A Dictionary of Place Names of Odisha: Design, Development And Analysis

Abstract

The study of place-names known as “Toponyms” involves study and research into language, history, personalities, people, geography, topography, religion and cultural tradition, politics and even local industries. A place- name is a window that can shade light on the past as who the inhabitants were at that time? Where they went and how they communicated with? The coining of names often follows in the wake of historical developments. Odisha has a great and glorious history having been ruled by the local kings and outsiders like Mughals, Marathas and Britishers during different periods and they imposed many place names. The place name gives the meaning and origin of names of countries, towns, cities and villages of historical and cultural interest tracing their development from earliest times to the present day. It reflects the cultural heritage , tradition and an identity, which need to be recorded in dictionary format for generation to use and so this article.

1. Introduction

The invention of nomenclature is among the greatest achievements of the human species and the practice of giving names to places is as old as the story of man itself. One is therefore, driven by a natural inquisitiveness to probe into how and why particular place names have evolved. They unravel for us tremendous human activity on different planes. A place - name can carry in its pack centuries of history, it can tell us what the landscape was like a millennium ago and it can reveal features of a language long disappeared. Place names narrate their interesting characteristics. Hence a place name is an expression of the name-giver’s thought process.

The first National Conference on Dictionary making in Indian Languages held in 1970 at Mysore under the auspices of Central Institute of Indian Languages, as expressed anguish and concernover the absence of a dictionary of place names in the majority of the Indian Languages and at the same time recommended for the generation of a Dictionary of Place names for each state. This recommendation was taken note of by the present authors and they felt the need for designing and developing a place name dictionary for the state of Odisha. The Place Name reflects our cultural heritage , tradition and an identity, which need to be recorded in dictionary format for generations to use . In this paper, we attempt to design a place name dictionary for the state of Odisha.

2. Some Definitions of Place names

• Toponymy is the scientific study of place names (toponyms), their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word “toponymy” is derived from the Greek words topos (“place”) and Onama (“name”). Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastic, the study of names of all kinds (Wikipedia,2015).

• According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, Toponymy is the place names of a region or language or especially the etymological study of them. )

• According to Oxford English Dictionary, the word “toponymy” first appeared in English language in 1875. Since then, toponymy has come to replace “place name” in professional discourse among toponymist.

• Place names, which are otherwise known as Toponyms, are names to denote or identify human habitation sites (cities, towns, villages, etc.), natural geographic features (mountains, rivers, lakes, bays, seas, etc.) and political boundaries (states, municipalities, etc.). They identify and reflect culture, heritage and landscape, and therefore, offer much to cartographers, historians, genealogists, linguists, language planner and tourists (Kostanski, 2009).

• Place names are also “signpost to the past” preserving both linguistic and cultural history (Gelling, 1979).

2.1 Characteristics of Place Names

The five “W”s depict the main characteristics of place names.

• What is it?

• Where is it?

• Who named it?

• When was it named?

• Why was it given?

These characteristics open the doors for the physical characteristics of the place, characteristics of the people, information about the then culture, languages, histories, habitats, spatial and environmental perceptions.

3. Usefulness of place name Dictionary

Dictionary of place names is a vehicle for public and personal reference. They are used for location, delineation and identification. They can also function as powerful political tool (e.g. anti-German sentiments during World war I resulted in renaming of 69 German place names in south Australia) As a mechanism for personal reference, toponyms play an integral part in personal identity, because people always associate themselves with one or more places. Dictionaries have two broad functions: communicative and Cognitive. Those designed for communicative purposes are used for language encoding or decoding (Bi-lingual dictionaries and Learner’s dictionaries are best examples). Dictionaries compiled for cognitive purposes are chiefly used for acquiring knowledge or information. Place name dictionaries have cognitive functions i.e. they are knowledge oriented, and should therefore, be considered as specialized or technical dictionaries.

3.1 Objectives

• To record, and thus preserve the place names of the State along with the relevant information from the tourist point of view. The goal of any place name research is to find the origin of the name.

• To determine the linguistic trends in the selection of place names of Odisha, especially the sources from which the names were derived,

• To analyse the origins of place names to reveal the culture, history and language of the area.

• To make the Dictionary for place names to preserve for the future generation, as it is our intangible cultural heritage.

• To develop software that has multiple search options to satisfy the user’s query from various angles and to provide an index for easy retrieval.

3.2 Materials and Methods

In securing names for the study, and their origins, the following documents were perused:

1. Imperial Gazetteers of Angul, Balasore, Cuttack, Koraput, Puri, Sambalpur (1908) by L.S.S. O’ Malley. The Bengal Secretariat, Calcutta.

2. Odisha Districts Gazetteers of 13 districts (Baleshwar -1992, Balangir-1968, Boudh – Kandhamals- 1983, Cuttack-1992, Dhenkanal-1972, Ganjam-1995, Kalahandi-1980, Kendujhar-1986, Koraput-1966, Mayurbhanj-1969, Puri-1977, Sambalpur-1971, Sundargarh-1975) published by Department of Revenue, Govt. of Orissa.

3. Final Report on the Revenue Settlement of Orissa 1922 – 1932 A.D by W.W.Dalziel. Revenue Superintendent, Government Printing, Bihar, Orissa, Patna.

4. Final Report on the Survey and Settlement of the Province of Orissa 1890 to 1900 A.D. Vol I – II by S.L.Maddox, Board of Revenue, Orissa.

5. Report on Land Tenures and the Revenue system of the Orissa and Chhatisgarh states by R.K.Ramdhyani, Indian Law Publication Press, Berhampur.

6. Purna Chandra Bhasakosha, Vol I – VII (1931- 1942) by Gopal Chandra Praharaj. UtkalSahitya Press, Cuttack.

3.3 Methodology

• Step 1: All village names from the Village Maps of Odisha were recorded. The important place names were selected for the study giving emphasis on the places having historical, geographical, religious, cultural, business and scenic significance,as it is not practical to make a study of all places under the revenue map of the entire State.

• Step 2: Selected names were again compared with those in the Directory of Tourism, Odisha and verified with the place names in the District gazetteer of each district.

• Step 3: Available written sources on place names were searched including recording of all pertinent information on place names.

• Step 4: The local people who were knowledgeable about the history of the area were consulted and the information they provided was recorded. When the information so received was found inadequate, then information was sought from historians, linguists, journalists and writers .

• Step 5: A standardised format for the entry elements under each entry head in the dictionary was developed as per the Manual for the National Standardization of Geographical Names with local variations.

• Step 6: For the purpose of generation of place names through computer, a programme was developed with the help of a software-professional. MSSQL Server 2008 R2 was used as back-end and Visual Studio 10 using C#. Net language.

3.3.1 Review of Literature:

In order to get a firsthand knowledge on development of place name dictionary, the authors have referred to various print and online place name dictionaries published across the world. These sources have given ample opportunity to the authors to predict the future development in this field in Odisha. Many place name dictionaries are published across the world with a common purpose to standardize the place names and preserve it for next generation as cultural heritage. A list of place name dictionaries published all over the world is as follows:

Internatioanl Publications

1. Coulet du Gard, R. (1983). Dictionary of Spanish Place Names of the Northwest Coast of America. [Newark, Del.]: Editions des deuxmondes.

2. Currie, A. (1994). Dictionary of British Place Names. London: Tiger Books International.

3. Everett-Heath, J. (2005). The concise dictionary of world Place-Names, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

4. Falileev, A., Gohil, A., & Ward, N. (2010). Dictionary of Continental Celtic Place-Names. Aberystwyth, Wales: CMCS.

5. McKay, P. (1999). A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names. [Belfast, Northern Ireland]: Institute of Irish Studies, Queen's University of Belfast.

6. McKay, P., & O. Muraile, N. (2004). Place-Names of Northern Ireland. Belfast: CloOllscoilna Banriona, Queen's University of Belfast.

7. Mencken, H. (1919). Supplement II The American Language.

8. Mills, A. (2010). A Dictionary of London Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

9. Mills, A., & Mills, A. (2003). A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

10. Orth, D. (1967). Dictionary of Alaska Place Names. Washington: U.S. Govt. Print. Off.

11. Picard, M. Dictionary of Americanized French-Canadian Names.

12. Raper, P., &Raper, P. (2004). New Dictionary of South African Place Names. Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball.

13. Rayburn, A. (1997). Dictionary of Canadian Place Names. Toronto: Oxford University Press.

14. Rayburn, A., & Rayburn, A. (2010). Place Names of Canada. Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford University Press.

15. Room, A. (1989). Dictionary of World Place Names derived from British Names. London: Routledge.

16. Room, A. (2003). The Penguin Dictionary of British Place Names. London: Penguin.

17. Savage, T. (2007). A Dictionary of Iowa Place-Names. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press.

18. Watts, V., Insley, J., & Gelling, M. (2004). The Cambridge Dictionary of English place-names. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

National Publications

1. Bhagia, I. (1984). A Study of Place Names of Baroda District (Gujarat) (Ph.D.). GujaratUniversity.

2. Dhar, J.N. (2004). OdisharaSthhananama.Bhubaneswar: Apurba.

3. JavareGowda, D. (1998). Village Names of Mysore District. Mysore: Place Names Society of India in collaboration with Asian Educational Services, New Delhi.

4. Joshi, S. (1951).Etymology of Place Names Patti-Hatti, some observations on the Institute,32-41-56.

5. Murthy, S. (1985). A Study of Telugu Place Names. AgamkalaPrakashan, New Delhi.

6. Naccimuttu, K. (1985). Prospectives in Place Name Studies: Proceedings of the National Seminar on South Indian Place Names. Mysore: Place Name Society.

7. Nair, Raman.,& Devi, Sulochana. (2010). Chattampi Swami. Trivandrum: Centre for South Indian Studies.

8. Nambuthiri, N. (1987). A Study of Place Names in the Calicut District (Ph.D). University of Calicut.

9. Sadhu, S., & Raina, B. (2000). Place Names in Kashmir. Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

10. Sharma, T. (1978). Personal and Geographical Names in the Gupta Inscriptions. Delhi: Concept.

A cursory review of the publications of place name dictionaries in both national and international levels indicates that like other traditional disciplines, this domain of research lacks sufficient literature necessary to attain the status of a separate subject of research. But as the trend of few publications in this area shows, the future is not far away when it shall attain the status of research with more and more work in this direction. However, the literature reviewed herein gives sufficient clue for understanding and developing this study

3.3.2 Design and Development of Computer Programme

After careful reading of the Manual for the National Standardization of Geographical Names of United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN,2006) it is observed that one of the major objectives of the place name research is to preserve the nation’s geographical names as it is our cultural heritage. In today’s date to preserve, search and to generate the findings of place details by using computer programme a web – enabled application is most suited to the purpose and for this purpose a system study is being made. The application is developed with the help from a software professional. The web – enabled application PLACE INFORMATION SYSTEM (PIS) is developed in Visual Studio 10 using C#.NET LANGUAGE. MSSQL Server 2008 R2 has been used as backend server. The application provides an interface to enter place data in details. The front-end facilitates to retrieve data on query by providing necessary search string. Data can be searched on Place Significance, Place name and District. It is possible in this application to edit the data, if required.

3.3.2.1 Structure of place table is as follows

To generate the report, the application uses ITEXTSHARP. iText is a PDF library that allows to generate reports based on data from a database in the Portable Document Format (PDF). In the application various reports can be generated from the search output by clicking on the PRINT button.

3.3.2.2 Format of the Study

Place name dictionaries are under the cognitive category as they are knowledge oriented and satisfy the requirements of various categories of people. To obtain this cognitive value and to fulfil the needs of different segment of people, the structure of the present Place Names Dictionary of Odisha is as follows:

• Place Name Photograph of Place
• Significance
• Latitude and Longitude
• District
• Description of the place
• How to reach
• Where to stay
• What to see
• What to buy
• Best time of visit

3.3.2.3 Output of Computer Generated Place Name Dictionary

After inputting the data in the software, the information is retrieved through searching with different query which are analysed below. The field through which search can be made under the field District, Significance, Place Name etc. Any term of the above field put into the search box, it is automatically retrieve the particular place from the database. Some of the results are discuss below.

Data Entry Page

Searching Place Names by Significance and Result

Two examples :

ARADI

Derivation and meaning:

Here is folklore behind the name of this place. Once upon a time, a peasant was ploughing in the field. A rock, struck by the pointed end of the plough, began to bleed profusely. The peasant was alarmed. Screaming “Haradi” loudly, the peasant prostrated on the ground. Hearing the peasant’s screaming noise; the villagers rushed to the site and unearthed a Shivling. Then the village was named ‘Haradi’ which, over the period of time, has been transformed into ‘Aradi’ as its current name.

Significance: Religious

Latitude and Longitude: 20°48'43"N and 86°39'20"E

District: Bhadrak

Description of the Place :

Place is famous for Baba Akhandalamani, the temple of the lord Siva. There are many fairs and festivals observed at the temple of Baba Akhandalamani like Mahasivaratri which is locally called Jagaramela. On this day pilgrims and devotees inside and outside the state are assembled and worship Akhandalamani at Aradi. Bol bam devotees come to Aradi in large number from different areas in the month of Sravana to worship the God and pour holy water over the Linga. The Bol bam devotees carry holy water from different rivers of India like Ganges, Baitarani, Mahanadi, Salandi, Peta etc. with a bamboo lever. The Gharsana prasad (Drink) every devotee must have taken along with miraculously-generated source of water from a well, treated as pious. Major festivals here:-Panaa Sankranti, Chandanyatra, Siva Vibah (The wedding ceremony of Lord Siva), Shrabani Mahotshab are the most important festival.

How to reach:

• By Road - 37km away from the district head quarter of Bhadrak towards east by road via Asurali, Kothara and Dhusuri.
• By Rail – Bhadrak Railway Station is 35k.m. from this place.
• By Air – BijuPatnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar is the nearest one.
• Where to stay: Parthasarathi and galaxy Lodge
• What to see: Bhadrakali Temple, Chandbali – riverport, Dhamara port, Kaupur – ancient sculpture,
• What to buy: PaluaLadu (a kind of sweet) is famous here
• Best time for visit: October– February

ASIKA

Derivation and meaning:

“Aska” means “Sugar” in Tamil Language. Due to establishment of sugar factory, the place named as “ASIKA”.

Significance: Industrial

Latitude and Longitude: 19006’09’’N and 840, 65’19’’E

District: Ganjam

Description of the Place:

Asika (also called Aska) is known for Sugar city and having the 1st sugar Plant in Asia established in 1824, build by Minchin Saheb in British time.This factory has its own name. Due to this factory the Aska Town is known as Sugar City.Aska is rich with Jagannath culture. There are five Jagannath Temples i.e. in the areas of Sunamba Street, Market Area, Khambeswari Patna, and Lalagurji and at Nuagaon, Sugar factory. The deities of SunambaSahee happen to be the ancient one. The temple at Sugar Factory looks very beautiful. The town is crowded with the devotees of surrounding villages during the Car festival season. The presiding deities of the place are Khambeswari Thakurani and Tridiveswara. The image of Khambeswari is a stone pole which has been anthropomorphized by the addition of a disc on the top symbolised as a head. The nose and mouth are slightly carved and three eyes, protruding tounge. The Trideveswara temple stands on the bank of the river Rushikulya and is regarded as the tutelary deity of the Pandya Brahmins of the locality. The sanctum of the temple does not contain any deity but the circular pedestal marked by three symbols is worshipped as Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswar. The UtkalAyurvedic Pharmacy Co- operative Limited is another important institution of the place.

How to reach:

• By Road - Asika is well connected to Berhampur citty via regular buses
• By Rail - No regular trains from other major cities to Aska. Nearest train station is Berhampur
• By Air - One can get flight to Bhubaneswar Airport on regular basis which is 143 km away.
• Where to stay : Ashoka Lodge, Raja hotel.
• What to see : Asika Sugar Factory, Polasara, and Digapahandi
• What to buy : Berhampuri Silk Saree, varieties of Bangles and food items like pickle, Badis, Pampads etc.

Best time for visit: October to February

3.4 Classification of Place Names:

Classification is one of the means by which the complexities are solved and the mysteries unravelled. The variety and the enormity of Place Names of Odisha entail the following pattern of classification.

Place Names after Individual Names: In this group of classification, the name of a place is captioned after a person who, established the village and have reputation for the social service, valour and philanthropy. Example: Delanga, Hukitola, Raibania, Sunki (Appendix-1)

Place Names after Religious and Puranic Importance: In this group of classification, the place names are grouped under the Names of God & Goddesses, names of Saints & Sages, Priests and Religious Leaders, Religious Institutions, Puranic Heroes, Events, and Celestial Bodies. Example:Badamba, Binikei, Indravati, Kesna (Appendix-2)

Place Names derived on Historical Significance: Royal Dynasties, King, Queen and Princess, Military men and Feudal Chiefs and dignitaries, who once upon a time played a dominant role in shaping the well-being of the people of the area are included under this category. Example: Kolab, Saintala, Malkangiri, Kotpad (Appendix-3)

Place Names derived on Ethnographic Significance: The Tribes, Castes and Professions, Families, Relations, Customs, and Races have also played a vital role in naming a particular place name. Example: Aryapalli, Bhatli, Rengali, Mlechamunda. (Appendix-4)

Place Names derived from Geographical and Physical Features: Place Names, named after Habitations, Valleys, Mountains, Water - bodies like fountains, Rivers, Ponds, and Tanks, etc. are included under this category. Example: Chaurasi, Deulajhari, Duduma, Satapada (Appendix-5)

Place Name derived after Flora: Trees, Plants, Creepers, Grass and Shrubs, Gardens and Forests, Flowers and Leaves, Grains, Pulses and other agricultural products play as a source of derivation of place name. Example: Hinjilicut, Kantilo, Talcher, Simlipal (Appendix-6)

Place Name derived after Fauna: Animals, birds, and reptiles also contribute a significant role in coining the place name. Example: Baghamari, Gandahati, Karlapat, Pipli (Appendix-7)

Place Names derived after Natural Phenomena: Storms, Rains, Thunders, Clouds, Sunrise and Sunset are some of the natural occurrences occasionally reshape and dislocates the places generating new name under their influence. Example: Anshupa, Astaranga, Duburi, Taptapani.(Appendix-8)

Place Names derived due to Commercial Importance: Establishment of Ports, Business Centres, Industries and Factories in an area influence significantly for naming a place. Example: Asika, Boipariguda (Appendix-9)

Miscellaneous Place Names: Place Names which are derived out of Myths, Superstitions, Beliefs, Sentiments, Relation, and significance of a borrowed historical and religious place are included in this category.Aradi, Ayodhya, Eram, Joranda (Appendix-10)

4.Suggestion & Conclusion

Place Name cannot be studied from its face value as it involves a great wealth of information relating to history, geography, ethnology, archaeology, language, culture, politics and such other kindred disciplines, which are embedded in the bosom of each name. ‘By and large a Place Name is the voice of external soul, the breath of several generations of people, the foot print of civilization of bygone days, the inviolate record of human history and a great inspiration of mankind’. The present study of Place Names of Odisha indicates that; the western countries have recognised, since 18^th century, the importance of such studies by providing encouragement and fillip. United Nations has for the first time grasped the value of place names by appointing a group of experts on the standardization of geographical names in 1961. The Government of India after obtaining the views of the State Governments laid down, way back in 1953, certain rules and procedures that were to be followed while changing and determining their correct spelling. The Survey of India and the National Atlas Organization have also tried to standardize the spellings of place names with the help of Epigraphical records, literary works, State Gazetteers, Dictionaries, and Encyclopaedias etc. It is with the help of these sources that the pronunciation, the spelling, the etymology, the semantic value, and the history of place names have to be traced and determined.

The present study has tried to take help of such records in designing and preparing the dictionary of place names of Odisha with the help of a computer application PLACE INFORMATION SYSTEM (PIS), developed at our end. But this work may not be claimed as an exhaustive and comprehensive one. Therefore, it is suggested that the Government of Odisha or any one of the universities in Odisha may appoint a committee consisting of various experts to compile a comprehensive and exhaustive Dictionary of Place Names (Odia and English). At each district, the study of Place Names is to be undertaken by the help of a group of experts supported by Government. For each district A Place Name Dictionary is to be compiled by a group of local experts. While compiling the Dictionary for the State, the dictionaries developed at the district level should be integrated.. The Odia version of the place name dictionary may be named as “SthalaNaama Kosha”.

References

1. Gelling, M. (1978). The Place-Name Evidence in Berkshire'. In S. Limbrey& J. Evans, The Effect of Man on the Landscape (1st ed., pp. 123-128). London: the Lowland Zone.
2. Kostanaski, Laura (2009). What’s in a Name: Attachment and Dependence in Place – Name-based identity? Unpublished PhD, University of Ballarat.
3. Oxforddictionaries.com, (2015). Oxford Dictionaries - Dictionary, Thesaurus,& Grammar.
4. United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names,. (2006). Manual for the national standardization of geographical names. New York: Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
5. Wikipedia, (2015). Main Page. Retrieved 18 December 2015, from https: //en. Wikipedia .org

Bibliography

1. Dhar, J. N. (2004). OdisharaSthhananama. Bhubaneswar: Apurba.
2. Javare Gowda, D. (1998). Village Names of Mysore District. Mysore: Place Names Society of India, in collaboration with Asian Educational Services, New Delhi.
3. Naccimuttu, K. (1985). Prospectives in Place Name Studies: Proceedings of the National Seminar on South Indian Place Names. Mysore: Place Name Society.
4. Sockwell, S. M. (1985). The Place Names of Colbert and Lauderdale Counties, Albama: University of Albama.
5. Stewart, G. (1954). A Classification of Place Names. Names: A Journal of Onomastics, 2(1), 1-13.
6. Taylor, I., & Palmer, A. (1864).Words and Places, or Etymological Illustrations of History, Ethnology, and Geography, Detroit: Gale Research Co.
7. Tent and, J., & Blair, D. (2011). Motivations for Naming: The Development of a Toponymic Typology for Australian Place-names. Names, 59(2), 67-89.

Appendix-1

Place Names derived after Individual Names

Appendix-2

Religious and Puranic Importance Place Names

Appendix-3

Place Names of Historical Significance

Appendix-4

Ethnographic Place Names

Appendix-5

Place Names from Geographical and Physical features

Appendix-6

Place Name based on Flora

Appendix-7

Place Names based on Fauna

Appendix-8

Names after Natural Phenomena

Appendix-9

Place Names of Commercial Importance

Appendix-10

Miscellaneous Place Names

1. Sucheta Jena, Research Scholar, Library & Information Science, Utkal University, BBSR. Email :This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Mob: 9861437180
2. Prof Pitambar Padhi, Ex- Professor, Dept. Of Library & Information Science, Utkal University, BBSR. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Mob: 9438284188