10 



JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XL 



ETYMOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL NOTES ON 

 RITIGALA. 



By D. M. DE ZlLVA WlCKREMASINGHE, Esq. 

 {Read June 19, 1889.) 



T is established on the authority of the " Maha- 

 wansa " and of other histories of Ceylon that 

 the locality known under the name of Ritigala 

 was one of the principal places of abode of the 

 aborigines of Ceylon, the Yakku ; and that it 

 is of equal antiquity with other stations, Lag-gala, Log-gala, 

 Dumrak-gala, &c, traditionally connected with them. But 

 whether the locality was known as Riti-gala at the time of 

 the Wijayan settlement, or whether it was so named by the 

 Aryan immigrants, is a question for determination. 



If we suppose that the mountain and its neighbourhood 

 were known as Ritigala at the date of Wijayo's landing, 

 it follows that Ritigala was a word belonging to the language 

 of the aborigines, not to the invaders. 



I am not aware of the existence of any writing to prove this 

 supposition, though in old Sinhalese works, such as the 

 "Kuveni Asna," the name of the mountain is given as 

 Ritigala. Had we the Sinhalese Atuwd, from which the 

 authors of the " Mahawansa " and " Dipawansa " took their 

 historical materials, we could probably arrive at the truth. 



The name, as it is written at present, admits of three 

 derivations, all of which tend to show that it is a compound 

 of two words — one traceable to an Aryan origin, the other 

 either to a Dravidian or an Aryan source. 



The first derivation is as follows : — The Sinhalese word 

 riti, some suppose to be a tat-bawa (derivative) from the Pali 

 aritta : others suppose it to be a native nipan word. In 



