monk, calls it Sinhala[15] (or the Lion kingdom[16]). He stayed 2 years in Sinhala and visited it all.[17]

From the words Silam and Saylan, many forms were derived : Portuguese Ceilão, Spanish Ceilán, French Ceylan, Dutch Zeilan, Ceilan and Seylon, and English Ceylon. On the 2nd century AD, Ptolemy calls the inhabitants Salai.[18]

Lanka

The name Lanka comes from the Hindu text the Ramayana, where Lanka is the abode of King Ravana.

From the most recent scientific research, we know that :

- the Ramayana Lanka began to be considered as the present-day Sri Lanka between the 10th[19]and the 12th centuries after Christ,[3] - and that this assertion that the Ramayana Lanka is the present-day Sri Lanka became part of the Sinhalese Buddhist mysthistorical imagination on the 16th century[20]

According to many recent scientists, the Ramayana Lanka is not[21][22][23][24][25][26][27] the present-day Sri Lanka

Another traditional Sinhala name for Sri Lanka was Lakdiva, with diva also meaning "island".[28] A further traditional name is Lakbima.[29] In both cases, Lak is derived from Lanka. The same name could have been adopted in Tamil as Ilangai; the Tamil language commonly adds "i" before initial "l".

Sri Lanka

The name of Sri Lanka was introduced by the Marxist Lanka Sama Samaja Party founded in 1935.

The Sanskrit honorific Sri was introduced in the name of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය, romanized: Sri Lanka Nidahas Pakshaya) founded in 1952.

In 1972, the Republic of Sri Lanka was officially adopted as the country's name with the new constitution[30] and changed to "Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka" in the constitution of 1978.

Serendip, Sinhaldvip

The name Serendip was given by Arabs due to Lankan ruby and pearl. The name is said to be based on the word Sinhaladvipa which is also used in the Culavamsa as a name for the island.[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]

Eelam
See also: Eelam

The earliest use of the word is found in a Tamil-Brahmi inscription as well as in the Sangam literature. The Tirupparankunram inscription found near Madurai in Tamil Nadu and dated on palaeographical grounds to the 1st century BCE, refers to a person as a householder from Eelam (Eela-kudumpikan).[39]

The most favoured explanation derives it from a word for the spurge (palm tree),[40] via the application to a caste of toddy-drawers, i.e. workers drawing the sap from palm trees for the production of palm wine.[41] The name of the palm tree may conversely be derived from the name of the caste of toddy drawers, known as Eelavar, cognate with the name of Kerala, from the name of the Chera dynasty, via Cheralam, Chera, Sera and Kera.[42][43]

The stem Eela is found in Prakrit inscriptions dated to 2nd century BC in Sri Lanka in personal names such as Eela-Vrata/Ela-Bharat and Eela-Naga. The meaning of Eela in these inscriptions is unknown although one could deduce that they are either from Eela a geographic location or were an ethnic group known as Eela.[44][45] From the 19th century onwards, sources appeared in South India regarding a legendary origin for caste of toddy drawers known as Eelavar in the state of Kerala. These legends stated that Eelavar were originally from Eelam. But since the 'H' sound in Dravidian languages is not pronounced profoundly leading to its omission, therefore it is likely that the Eelavar were Hela people given the fact that Ezhava peoples acknowledge the fact that they are of Sinhala origin and that they even have average racial physical differences compared to average Tamils.

There have also been proposals of deriving Eelam from Simhala (comes from Elam, Ilam, Tamil, Helmand River, Himalayas). Robert Caldwell (1875), following Hermann Gundert, cited the word as an example of the omission of initial sibilants in the adoption of Indo-Aryan words into Dravidian languages.[46] The University of Madras Tamil Lexicon, compiled between 1924 and 1936, follows this view.[40] Peter Schalk (2004) has argued against this, showing that the application of Eelam in an ethnic sense arises only in the early modern period, and was limited to the caste of "toddy drawers" until the medieval period.[41]

It seems that the term Eelam is a derivation from the name Hela which is a name for the Sinhala people. The Ezhava caste of Kerala acknowledge their Hela origins from Sri Lanka and were known as Ezhava by the Brahmins in Kerala, this further substantiates the claim that the name Eelam is a derivation of Hela as the 'H' sound in Dravidian languages is not pronounced well leading to the omission of the 'H' sound. Ezhava peoples acknowledge the fact that they are of Sinhala origin and that they even have average racial physical differences compared to average Tamils.

Suggested Biblical names
  • Tarshish. According to James Emerson Tennent, Galle was said to be the ancient city of Tarshish where King Solomon drew ivory, peacocks, and others. Cinnamon was exported from Sri Lanka as early as 1400 BC and as the root of the word itself is Hebrew, Galle may have been the entrepôt for the spice.[47]
  • Ophir. There is a Jewish Tradition that associates the land of Ophir with modern-day India and Sri Lanka. David ben Abraham al-Fasi, a 10th-century lexicographer, cites Ophir as Serendip, as the country was known to the Persians.[48]

Nickname/Special names
  • Pearl of the Indian Ocean
  • Teardrop in the Indian Ocean[49]

See also

References
  1. Robert Caldwell (1989 ), A History of Tinnevelly, pages 9 and 10
  2. M. M. M. Mahroof, An Ethnological Survey of the Muslims of Sri Lanka: From Earliest Times to Independence, Sir Razik Fareed Foundation, 1986, p. XVI
  3. J. Dodiya, Critical Perspectives on the Rāmāyaṇa, Sarup & Sons, 2001, p. 166-181
  4. R. A. Donkin, Beyond Price: Pearls and Pearl-fishing, Origins to the Age of Discoveries, American Philosophical Society, 1998
  5. Dr. Deborah de Koning, PhD (2022), "Ravanisation": The Revitalisation of Ravana among Sinhalese Buddhists in Post-War Sri Lanka, LIT Verlag, Münster, pages 108-110
  6. Robert Caldwell (1989 ), A History of Tinnevelly, pages 9 and 10
  7. Caldwell, Bishop R. (1881-01-01). History of Tinnevelly. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 9788120601611.
  8. Arumugam, Solai; GANDHI, M. SURESH (2010-11-01). Heavy Mineral Distribution in Tamiraparani Estuary and Off Tuticorin. VDM Publishing. ISBN 978-3-639-30453-4.
  9. Friedman, John Block; Figg, Kristen Mossler (2013-07-04). Trade, Travel, and Exploration in the Middle Ages: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-59094-9. Archived from the original on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
  10. Macalister, Robert Alexander Stewart (September 1, 1939). "Lebor Gabála Érenn: The Book of the Taking of Ireland - Volume 2 (1939)". Retrieved September 1, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  11. In the early 1800s, Welsh pseudohistorian Iolo Morganwg published what he claimed was mediaeval Welsh epic material, describing how Hu Gadarn had led the ancestors of the Welsh in a migration to Britain from Taprobane or "Deffrobani", aka "Summerland", said in his text to be situated "where Constantinople now is." However, this work is now considered to have been a forgery produced by Iolo Morganwg himself.
  12. Don Quixote, Volume I, Chapter 18: the mighty emperor Alifanfaron, lord of the great isle of Trapobana.
  13. Robert Caldwell (1989 ), A History of Tinnevelly, pages 9 and 10
  14. Robert Caldwell (1989 ), A History of Tinnevelly, pages 9 and 10
  15. J. Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire (1860), Le Bouddha et sa religion, page 321
  16. J. Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire (1860), Le Bouddha et sa religion, page 321
  17. J. Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire (1860), Le Bouddha et sa religion, page 321
  18. Indicopleustes, Cosmas; McCrindle, J. W. (2010-06-24). The Christian Topography of Cosmas, an Egyptian Monk: Translated from the Greek, and Edited with Notes and Introduction. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-01295-9.
  19. Dr. Deborah de Koning, PhD (2022), "Ravanisation": The Revitalisation of Ravana among Sinhalese Buddhists in Post-War Sri Lanka, LIT Verlag, Münster, pages 108-110
  20. Dr. Deborah de Koning, PhD (2022), "Ravanisation": The Revitalisation of Ravana among Sinhalese Buddhists in Post-War Sri Lanka, LIT Verlag, Münster, pages 108-110
  21. Valmiki's Ramayana
  22. Vālmīki; Venkatesananda, Swami (1988-01-01). The Concise R_m_ya_a of V_lm_ki. SUNY Press. ISBN 9780887068621.
  23. Moor, Edward (1999). The Hindu Pantheon – Edward Moor – Google Books. ISBN 9788120602373. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  24. Bell, Harry Charles Purvis (1998). Excerpta Máldiviana - H.C.P. Bell, Harry Charles Purvis Bell - Google Books. ISBN 9788120612211. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  25. Purnalingam Pillai, M. S. (1993). Ravana - The Great King of Lanka - M.S. Purnalingam Pillai - Google Books. ISBN 9788120605473. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  26. "Situation of Ravana's Lamka on the Equator". The Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society. XVII (1). 1926.
  27. Braddell, Roland (December 1937). "An Introduction to the Study of Ancient Times in the Malay Peninsula and the Straits of Malacca". Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 15 (3 (129)): 64–126. JSTOR 41559897.
  28. Silvā, Ṭī Em Jī Es (2001-01-01). Lakdiva purāṇa koḍi (in Sinhala). Sūriya Prakāśakayō. ISBN 9789558425398.
  29. Bandara, C. M. S. J. Madduma (2002-01-01). Lionsong: Sri Lanka's Ethnic Conflict. Sandaruwan Madduma Bandara. ISBN 9789559796602.
  30. Articles 1 and 2 of the 1972 constitution: "1. Sri Lanka (Ceylon) is a Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic. 2. The Republic of Sri Lanka is a Unitary State."
  31. Barber, Robert K. Merton, Elinor (2006). The Travels and Adventures of Serendipity : A Study in Sociological Semantics and the Sociology of Science (Paperback ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. pp. 1–3. ISBN 0-691-12630-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  32. Cuba y la Casa de Austria. Ediciones Universal. 1972-01-01.
  33. Ramachandran, M.; Mativāṇan̲, Irāman̲ (1991-01-01). The spring of the Indus civilisation. Prasanna Pathippagam.
  34. Ouseley, William (1819-01-01). Travels in Various Countries of the East.
  35. Malte-Brun, Conrad; Huot, Jean-Jacques-Nicolas (1834-01-01). A System of Universal Geography, Or, A Description of All the Parts of the World, on a New Plan, According to the Great Natural Divisions of the Globe: Accompanied with Analytical, Synoptical, and Elementary Tables. S. Walker.
  36. Rawlinson, H. G. (Hugh George), 1880–1957. (2001). Intercourse between India and the western world : from the earliest times of the fall of Rome. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. ISBN 81-206-1549-2. OCLC 50424520.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  37. "The Island". www.island.lk. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  38. Buddhism in the modern world : adaptations of an ancient tradition. Heine, Steven, 1950-, Prebish, Charles S. New York: Oxford University Press. 2003. ISBN 978-0-19-534909-2. OCLC 65193228.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  39. Civattampi, Kārttikēcu (2005). Being a Tamil and Sri Lankan. Aivakam. pp. 134–135. ISBN 9789551132002.
  40. University of Madras (1924–36). "Tamil lexicon". Madras: University of Madras. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12.
  41. Schalk, Peter (2004). "Robert Caldwell's Derivation īlam < sīhala: A Critical Assessment". In Chevillard, Jean-Luc (ed.). South-Indian Horizons: Felicitation Volume for François Gros on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Pondichéry: Institut Français de Pondichéry. pp. 347–364. ISBN 2-85539-630-1..
  42. Nicasio Silverio Sainz (1972). Cuba y la Casa de Austria. Ediciones Universal. p. 120. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  43. M. Ramachandran, Irāman̲ Mativāṇan̲ (1991). The spring of the Indus civilisation. Prasanna Pathippagam, pp. 34. "Srilanka was known as "Cerantivu' (island of the Cera kings) in those days. The seal has two lines. The line above contains three signs in Indus script and the line below contains three alphabets in the ancient Tamil script known as Tamil ...
  44. Akazhaan. "Eezham Thamizh and Tamil Eelam: Understanding the terminologies of identity". Tamilnet. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
  45. Indrapala, Karthigesu (2007). The evolution of an ethnic identity: The Tamils in Sri Lanka C. 300 BCE to C. 1200 CE. Colombo: Vijitha Yapa. ISBN 978-955-1266-72-1.p. 313
  46. Caldwell, Robert (1875). A comparative grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian Family of Languages. London: Trübner & Co. p. pt. 2 p. 86.
  47. https://web.archive.org/web/20140728201052/http://www.econsortium.info/Psychosocial_Forum_District_Data_Mapping/galle.pdf
  48. Culture (October 4, 2020). "Does the Bible Make Reference to Sri Lanka and South India? | Indo-Christian". medium.com. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  49. "A teardrop in the Indian Ocean". 6 October 2005.

The dictionary definition of names of sri lanka at Wiktionary

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.