New Post
Search
Help
ArchivesRe: What does the Indian (Bengali/Sanskrit) name Kinnira mean?
in reply to a message by Ajay R
Where did you find the name Kinnira (with the -ni- instead of the -na-)? it is not familiar to me.
kinnara of course comes from kim (the neuter singular of the familiar Indo European interrogative pronoun; `what kind of ' in this context) + nara (originally nR, meaning man, with established cognates in, for example, Greek and Latin). It originally stood for semi-humans (sometimes described as humans with horse's head; sometimes for monkeys), but later got identified as one of the gandharvas (this word has a Greek cognate) who drive the Sun's horses; are associated with the pleasures; who desire women; and wed the beautiful water nymph apsaras (horses and sexual prowess are related in much of ancient Indoeuropean mythology). Though these gandharvas were originally masters of medicine and the secret arts, over time they got associated mainly with music (and love! standard `love marriage' with minimal ceremony is called gAndharva vivAha), and that is the relation you mention above.
It is possible that because of the etymological origin (of kinnara, that is), because of the feminine beauty that the masculine term got associated with, because of the relation between low testosterone levels and certain musical prowess, or, indeed, because of the social marginalization of the people of ambiguous sex as musicians, this term kinnara started being used for these people. In any case, this usage is actually quite old (more than a thousand years, at least); and predates the Arabic origin term hijra (`out of tribe'), which is often considered derogatory. That does not make it fair to people of Kinnaur, but language is not always fair...
The standard feminine of kinnara in the sense of female of the kinnara tribe is kinnarI. It, like the gandharvIs are associated with beauty (but now without the connotation of ambisexuality).
kinnara of course comes from kim (the neuter singular of the familiar Indo European interrogative pronoun; `what kind of ' in this context) + nara (originally nR, meaning man, with established cognates in, for example, Greek and Latin). It originally stood for semi-humans (sometimes described as humans with horse's head; sometimes for monkeys), but later got identified as one of the gandharvas (this word has a Greek cognate) who drive the Sun's horses; are associated with the pleasures; who desire women; and wed the beautiful water nymph apsaras (horses and sexual prowess are related in much of ancient Indoeuropean mythology). Though these gandharvas were originally masters of medicine and the secret arts, over time they got associated mainly with music (and love! standard `love marriage' with minimal ceremony is called gAndharva vivAha), and that is the relation you mention above.
It is possible that because of the etymological origin (of kinnara, that is), because of the feminine beauty that the masculine term got associated with, because of the relation between low testosterone levels and certain musical prowess, or, indeed, because of the social marginalization of the people of ambiguous sex as musicians, this term kinnara started being used for these people. In any case, this usage is actually quite old (more than a thousand years, at least); and predates the Arabic origin term hijra (`out of tribe'), which is often considered derogatory. That does not make it fair to people of Kinnaur, but language is not always fair...
The standard feminine of kinnara in the sense of female of the kinnara tribe is kinnarI. It, like the gandharvIs are associated with beauty (but now without the connotation of ambisexuality).
1
Replies
Thanks for the explanation. This name belongs to a Bengali NRI girl whose wedding invitation I came across. It seemed to me a made-up name but I was curious if it was correct or not.
1
Yes, I have started seeing the occasional kreativ spelling in Indian names as well, usually in the US. Just came across a Bhasweti, who explained to me that the spelling in Bengali was also creative (of Bhaswati, from the Sanskrit root bhA, which , though originally related to speech (cognate with English ban), but through the sense of appearance, also meant to be bright or to shine; and bhAsvatI, was the feminine adjective meaning shining; the pronunciation became -shw- in Bengali; the word shvetI, a feminine word meaning and cognate with white is probably unrelated since it is associated with leprosy and unlikely to be a name forming element). She named her daughter with a creative name as well: Jolly but the first vowel pronounced as in the English goal.
But, sometimes, these are not creative spellings, but common in expatriate communities (e.g., in S. Africa, Indonesia, W. Indies, Fiji, etc.) which have diverged enough to have their own pronunciation systems better expressed by their own spellings. I have been aware of this for some time, but it would be nice if someone systematically studied these expatriate Indian names.
But, sometimes, these are not creative spellings, but common in expatriate communities (e.g., in S. Africa, Indonesia, W. Indies, Fiji, etc.) which have diverged enough to have their own pronunciation systems better expressed by their own spellings. I have been aware of this for some time, but it would be nice if someone systematically studied these expatriate Indian names.
1
Sorry, double checked; the daughter's name is also spelt Johlea, pronounciation as I indicated before. The name does seem to have prior usage.
1