206 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XIV. 



which is generally found in every village clearing. The 

 name " Puliyankulam " is hardly more distinctive than 

 Jones as a surname in Wales, or Fernando on the west coast 

 from Marawila down to Kalutara, or Silva among the low- 

 country Sinhalese generally, and accordingly other prefixes 

 are necessary in addition, and we have many Puliyankulams 

 named after different personages or castes, as well as big 

 and little Puliyankulams, &c* 



Next to the tamarind comes the maruta, or kumbuk as it 

 is called in Sinhalese, which from its size is conspicuous at 

 all the tanks, with about two dozen derivatives ; then the 

 nochchi or nika (Sin.), the 7culd or Ceylon oak (Sin. Icon), 

 the naval (Sin. madari), the vel (Sin. mahd-andara), the 

 woodapple (Tamil vild), each with about a dozen, followed 

 by the halmilla, Tcummtu (Sin. pamburu), suriya (Tamil 

 puvarasu), panichchai (Sin. timbiri), banyan, and margosa, 

 with each half a dozen. Besides these dozen varieties of 

 conspicuous trees over fifty species of trees, creepers, grasses, 

 and other plants are represented in smaller numbers. 

 Strange to say, the satinwood tree, which is common in 

 many places, gives its name to a single tank only, Mutiran- 

 kulam in Udaiyaur, while the pdlai, also common, and the 

 ebony tree have each but two representatives. 



Sometimes the tank or village takes its name from some 

 physical feature or peculiarity in its situation or construc- 

 tion. Such are the following names : — 



Alaikalluppoddakujam ... (Sin. Relapand-wewa.) Tank (the bund of 

 which is) faced . with wave-stones. This 

 is what is called in the North-Central 

 Province rela pana, " the stone revetment 

 on the inner slope of the bund to prevent 

 scour by waves " (levers). There are at 

 least four tanks called by this name in the 

 Vaimi, and in the case of one of them 

 which is in Sinhalese hands the name has 

 got Sinhalacized and abbreviated into 

 Alagalla 



* E.g., Karuvalpuliyankulam, Vayirava, Kakkaiyar, Kartikesar, Kopala, 

 Panikkar, Vannan, &c. 



