In Thailand, the local word for a water monitor, is used as an insulting word for bad and evil things, including bad persons. The word is also thought to bring bad luck, so some people prefer to call the animals 'silver-and-gold' to avoid the jinx. The origin of this offensive meaning can be traced back to a time when more people lived in rural areas in close proximity to monitor lizards. Traditionally, Thai villagers lived in two-story houses the top floor was for living, while the ground floor was designed to be a space for domestic animals such as pigs, chickens, and dogs.In Indonesian and Malay, the Asian water monitor is called biawak air, although due to its prevalence it is simply referred to as biawak.The local name in Sri Lanka is kabaragoya, denoting a subspecies with distinct morphological features.
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