The Co Tu people named the village

Many highland villages are often associated with the names of rivers and mountains. Photo: ALANG NGUOC

Named after the “village chief”
Over the years, many ancient Co Tu villages in the Eastern Truong Son region have gradually changed their names. This stems from later migrations and administrative boundary mergers.

Mr. Alang Dan - a resident of But Tua group (Bhlo Ben village, Song Kon commune, Dong Giang) is the "first generation" of the old But Tua village, along with 3 other villages including Son, Ben and Cloo, which were merged into Bhlo Ben.

Mr. Dan said, the name But Tua was originally named after a "village chief", conh Dhua (Dhua's father). Later, when the land of Song Kon was populated by Kinh people, the name Dhua, pronounced in the Co Tu language, was distorted to Tua as it is now.

“At that time, Conh Dhua was considered the village chief. He was famous for his good character, wealth and authority in the Co Tu community. He lived responsibly towards the villagers, every year he was willing to measure rice, give pigs and chickens to poor households. There was no common work of the village that Conh Dhua refused, from weddings, funerals to support for working days in clearing fields, harvesting rice…

He was even the one who always initiated all the common work of the village. Therefore, the But Trzang people (the old name of But Tua) considered him as the hero of the village, so later they unanimously named the village after him, considering it as a gratitude to the son who devoted himself to the community" - Mr. Dan shared.

After the merger, the Co Tu people in Bhlo Ben gradually became familiar with the name of their village. Bhlo in Co Tu language means legend.

The legendary land with many interesting stories that have created the character of the mountain community throughout its history of existence. In addition to But Tua, in Song Kon commune, there are many other villages named after the "village chief".

For example, But conh Ngar (But village of Ngar's father, commonly called But Nga); But conh Nhot (But village of Nhot's father, belonging to But Nhot group, Pho village, Song Kon commune today).

The lives of the Co Tu people are closely linked to the name of the village and the village community. Photo: ALANG NGUOC

Naming the village after the village chief has become a characteristic of the Co Tu community to show gratitude to the outstanding children who have contributed greatly to the journey of establishing the village from the early days.

Carrying the name of mountains and rivers

According to Co Tu culture, before choosing land to establish a village, the village elders often discuss and determine the location of the land, then perform the ritual of worshiping the land and asking the gods. The worshiping procedure is quite simple, usually only bringing a rooster (or quail egg), snail shell, millipede, a bowl of clear water, a bamboo stick...

Village elder Y Kong - former Chairman of Dong Giang District People's Committee said that the Co Tu people are usually very careful in choosing land to establish a village. According to their concept, this is to avoid risks and bad luck that haunt the villagers during their lives. In the past, the Co Tu people used the names of rivers, streams, mountains and hills and even the names of the "village chiefs", the most prestigious people to name their new villages. Because people believe that this way of naming is easy to remember and in line with the traditional culture of the community.

“Like Coong Reh village, now Areh - Dhroong hamlet, Ta Lu commune, is also named after an Areh mountain behind the village. Coong or k'coong in the Co Tu language means mountain, this way of naming is to remind descendants of the land where their ancestors lived for a long time, to preserve and protect that mountain together.

Even the names of commune-level administrative units such as Song Kon, Jo Ngay (Dong Giang); Lang, A Vuong (Tay Giang)... are named after the rivers and streams that formed them, so today, the Co Tu people still preserve and are proud of those names" - said old man Y Kong.

During the war, the village names bearing the names of mountains and rivers in the Co Tu language also helped officers and soldiers easily identify the bomb shelters of the people. When the secret report came back, the commander only needed to know the place name to be able to deploy combat missions to fight the enemy without worrying about the stronghold being discovered.

“Hundreds of years ago, although the concept of provincial, district and communal boundaries was not as clear as it is today, the Co Tu people had already formed a village scale. Each village had its own name, named after a river, stream, mountain or hill, or the person directly managing the community, usually the patriarch, a prestigious person.

Many famous ancient Co Tu villages such as Bhlo Son, Bhlo Ben, Bhlo Cha'dao, Bho Hien... still exist today, proving that the village name is always very important in the consciousness and life of the Co Tu community" - said elder Y Kong.

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