Sunday, November 27, 2011

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.

6 comments:

  1. This is quite interesting. Of course the popular legend is that Vyalikaval got its name because the release of KempeGowda from the Vijayanagara prison was celebrated here by seating him on a swing made of silver. Uyyale kaval is supposed to have been corrupted as Vyalikaval.

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  2. What is Kaaval? Safe-Guarding. Am I right?

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    Replies
    1. Kaaval refers to an ancient /traditional protected area mostly covered with trees.

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    2. I am right. Kaaval means the same today. Kaavalkaaran-watch man. Kaaval-Daivam -village guarding deity. I don't get Vayaali. The word Vayal refers to agricultural field. Yaazhi is a ancient musical instrument.

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  3. This is a great news since the term VAIYA is prevalent in and around Palani. The celebrated Sangam Vallal Pekan may belong to this clan. Further recent excavations have revealed that there are numerous peacock figures which are related to Yauddheyas. Unfortunately the Indian historians are so obsessed with Aryanism/Proto Aryanism/Dravidism/proto Dravidism that they never tend to link Tamil and Karanataka connection from Palani to Karwar as a unified area. The historians never consider the specific reference to kongalavas chengalavas the malai mandala with capital at udagai(udayavara) and parallel Tamil Kings line of Pandiarasa Chola maharaja Nolamba pallava as feudatories of Chalukya. The early Ganga kings Durvinita and his ancestor Avinitha married Chola princesses glorifying them as descendants of Spotless Kshatriya Karikala the lord of Uragapura who built dam across Cauvery. Hieun Tang and Ptolemy's reference to Cholas point only to Ananthapur Kadappa districts. The Nolamba Pallavas claimed descent from Trinetra Pallava which does not tally with the geneology of Pallavas. Further they always claim as lord of Kanchi which could not be the present Kanchipuram. Further while Chola inscriptions abound in deep contact between malnad andvTricy there was no contact between Kanchipuram and Malnad. Probably Kanchi would have been in Ganga territory only. Further the reference to numbers as Forty eight thousand eight thousand three hundred etc., are all of Karnataka only.These goes to suggest that many places in Thanjavur/Trichy and Kanchipuram districts would have actually been in Karnataka and during the period of Satavahanas and Kadambas the Cholas would have moved eastwards. Further while Kadambas began to build temples for Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu we find sudden spurt of Shivaite and Vaishnavite Sthalas in Tamil country especially in Chola and Pallva areas only in fifth century AD. The peculiarity of Thanjavur District is that nobody claims right over it and considered as Brahmin settlement. A curious factor missed by historians now explained by Sri Stein is that the imperial Cholas used Cauvery region as a source of production of food grains feeding a mighty army from the period of Pallavas to KulothungaI. Simhavishnu and Mahendravarman considered it as jewel. The reason is that the Cholas held it only as nominal territory since they were more concentrated in Rayalaseema. Further the term Muttarasa was very significant since with its elongated consonant it was Mudurasa(the king of east)mudiraja(one who had right to crown)mudduraja(vriddharaja, vaddarasa)the elder one and so on.The chalukyans were referred as Ghattirasa which also referred in Sangam literature as Velir clan the Irungolas referred as Kodumbalur velirs as well as in Sangam literature the Nannans referred as Nnannirasa and so on. Thus Karnataka has more to offer for uncovering the mystery of Tamil. The hero stones prevalent in both the states and the double chamber of burial urns recently discovered near Palani and of the Chalukyan subordinates further strengthen this view. Finally historians have still to consider a very important question: why no such artifacts never found out in Cauvery belt and why Sanskrit literature up to the time of Alberuni and Kalhana makes no mention about Thanjavur/Woriyur Cholas? It can be demystified only when names of Chola kings like Ilamchet chenni Chetchenni Mudithalai and the Vel and Velir were converted into Prakrit/Kannada terms. The ancient towns of entire Malnadu and Ganga kingdom should be Tamilised and they should be compared with places in Cauvery basin. Only then the correct history of SouthbIndia will emerge.

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Blog Archive

Books for Reference

  • A Comparative Study of Tulu Dialects By Dr. Padmanabha Kekunnaya. Govinda Pai Reserach Centre, UDupi. 1994
  • Koti Chennaya: Janapadiya Adhyayana. By Dr. Vamana Nandavar. Hemanshu Prakashana ,Mangalore.2001.
  • Male kudiyaru. Dr B. A.Viveka Rai and D.Yadupathi Gowda, Mangalore University,1996.
  • Mogaveera Samskriti By Venkataraja Punimchattaya. Karnataka Sahitya Academy.1993.
  • Mugeraru:Jananga Janapada Adhyayana. By Dr Abhaya Kumar Kaukradi.Kannada & Culture Directorate,Bangalore & Karnataka Tulu Academy, Mangalore,1997.
  • Puttubalakeya Pad-danagalu. Ed: Dr B.A.Viveka Rai,Yadupati Gowda and Rajashri, Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheswara Tulu Peeta. Mangalore University.2004
  • Se'erige. Ed:Dr K.Chinnapa Gowda.Madipu Prakashana,Mangalagangotri,2000.
  • Studies in Tuluva History and Culture.by Dr P Gururaja Bhat (1975).Milagres College,Kallinapur,Udupi.
  • Taulava Sanskriti by Dr.B.A.Viveka Rai, Sahyadri Prakashana,Mysore 1977
  • TuLu naaDu-nuDi By Dr.PalthaDi Ramakrishna Achar, Puttur.
  • TuLu NighanTu. (Editor in Chief: Dr U.P.Upadhyaya, Govinda Pai Research Centre,Udupi. Six volumes. 1988 to 1997
  • Tulu Patero-A Philology & Grammar of Tulu Language by Budhananda Shivalli.2004.Mandira Prakashana Mangalore. p.317. (The book is in Tulu Language using Kannada script)
  • TuLunadina ShasanagaLa Sanskritika Adhyayana. By Shaila T. Verma (2002) Jnanodaya Prakashana,Bangalore, p.304.(Kannada)
  • Tuluvala Baliyendre. Compiled by N.A.Sheenappa Hegde,Polali,Sri Devi Prakashana,Parkala,1929/1999

A Coastal estuary

A Coastal estuary
Holegadde near Honavar,Uttara Kannada dist, Karnataka

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