Places named after trees

Việt Nam•11/11/2023

Go Dau town. Photo: Hai Trieu

The tree's name became the district's name.

In the "Trang Bang Local History," author Vuong Cong Duc clearly states: "The area first called Trang Bang was the area in front of Nguyen Trai High School, behind the Post Office and the District's Department of Natural Resources and Environment...". During the 18th-14th centuries, the majority of Trang Bang's inhabitants came from the central provinces, mainly Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, and Hue. After hundreds of years of formation and development, Trang Bang has now become a town with 10 administrative units at the ward and commune level.

According to Wikipedia, the origin of the name Trảng Bàng is explained as follows: Etymologically, "Trảng" refers to an area with sparse woody trees, where only herbaceous plants can grow because it is a low-lying, waterlogged area. Bàng (a type of plant similar to sedge) is a herbaceous plant used in weaving mats and is abundant in this area, so the locals commonly call it Trảng Bàng.

The Trang Bang area of the past has now become one of the most economically and culturally developed areas in the province. Trang Bang has the most industrial zones in the province, including: Trang Bang Industrial Zone, Thanh Thanh Cong Industrial Zone, Linh Trung III Export Processing and Industrial Zone, and part of Phuoc Dong Industrial Zone. Trang Bang is also known to many tourists from near and far for its famous banh canh (rice noodle soup) and banh trang hoi suong (sun-dried rice paper), as well as the traditional blacksmithing craft in Loc Trat, etc.

The name of Go Dau district also originates from the name of a type of tree. In the 17th century, during the Trinh-Nguyen civil war, the people suffered from famine and hardship. Some people from Central Vietnam left their homeland and migrated south to Can Gio, Ben Nghe, etc., to make a living; others continued north along the river to Trang Bang to clear land and establish settlements. Among them were 16 families in Nhat Tao village, including the Le, Nguyen, Tran, Cai, and Truong families, who followed the Vam Co River to a barren area with many oil trees on a high mound. They settled there and named the village Go Dau (Oil Hill).

Mr. Tran Hung Dung, former Head of the Culture and Information Department of Ben Cau District, further explained that previously, there were two places in this area called Go Dau Thuong and Go Dau Ha. Go Dau Thuong is on the western bank of the Vam Co Dong River, formerly a wild, densely forested area teeming with wild animals, surrounded by swamps and canals. In the middle of it was a high mound with many oil trees, some as large as a person's arm span. Go Dau Thuong is now An Thanh commune, Ben Cau district. Within the commune, there is also a fairly large shrine dedicated to Ông (a local deity) with many ancient oil trees.

Go Dau Ha is a lower-lying area compared to Go Dau Thuong, located on the eastern bank of the Vam Co River, and is now a town in Go Dau district. In the past, the Go Dau Ha area also had many oil trees, but they grew sparsely.

Many place names exist only in folklore.

Besides the place name Cay Me Slope in Ward 1, Tay Ninh City, which has recently been mentioned by many people due to the incident of the ancient tamarind tree falling, there are many other place names in Tay Ninh province that are only passed down through folklore.

Speaking about the Mít Một intersection, located in Hiệp Tân ward, Hòa Thành town, Mr. Nguyễn Quốc Việt - former Vice Chairman of the Tây Ninh Literature and Arts Association, who has spent many years researching the culture, history, and religion of Tây Ninh and has written articles about this place, said: “A coffee shop owner at the Mít Một intersection, who claims to be the great-grandson of the landowner in this area, recounted that: in the past, there was a jackfruit tree here with many fruits. Every jackfruit season, people had to be hired to pick them. The fruit was so abundant that people around considered it a 'unique' jackfruit tree, the 'number one' jackfruit tree, and from that, the place name Mít Một was formed.”

Mr. Tien, 60 years old, who lives near the Mit Mot intersection, said that he never saw the jackfruit tree there when he was a child. According to his grandparents, the tree dated back to the French colonial era, but no one remembers when it was cut down.

Similarly, in Ward 3, Tay Ninh City, there is still a place called Bong Dau Crossroads, currently the intersection of Cach Mang Thang Tam Street and Hoang Le Kha Street. According to many elderly people, in the past, there were three fairly large oil trees near the crossroads. Some people hollowed out the tree trunks to extract oil for fuel and to make lubricating oil for boats. Over the years, the hollowed-out area became a rather large cavity, and the locals called it Bong Dau Crossroads.

Trang Bang Industrial Zone. Photo by Hai Trieu.

Ms. Pham Ngoc Trinh, over 60 years old, residing near the Bong Dau intersection, recalls that more than 30 years ago, due to the upgrading and expansion of Cach Mang Thang Tam road, the oil palm trees were cut down. The location where those oil palm trees once stood is now occupied by a coffee shop and restaurant, near Le Ngoc Tung Hospital.

Also on Cách Mạng Tháng Tám Street, in the section crossing Ward IV of Tây Ninh City, there is a place called Cây Gõ (Gmelina arborea). Mr. Liên Văn Minh, 70 years old, residing near Cây Gõ, recalls that after the liberation of South Vietnam on April 30, 1975, he moved to Tây Ninh to live. At that time, near the beginning of alley number 68 on Cách Mạng Tháng Tám Street, there was a rather large, stunted gmelina arborea tree, about 4 meters tall, with a hollow trunk. The gmelina arborea tree was on land belonging to Mr. Bảy Hớn's family. About 30 years ago, when Cách Mạng Tháng Tám Street was upgraded and widened, the gmelina arborea tree was cut down. Afterwards, Mr. Hớn sold the land and moved elsewhere to work and live. The land where the gmelina arborea tree used to be is now a neighborhood with many upscale shops.

“The wooden tree is gone, but the place name is still well-known. Recently, some of my younger siblings from Ho Chi Minh City came to visit. The shuttle bus took them to the Holy See, and they called to ask for directions. I told them to take them to the wooden tree, and the driver found it right away,” Mr. Minh recounted.

In Ben Keo hamlet, Long Thanh Nam commune, Hoa Thanh town, there is a place called Go Duoi. There is a mound of land there and an ancient Duoi tree estimated to be over 100 years old. Right at the base of the Duoi tree is the shrine of the high-ranking official Huynh Cong Nghe. A few dozen meters from the shrine is the tomb of Ong Voi (the Elephant God).

According to many local elders, this was once the place where Mr. Huynh Cong Nghe rode elephants to train his troops. Every year, on the 16th and 17th of January, the local people hold a ceremony at the shrine, which includes a ritual of bringing the elephant back to the shrine for a memorial service.

Besides the aforementioned place names, many communes in the province are named after types of trees, such as: Chà Là, Bàu Năng, Truông Mít (Duong Minh Chau district); Suối Dây, Suối Ngô (Tan Chau district); or Vên Vên, Bàu Nâu (Go Dau district), Bàu Cỏ (Tan Chau district), Trại Bí (Tan Bien district)...

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