A Sinhalese origin was also suggested by Donald Ferguson who pointed out that the word  ( lightning/large and  stem/trunk) was used in Sri Lanka for the small whip snake (Ahaetulla pulverulenta) and somehow got misapplied to the python before myths were created.
A Sinhalese origin was also proposed by Donald Ferguson, who observed that the word (lightning/large and stem/trunk) was employed in Sri Lanka to describe a smaller snake species, which could have led to its mistaken application to the python prior to myth-making.