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Know the Etymology: 130

Place Name of the Day: Monday, 11 May 2009

Colombo / Kozhumpu / Ko'lumpu / Ko'lamba

ெகா ம் / ெகா ம்
Colombo / Koḻumpu / Koḷumpu / koḷampa

The point where the land bends inside

The point of the bend

Colombo Colonial rendering of the place name, from Tamil and Sinhala, Kozhumpu
/ Ko'lumpu / Ko'lamba / Kollam-tota etc., that stood for the
landscape of the place, i.e., point of abrupt turn.
Kozhu Plough point, coulter (Tamil, Changkam Diction, lexicons, and modern in
the usage of farmer's technical terms); The sharp end of eyes, buds,
shoots, sprouts etc, as adjective (Tamil, Changkam Diction); Kozhuk-
kaddai: A steamed pastry of pointed ends on either side (Tamil);
Ka'ruththak-kozhumpaan, Ve'l'laik-kozhumpaan: Varieties of mango
of dark and light greed skin, having curved points; Ko'luththu: An alley of
sudden bend (Tamil, Old Lexicons); Ko'lu: Extreme point of things
(Dhivehi / Maldivian, comes in the names of Maldivian islands, located at
the tips of the outer reef of atolls or an atoll itself making a tip in the chain
of atolls); Koa: A sudden curvature in the reef that leads inside (Dhivehi /
Maldivian, Dhivehi Bas Foi Dictionary); Kola, Kolaa: Islands situated at
turning points of the reef (Dhivehi / Maldivian, An Etymological Dictionary
of Maldivian Island Names); Kodu, Koadu: (adjective) Bending (Tamil,
Changkam Diction, literary, note the Zh / 'L / L / D interchange);
Ko'lukki: A hook; Ko'luvuthal: Hooking (Tamil, obviously by ZH
becoming 'L); Ko'lai: The Yaazh (lute) of the curved body (Changkam
Diction and Chilappathikaaram); Koalambaka: Curved body of a lute,
large water jar (Sinhala): Kola: Curving parts of body, such as hip, flank
etc. (Sanskrit); Kolamba: a large jar of sharp curves (Pali / Prakrit);
Koala: curving body parts, objects, the sharply curving coast from Orissa
to Tamil Nadu (Sinhala); Kolombiya: Species of a mango tree (Sinhala);
Kollan-gaha: A tree bearing hook-tipped fruits, Xanthocymus pictorius
(Sinhala); Ko'lom: A tree bearing globular flowers (Sinhala, Adina
cordifolia). See column on Koava'lam for the etymology of Koa
Kollam An ancient and important harbour-city in southern Kerala, became Quilon
in colonial renderings. There are also other places in Kerala having the
name Kollam. The landscapes of all these places are sharp turning points,
comparable to that of Colombo. Kolamba-pattana: The name of Kollam
in Sanskrit (Indian Epigraphy, D.C. Sircar, P269, Indian Antiquary Vol II,
P360); Kolamba-samvat: Sanskrit term for Kollam Aa'ndu, a reckoning
of Era, prevalent in southern Kerala and some southern parts of Tamil
Nadu; Kollam-tota: Said to be the old name of Colombo; Tota: Port,
ford, ferry (Sinhala; the Tamil cognate Thoduvaay from the verb root
Thodu means touching or reaching point); Kolu: rising position (Tamil);
Kolu, Kolla: High ground (Malayalam)

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The place Colombo and its place name came into

prominence ever since the Portuguese built a
warehouse and later a fort in the present Fort area of
the Colombo city, in the early 16th century.

Colombo, the coastal location selected by the

Portuguese, was only a few km northwest to the
capital of one of the native kingdoms of the island at
that time, located at Kotte (literally means fort; the
locality of the present day parliament complex at Sri
Jayawardanepura).

The choice of the Portuguese to locate their

settlement at today's Fort area of Colombo was
determined by its strategic landscape making a point Location of Colombo and Kotte [Satellite
image courtesy: Google]
as well as a curving coastline to anchor ships.

With the rise of the Portuguese power, and the

conquest of the kingdom of Kotte, the native capital
became abandoned and the Portuguese town became
the central place. Colonial trade and trade route
considerations made Colombo as the seat of the
governor in the Portuguese, Dutch and the British
times.

However, until early British times, Colombo was

actually confined to today's Fort area. The native
town outside of the fort was today's Pettah (from
Tamil Peaddai means wholesale area or downtown;
Peadu in Tamil / Telugu means village, settlement
etc).

The etymology of Colombo is not convincingly

traceable through Sinhala sources, but there is a
Colombo Fort and harbour. The harbour
memory that the old name of Colombo was constructions are additions since late
Kollam-tota. colonial times. [Satellite image courtesy:
Google Earth]
Today Colombo is written and pronounced in Sinhala
as Ko'lamba.

Various conjectures have been made with the help of

Sinhala vocabulary to trace the etymology to a
variety of Mango tree (Ko'lambiya), Mango leaves
(Ko'le-amba), a tree bearing mango-like fruits
(Kollan-gaha), and another tree bearing ball-like
flowers (Ko'lam). Kollam-tota is also interpreted as
the port to embark for Kollam in Kerala. Tota is port,
ferry etc in Sinhala, connected to Thodu-vaay (from
the verb root Thodu) in Tamil, meaning, touching or
reaching point.

However, how Colombo is called in Tamil usage, and
similar place names in Malayalam and Dhivehi
(Maldivian), seem to provide an important key to
understand the etymology of Colombo. It is also
pertinent to note here the wide prevalence of Tamil /
Malayalam demography in the western coastal belt of
Sri Lanka until they were absorbed into Sinhala
identity after 19th century (see column on Udappu).
Kozhumpu and Neerkozhumpu
(Colombo and Negombo). Note the
similarity in geography but the addition
of a body of water in the case of
Negombo [Satellite image courtesy:
Google Earth]

Colombo is written and pronounced as Kozhumpu or

Ko'lumpu in Tamil.

It is not an isolated place name in Eezham Tamil.

There are two more Kozhumpus or Ko'lumpus:
Negombo, some km north of Colombo is always
called Neer-Kozhumpu or Neer-Ko'lompu in Colombo and Kollam [Satellite image
Eezham Tamil. There is one more place courtesy: Google Earth]
Kozhumputh-thu'rai or Ko'lumputh-thu'rai in the

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Jaffna Peninsula.

All the three Kozhumpus are coastal ports, sharing

similar geographical features.

An Indian plough. Note the 'kozhu' or

plough-tip inside the circle. [Photo
courtesy: flickr image]

Note the occurrences of Ko'lu in the place names of Kerala, Sri Lanka and Maldives

Interestingly, there are more than one Kollam

(Kolamba-pattana in Sanskrit) in the Kerala coast,
showing identical geographical features to that of the
three Kozhumpus.

Significant parallels could be seen in many of the

island names of Maldives where the terms Ko'lu,
Kolaa etc stand for a specific geographical feature
comparable to that of Colombo.
The pastry called Kozhukkaddai. It is a
The etymology of Colombo lies in its geography. tradition to prepare it when babies get
their first teeth.

The word Kozhu, often pronounced as Ko'lu, in Tamil,

stands for a tip, point etc.

In Tamil usage, very specifically Ko'zhu stands for the

tip of a plough, which is actually a bent tip.

It is a word of Changkam Tamil usage found to be

used even today in the farmer's technical terms:

"Kollai uzhu kozhu eayppa, pallea ellaiyum iravum

oon thin'ru mazhungki" The Ka'ruththaik-kozhumpaan variety of
mango.
"Like the plough's tip that burrows the slash and burn
field, the teeth got blunted by eating meat day and
night". (Porunaraattuppadai: 117-118)

"Naagnchil uduppu muka muzhuk kozhu moozhka

oon'ri"

"Burrowing deep by the plough's tip fixed at the base

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of the plough completely going into the earth",

(Perumpaa'naattuppadai: 199)

"Naagnchi aadiya kozhu vazhi marungkin"

"In the burrowed filed where the tip of the plough did
its work", (Pathittuppaththu, 58:17)

The word Kozhu, in its meaning curved tip, can also

be found used in some other word-combinations,
especially in Eezham Tamil:

Kozhuk-kaddai is a steamed pastry having curved

tips on either side.

Recognizing the curved tip of mango fruit, two

varieties of mangoes in Jaffna are called by the name
'Kozhumpaan' in Jaffna Tamil. They are differentiated
as Ka'ruththak-kozhumpaan and Ve'l'laik- The ve'l'laik-kozhumpaan variety of
kozhumpaan because of the dark-green and mango
light-green shades of the fruits. (Ka'ruppu: dark;
Ve'l'lai: white or light)

Anyone who looks at the geography of Colombo's

location can immediately recognize why it is called
Kozhumpu in Tamil. It is a curved tip, the land
bending on one side. (See images)

It is the same geography that can be seen in the case

of Neer-Kozhumpu (Negombo) and in the case of
Kozhumputh-thu'rai in Jaffna (thu'rai means, port,
ferry etc). The prefix Neer (water, sea etc) of the
place name Neer-kozhumpu stands for the lake of
that place. (See images)
The location and geography of
Neer-Kozhumpu (Negombo) [Satellite
The suffix Umpu in Kozhumpu (kozhu-umpu) is a image courtesy: Google Earth]
usual linguistic addition known in Tamil grammar as
Chaariyai (euphonic particle of a word)

Revealing examples for the use of the word Ko'lu,

standing for the geography of place names, come
from the Maldivian island names, and in one example
from an atoll name in the Maldives.

The word Ko'lu in the Maldivian language Dhivehi,

gives the same meaning tip, point, etc., as in Tamil,
even though there is no specificity as such a plough's
tip. (Dhivehi Bas Foi: Dictionary of Dhivehi Language
(in Dhivehi), National Centre for Linguistic and The location and geography of
Historical Research, Maldives). Dhivehi and Tamil Kozhumputh-thu'rai [Satellite image
courtesy: Google Earth]
also share another shade of meaning for the word
Ko'lu /Kozhu (wooden logs, straight stems, branches,
poles etc. Kolombuwa in Sinhala is a wooden log to
sit)).

An atoll at the southern tip of the chain of atolls in

Maldives is called Ko'lu-madulu, meaning the tip-atoll
(written as Kolhumadulu in the Maldivian
transcription system; Madulu means, atoll, circle,
district etc; from Sanskrit Ma'ndala)

There are many other islands in Maldives, having the

word Ko'lu (Kolhu) in their names and all those
islands invariably make a tip in the atoll reef. (See
images and related place names)

Another cue that comes from the Maldivian island

names is the use of the word Koa for a curve in the
reef. Islands at the point where the reef makes a

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curve are called Koala, Kolaa, Koalaa, etc. (See

related place names)

The two Kollams in the Kerala coast, Kurakkeni-

Kollam and Panthalayani-kollam are etymologically
and geographically related to Colombo as well as the
Maldivian island names discussed here.

Kurakkeni-Kollam of Then-Kollam (the southern

Kollam) is the place popularly known as Kollam in the
historical records. This was an ancient port in
southern Kerala, and was an important centre in the
colonial times. The Portoguese called it Caulao and
the anglicized form that is sometimes found used
today also in writing the place name in English is,
Quilon.

Panthalayani-Kollam is in northern Kerala and is

called today as Quilandy.

Both Kollams are located at points where the

coastline bends significantly, in the opposite direction
to that of Colombo, signifying that geography was
behind the etymology of their names. (See images)

The more famous of them, the southern Kollam was

rendered in the Sanskrit inscriptions as Kolamba-
pattana. (Indian Epigraphy, D.C. Sircar, P269, Indian
Antiquary Vol II, P360)
The Ko'lumadulu atoll in Maldives. Note
There is an era called Kollam Era, in the traditions of that this atoll is the southern tip of a
the extreme peninsular India. The era, named after chain of atolls. [Satellite image courtesy:
Google Earth]
the place Kollam, and beginning from 825 AD, is still
used in southern Kerala and in some southern parts
of Tamil Nadu. This era in Sanskrit is called Kolamba-
samvat. (Samvat: era). The adjective Kolamba is
obviously the sanskritized form of Kollam.

No wonder there is an etymological connection

between Ko'lamba (Colombo) and Kollam, and the
old name for Colombo is remembered as Kollam-tota
in the Sinhala memory.

The etymology discussed through the Tamil words,

Kozhu /Ko'lu, Dhivehi (Maldivian) Ko'lu / Kolaa and
Malayalam Kolu / Kollam to arrive at the
geographical meaning for the place name Colombo,
is not totally lost in the Sinhala diction either.
Ko'lambiya is a variety of Mango in Sinhala and
The coastline of Kollam making a bed
Kollan-gaha bears fruits with a hooked tip. [Satellite image courtesy: Google Earth]

Whether the Dravidian ZH (the velar L) became

softened to retroflex 'L and alveolar L in Sanskrit /
Prakrit through borrowing or vice versa is debatable
linguistically.

However, this doesn't prevent concluding that the

Eezham Tamil usage Kozhumpu for Colombo retains
a linguistic shade an antiquity meaningful to the
etymology of the place name.
The location and geography of Kollam
[Satellite image courtesy: Google Earth]
It is of relevance to cite here that according to the
Pali chronicles of Sri Lanka, Jambu-ko'la Pattana in
the Jaffna Peninsula was the port where the emissary
of Asoka bringing the branch of the sacred bo-tree
landed in the 3rd century BC. Even though the
location of the port is yet to be identified with
certainty, the suffix Ko'la most probably means that
the place was a point in the coastline.

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With the ZH / 'L / D interchange in South Asian

languages the Tamil Kozhu is connected to another
Tamil word Kodukku (the sting of a wasp, scorpion,
etc) and Koadi / Koti (tip, extreme point) in Tamil,
Sanskrit, Prakrit, Sinhala etc. See the table for other
related words.

Colombo was the seat of the Portuguese, Dutch and

British governors. The British occupied Colombo and
the Dutch territories in the island in 1796. The last The location and geography of another
Kollam in the north of Kerala [Satellite
native kingdom existed in the island that had its image courtesy: Google Earth]
capital at Kandy was conquered by the British in
1815. The different territories in the island that were
under Jaffna Patnam, Kandy and Colombo were
unified by the British for administrative convenience
in 1833 and Colombo became the capital of British
Ceylon. The Western Province, where Colombo, the
capital of Sri Lanka is located, accounts for 51
percent of the island's wealth today.

Kollan-gaha, literally meaning the Kollam

tree. Note the shape of its fruits

The Kolam tree, gains its name from its

ball like flowers. This tree is irrelevant to
the etymology of Colombo

Even though not certain the Jambu-ko'la

pattina is identified with the location
shown in the map near Maathakal of the
northern tip of the Jaffna peninsula
[Satellite image courtesy: Google Earth]

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The outlines of the Fort of Colombo can still be seen in the satellite image [Satellite image
courtesy: Google Earth]

Some related place names:

In the island of Sri Lanka:

Neer-Kozhumpu, Neer-Ko'lumpu, Negombo: The point of the bend, having a water

body. Neer: Water, sea, etc (Tamil, Dravidian etymological Dictionary 3690).
Neer-kozhumpu or Negombo is a point where the landscape makes a bend, but at the
same time makes an entrance for a large lake (see images). Negombo is obviously the
Europeanized form of Neer-kozhumpu or Neer-ko'lumpu. The presently used Sinhala
name Meegamuva (the village of Mee trees) is not etymologically connected to
Negombo.

Kozhumputh-thu'rai, Ko'lumputh-thu'rai: The port at the bending point. The

landscape makes a sharp bend at this place (see images). Thu'rai means port, harbour,
ferry-point etc. (Tamil, Dravidian Etymological Dictionary 3370). The place is
traditionally known as a port and a ferry point to cross the Jaffna lagoon and to go to
the main island from the Jaffna Peninsula. Another possibility for the origin of the place
name could be from the fact that it was the boarding point to travel to Kozhumpu
(Colombo). Portuguese records give the place name as Colombogam (Kozhumpukam;
Kam as in the place names Chu'n'naakam, Mallaakam etc is an Eezham Tamil cognate
of Prakrit / Sinhala, Gama and Sanskrit Graama, meaning village)

In Kerala, India:

Kollam, Kolamba-pattana (Sanskrit), Korakkenni-Kollam, Then-Kollam, Coulao

(Portuguese), Quilon (Anglicized): The point at the bend. An ancient port, continued to
be of much importance in the colonial times and a major city in the southern part of
Kerala. The landscape makes a point and a sharp bend at this place (see image).

Kollam, Panthalayani-Kollam, Quilandy (Anglicized): The point at the bend. This

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Kollam, known today as Quilandy, is located in northern Kerala. The landscape makes
a point and a sharp bend a few km north of today's Quilandy town.

In Maldives:

Kolhu-madulu (Ko'lu-madulu): The tip atoll. This is

the name of an atoll that makes the tip of the
northern chain of atolls of the Maldives (see image).
Ko'lu (written in Dhivehi / Maldivian transcription
system as Kolhu means a point. Madulu is the Dhivehi
cognate of Mandala in Sanskrit, meaning a district,
circle etc.

Dhuni-kolhu (Dhuni-ko'lu): The arrow's tip. This is

an island that makes a tip in the Maalhosmadulu atoll
of Maldives.

Faru-kolhu (Fa'ru-ko'lu): The tip of the reef. (Faru:
reef in Dhivehi; Paa'rai in Tamil). An island located at
the tip of a curving reef. Miladhunmadulu North atoll,
Maldives
Note the island of Dhuni-ko'lu making a
tip in the reef in one of the atolls of
Maldives [Satellite image courtesy:
Google Earth]

Faru-kolhu-huttaa (Fa'ru-ko'lu-huttaa): The island

at the tip of the reef. (Faru: reef; Paa'rai in Tamil;
Huttaa: an inferior island or islet in Dhivehi; Puddi:
sandbank in Tamil). Huvadhoo South atoll, Maldives

Kolhu-fushi (Ko'lu-fushi): The tip island. (Fushi: an

inferior island. The word is a cognate of Huttaa,
known in old Dhivehi / Maldivian as Puti: Puddi in
Tamil is sandbank). The island is in Kolumadulu atoll
of Maldives. There is another island making a tip in
the atoll know as Kolhu-fushi in the Mulaku atoll.

Faru-kolhu-fushi (Fa'ru-ko'lu-fushi): The island at Kola is an island in the beginning of a

the tip of the reef. (See earlier entries for Faru and
Fushi). Male atoll, Maldives
Atholhu-kolhu-fushi (Atho'lu-ko'lu-fushi): The
island at the tip of the atoll. (Atolhu: atoll; see earlier
entries for Fushi). Male atoll, Maldives
curve and Faru-ko'lu-huttaa making a
tip of the atoll. In Tamil Faru-ko'lu-
huttaa literally means Paa'rai-
kozhu-puddi [Satellite image courtesy:
Google Earth]

Oo-kolhu-finolhu (oo-ko'lu-fino'lu): The sandbank

making a pointed tip. (Oo: sharp point, needle-like;
Finolhu: sandbank). The island is in the Faathippolhu
atoll of Maldives.

Raalhu-laa-kolhu ('Raa'lu-laa-ko'lu): The tip

washed by the surf. (Raalhu: waves, surf; Laa: being
washed). This is an island making a tip in the
Miladhunmadulu South atoll of Maldives.

Rashu-kolhu-huraa (Rashu-ko'lu- hu'raa): The islet

The Ko'lu Fushi island at the tip of the
at the tip of the land. (Rashu: land; Huraa: barren atoll [Satellite image courtesy: Google
islet of rocks). The islet is in the Ari South atoll of Earth]
Maldives.

Thin-kolhu-fushi (Thin-ko'lu-fushi): The island of

three points. (Thin: three; see previous entries for
Fushi). The island is in the Kolhumadulu atoll of
Maldives.

Thoshi-ka'ndu-kolhu (Thoshi-ka'ndu-ko'lu): The

island at the end of the insignificant reef. (Thoshi:
reef, breakwater; ka'ndu: insignificant).
Miladhunmadulu North atoll, Maldives
Maa-koa is in the curve and Oo-ko'lu-
fino'lu making a tip in the atoll [Satellite
Koalaa: The island at the protruding part of the reef. image courtesy: Google Earth]

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(Koa, Kola, Kolaa: A curvature in the reef that leads inside > Dhivehi Bas Foi
dictionary). Miladhunmadulu south atoll, Maldives

Kolaa: The island in the protruding part of the reef, where it curves inside. Huvadhoo
atoll, Maldives

Kola-fushi: The island on the outer reef, where it curves inside. Kolhumadulu atoll,
Maldives

Koa-duvaa: The island making a loop. (Duvaa: island; a cognate of Dveepa in

Sanskrit). Huvadhoo North atoll, Maldives

Maa-koa: (The island at) the big inward curve of the reef. (Maa: big). Faadhippolhu
atoll, Maldives

First published: Monday, 11 May 2009, 16:00

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