e_le_lo, refrain from maritme song in Tamil, mleccha!

October 26, 2003

Is e_le_lo relatable to he'layo in S'atapatha Brahman.a reference to the mleccha

spoken tongue? -- mleccha, meluhhan sea-faring merchants, the early attested

activities of Sarasvati civilization with Mesopotamia across the Persian Gulf

(Oman, Bahrain -- Magan, Dilmun)..

e_le_lo is a Classical Tamil word. Where does it come from? What are its

semantics? It is related to early Prakrits of coastal regions, of sailors among

ancient Tamils who lived in the coastal regions not far from Gulf of Khambat

[kampat.t.am = mint (Tamil)]. Is this related to another Tamil word e_lam

'auction' where the auctioneer shouts repeatedly, not unlike the e_le_lo

refrain?

The semantics of the word, helao 'to move' (Santali), and cognate semantics:

‘rocking to and fro’ and ‘wave’ point to sailing on high seas. This is

authenticated by a Tamil lexeme: e_le_lo = a word that occurs again and again in

songs sung by boatmen or others while pulling or lifting together; e_le_lan- =

name of a Chola king; e_lappa_t.t.u = boatmen’s song in which the words e_lo_,

e_le_lo occur again and again (Ta.lex.) This leads to a possible interpretation

of some of the mlecchas, who shout, ‘he ‘lavo, he ‘lavo’, as ‘sea-farers’ and is

consistent with the evidence of economic texts from Mesopotamia which point to

extensive trade relations with ‘meluhha’, which is generally equated with the

Indic civilization area.

Alfred Hillebrandt notes that the phrase he ‘lavo attributed to the asuras in

the S’atapatha Bra_hman.a indicates that Indian enemies from the east are also

included among asuras, since this phrase would be a Prakrit form from that area.

(Alfred Hillebrandt, Vedische Mythologie, 3 vols., Breslau, Verlag von M. and H.

Marcus, 1902, vol 2., p. 440). The following Indic etyma may explain the use of

the term he ‘layo: halla_ = tumult, noise (P.Ku.N.B.Or.H.); halphal = shaking,

undulation (A.)(CDIAL 14017). Hallana =

tossing about (Skt.); hallai – moves (Pkt.); alun = to shake (K.) ale, alaku =

to shake (Ka.)(CDIAL 14003; 14918). Hillo_la = wave (Skt.); hillo_layati =

swings, rocks (Dha_tup.); hilorna_ = to swing, rock to and fro (H.); hilolai =

shakes (OMarw.) (CDIAL 14121). Hillo = a jerk, a shake; a push; a shock; hello =

a jolting of a carriage (G.) helao = to move, drive in (Santali).

Dr. S. Kalyanaraman

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