Sinhala / Sri Lankan Swords?

Prasanna Weerakkody · 10th October 2012, 04:43 AM

Ibrahim, Still am a bit puzzled by some of the Sri Lankan History you present. I have never heard of a Karawa kingdom in My country. Karawa as far as I know was only a “cast” of Sinhalese; I would say they were a minor portion of the population and particular to the coastal districts primarily on the Western and Southern Sea boards. Except for being part of the Karawa.org web site I am not too sure if all of it can be equally upheld as true. The information that caste Karawa influenced the Sinhalese design to such an extent is very new to me, Swords or otherwise.

Vandoo curiously my personal belief is that the original Makara was a Cetacean- Probably a Pilot whale or Sperm whale. incidentally Sri Lankan waters are also a global hot spot for Marine Mammals. (being a marine environmentalist on the side makes this very exciting to me) But delving on that is another long story entirely.

The possibility of the name Kasthana being influenced by the Portuguese is real as it is a word that does not seem to have a direct meaning in Sinhala or have too many similar words to accompany it. Curiously the only other similar term that (comes to my mind) that may also shed a little light on this is the “Patisthana” spears; being of the same class as the Partisans. The similarity between the terms “Kasthana” or “Patisthana” seem obvious. The only difference being the presence of a much more ancient form of spear known in literature as the “patissa” which is most probably ancestor to the “Patisthana”. It is known that the Sinhala elite of the era was quite conversant with Portuguese and the use of the language had become wide spread and stylish as a secondary language in the Country. even today there is a rather large number of words of Portuguese origin amalgamated within the Sinhala language.

10th October 2012, 04:43 AM	#11
Prasanna Weerakkody Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Sri Lanka Posts: 52	Ibrahim, Still am a bit puzzled by some of the Sri Lankan History you present. I have never heard of a Karawa kingdom in My country. Karawa as far as I know was only a “cast” of Sinhalese; I would say they were a minor portion of the population and particular to the coastal districts primarily on the Western and Southern Sea boards. Except for being part of the Karawa.org web site I am not too sure if all of it can be equally upheld as true. The information that caste Karawa influenced the Sinhalese design to such an extent is very new to me, Swords or otherwise. Vandoo curiously my personal belief is that the original Makara was a Cetacean- Probably a Pilot whale or Sperm whale. incidentally Sri Lankan waters are also a global hot spot for Marine Mammals. (being a marine environmentalist on the side makes this very exciting to me) But delving on that is another long story entirely. The possibility of the name Kasthana being influenced by the Portuguese is real as it is a word that does not seem to have a direct meaning in Sinhala or have too many similar words to accompany it. Curiously the only other similar term that (comes to my mind) that may also shed a little light on this is the “Patisthana” spears; being of the same class as the Partisans. The similarity between the terms “Kasthana” or “Patisthana” seem obvious. The only difference being the presence of a much more ancient form of spear known in literature as the “patissa” which is most probably ancestor to the “Patisthana”. It is known that the Sinhala elite of the era was quite conversant with Portuguese and the use of the language had become wide spread and stylish as a secondary language in the Country. even today there is a rather large number of words of Portuguese origin amalgamated within the Sinhala language.