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Jaffna
: Lost time, lost ground
Travelling
along the much talked about A9 highway we are reminded of the war
that has ruthlessly crippled and changed not only the lives of the
people but also the environment. The road funnels between fields
that were once lush green but today lie fallow. The tropical
paradise of palmyrah trees, the splendidly maintained houses of
bygone days, the large green fields where flocks of cattle grazed
- I try to imagine how this area looked and smelled before the cruel
war. But my imagination is ruined by what I see before me. On the way
we pass empty houses peppered with bullets and destroyed by aimless
shelling. Yes, demolished houses but what about the families that
once lived here happily? Forces of disunity scattered them. Talk
of the vast ground area captured by government forces seems just
an illusion. People from this part of the country have moved away
after the war destroyed the area. People don't
move about on the roads and hence we see few faces. Happy smiles
are rare and they don't wave at passing vehicles. It reminds me
of what somebody said about war: All that the people get at the
end of a war is taxes, widows, artificial limbs, displaced people
and debt. How true. At Puliyankulam,
we are stopped by armed LTTE cadres who check our identities. We
board an LTTE bus upto Muhamalai. The filling of forms at this point
is done by female Tiger cadres who are cheerful and helpful. Significantly,
the bus from Puliyankulam to Muhamalai allows no standing passengers. In Jaffna we
are posed with a serious problem - accommodation. That night we
walk around in search of accommodation. The Jaffna Naga Vihara offers
small rooms at Rs. 500, no bargaining and no grumbling. Instead
we take refuge in an abandoned and devastated house in the city. Unlike other
areas we have passed, the once elegant, Jaffna town is still a hub
of activity with people attending to their day-to-day life. Hopes
of peace are certainly written all over their faces. The city that
once produced respected leaders and intellectuals is limping back
to normalcy. The new peace effort must succeed with a guarantee of rights and equality. Visiting Jaffna now is like trying to read a fairy tale which has some pages smudged, some ripped out altogether while a few are still magically intact. The
concise guide to the Anglo-Sri Lankan lexicon by Richard Boyle -
XI Bandicoot (1789).
Sinhala Uru-miya. According to the OED2 it is a "[corruption
of Telegu pandi-kokku, literally 'pig-rat'] A large Indian rat as
big as a cat, and very destructive." This name is applied to
the species known as the Indian Bandicoot, Bandicota indica indica. The dictionary
provides a reference by James Emerson Tennent from Ceylon (1859[1860]:I.150):
"Another favourite article of food with the coolies is the
pig-rat or Bandicoot." However, it is Robert Percival, writing
in An Account of the Island of Ceylon (1803: 294), who first uses
the term in English literature pertaining to Sri Lanka: "The
bandy-coot is as large as a middle-sized cat, the body very thick
and round, and the head greatly resembling that of a hog; it also
makes a grunting noise like that animal. When closely pursued or
attacked, the bandy-coot becomes very fierce, and turns furiously
on its assailants." Barking-deer
(1880). Sinhala Olu-muwa, Welli-muwa. "The Indian muntjac,
Cervulus muntjac, found in India, Burma, and Tibet; so named from
its call." This name is applied to the species now known as
the South Indian Muntjac or Barking Deer, Muntiacus muntjak malabaricus.
The first and only reference is from the Encyclopaedia Britannica
(1880:XII.742): "The barking deer or muntjac." The earliest
reference in English literature pertaining to Sri Lanka is by Alan
Walters from Palms and Pearls; Or Scenes in Ceylon (1892:160): "The
barking deer is a small elegant animal." The corresponding
entry in H-J2 states: "Its common name is from its call, which
is a kind of short bark, like that of a fox but louder." Elk (1803).
Sinhala Gona. "In Anglo-Indian use, the Sambur." This
name is applied to the species known as the Sri Lanka Sambhur, Cervus
unicolour unicolour. The second reference is by Samuel W. Baker
from Wild Beasts (1890:306): "Sambur deer, miscalled elk in
Ceylon." The earliest reference from English literature pertaining
to Sri Lanka is once again by Percival (1803:288), a reference that
antedates the first recorded in the OED2: "Varieties of deer
and elks are every where met with in the woods and jungles."
The corresponding entry in H-J2 notes that the name has been misapplied
with "singular impropriety." Flying fox
(1759). Sinhala Maha-wawula, Locu-wawula. "A member of the
genus Pteropus of fruit eating bats, found in India, Madagascar,
sßouth-east Asia, and Australia." This name is applied
to the species known as the Common Flying Fox, Pteropus goganteus
giganteus. No references from English literature pertaining to Sri
Lanka are given in the OED2. There are many, nevertheless. The earliest
is by Percival (1803:292) "The flormouse, or flying-fox, like
the bat, partakes of the appearance both of the bird and the quadruped;
and its name is derived from the great resemblance of its head and
body to the fox." William Dalton provides a reference from
fiction in Lost in Ceylon (1861:67): "A rousette, or flying-fox,
which must have measured at least five feet from wing to wing, launched
itself through the air from the branch of a tree, and struck my
horse's head so violently that the animal reared upon its hind legs."
There is a corresponding entry in H-J2. Gaur (1681).
"Also gour, gore. [Adoption of the Hindustani gaur.] A large
species of ox, Bos gauros, found wild in various parts of India." The earliest
reference is dated 1806 and has no relevance to Sri Lanka. In any
case this can be antedated, for Robert Knox writes in An Historical
Relation of Ceylon (1681:21): "Here are also Buffalo's; also
a sort of beast they call Gauvera, so much resembling a Bull, that
I think it one of that kind. His back stands up with a sharp ridge;
all his four feet white up half his legs. I never saw but one, which
was kept among the Kings Creatures." John D'Oyly,
writing in his Diaries (1812[1917]:97), provides the first reference
after Knox from English literature pertaining to Sri Lanka: "There
is also . . . a Species of Animal called Gawara, about the size
of a half grown Buffaloe, & much the same colour, but with its
horns hanging down. It is very seldom seen, because it studiously
avoids man, & runs away at the very scent of him. It is said,
that a Gawara was once caught and sent to Kandy - It died about
a month afterwards." Major Forbes,
writing in Eleven Years in Ceylon (1840:II.159), also mentions a
captured specimen: "One of the range of plains that extend
amongst the hills between Nuwara-ellia and Adam's Peak is called
Gaura-ellia; this name it is said to have obtained in consequence
of a large and fierce animal, called a gaura, which was caught there
about fifty years ago. This creature is probably, we may say certainly,
extinct in Ceylon, as none have been seen by Europeans; but in several
parts of the country, particularly in Lagalla, its former existence
is vouched for by the names of places, as the 'Gaura-field,' the
'Gaura-flat,' etc. But, except that it was an animal, they have
no tradition concerning it, either as regards its shape or size." Mountain-hare
(1848). Sinhala Hawa. "c. a tailless hare, Lagomys Roylii,
native of Ceylon." This name was applied to the species known
as the Sri Lanka Black-Naped Hare, Lepus nigricollis singhala. The first of
two references is by Werner Hoffmeister from Travels in Ceylon and
Continental India (1848[trans]:446): "Tall bushes of furze,
the home of a small multitude of... small mountain-hares." Mouse-deer,
moose-deer (1836). Sinhala Meeminna, Capita-meeminna, Wal-miya.
"[Moose-deer and mouse-deer seem to be corruptions of musk-deer,
a name which was early misapplied to this animal; the former due
to the association with the known moose-deer, the latter perhaps
suggested by the animal's small size and the colour of its hair.]
A chevrotain, a small deer-like mammal of the genus Tragalus, found
in southern Asia, Sumatra, Borneo, and Java." This name is
applied to the species known as the Indian Spotted Chevrotain or
Mouse-Deer, Tragalus meminna. The earliest reference is from the
Penny Cyclopaedia (1836:VI.454): "(Ceylon) There is also another
of very diminutive size, called the moose-deer." Knox (1861:21)
is the first to mention the Sinhala name, Meeminna, and to describe
the animal, but once more it is Percival (1803:288) who provides
the earliest reference to moose-deer: "...it is called by the
Dutch the moose-deer, and by the natives gazelle. In everything
but in size they are complete deer; and their sides are beautifully
spotted, or streaked like the fallow deer." Musk-rat. Sinhala
Hik-miya, Kunu-miya. "2. Applied to... rat-like animals having
a musky odour. a. In India and Sri Lanka (Ceylon), the shrews Crocidura
murina and C. caerulea." This name is applied to two species,
the Indian Grey Musk Shrew, Suncus murimus caerulescens, and the
Common Indian Musk Shrew or House Shrew, Suncus murinus murinus. Knox (1681:31)
provides the earliest reference: "They have a sort of Rats,
they call Musk-Rats, because they smell strong of Musk. These the
Inhabitants do not eat of, but of all other sort of Rats they do."
In his 'interleaved copy' Knox (1713[1989]:I.104) mentions the musk-rat's
extended snout and its unfortunate tendency to urinate in rice:
"The muske rat is no biger then another rat, onely his nose
is longer and sharper. His skin will perfume any thing it is put
amounge, and some times they will pisse amounge rice, which gives
it such a strong sent of muske that neither washing with water or
beating in Moertor will abate the smell, which by these people is
hated that they will fling the sented rice to the hens." The
first of a number of references after Knox from English literature
pertaining to Sri Lanka is by Percival (1803:294): "The musk-rat,
or perfuming shrew, is very small, with a long snout, much extended
beyond the under jaw. In running about it makes a squeaking noise
like the squirrel, but much shriller and louder. From the intolerable
smell of musk which accompanies and remains behind these animals
where-ever they go, they are very disagreeable inmates; and there
is scarcely a house in Colombo in particular which has not been
strongly scented in every corner." The postdating
reference from English literature pertaining to Sri Lanka is by
Samuel Baker from Eight Years in Ceylon (1855[1983]:63): "The
musk-rat is a terrible plague, as he perfumes everything that he
passes over, rendering fruit, cakes, bread, etc., perfectly uneatable,
and (it is said) even flavouring bottled wine by running over the
bottles. This, however, requires a little explanation, although
it is the popular belief that he taints the wine through the glass.
The fact is, he taints the cork, and the flavour of musk is communicated
to the wine during the process of uncorking the bottle." The corresponding
entry in H-J2 states: "When the female is in heat she is often
seen to be followed by a string of males giving out the odour strongly." Rock squirrel
(1852). Sinhala Dondalena. "A variety of squirrel native to
Sri Lanka (Ceylon)." This name was applied to the species known
as the Long Tailed Squirrel, Ratufa macroura macroura. The sole
reference is by E. F. Kelaart from Prodromus Faunae Zeylanicae (1852:49):
"The common Rock Squirrel." There is a later reference
by the anonymous officer [Horatio Suckling] who writes in Ceylon,
A General Description of the Island (1876:II.115): "The common
very dark brown rock squirrel, found in the western parts of the
island, which is subject to changes of colour, some being black
or grizzled." This name is applied to the species known as
the Long Tailed Squirrel, Ratufa macroura macroura. Rubiginous
cat (1881). Sinhala Kalawedda. "1. Rusty, rust-coloured, ferruginous."
"b. In specific names of birds, etc." This name was applied
to the species known as the Golden Palm-Cat, Paradoxurus zeylonensis. The sole reference
is from the Proceedings of the Zoological Society (1881:818): "A
Specimen of the Rubiginous Cat (Felix rubiginous) from Ceylon." |
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