The source of the Lam River

The Lam River (also known as the Ca River) is over 400 kilometers long, flowing from the western part of Nghe An province, through nearly 10 districts, before emptying into the sea. It is considered a vital artery of Nghe An.

Just as humans are born with parents and a homeland, rivers also have their origins. The headwaters of the Lam River are the confluence of the Nam Non and Nam Mo rivers. The local people have given the point where these three rivers meet a very impressive name: Cua Rao (Cave Gate).

In Thai, "nam" means water. Some say "mo" means "grandfather" and "non" means muddy, while others say "nam mo" means the ancestor of the river, and "non" means "indigo," implying the river is muddy like indigo, because in Thai, "nam nin" is the water used to dye clothes. The Nam Mo River is 28 km long, starting from Muong Tip commune, Ky Son district, flowing through Luu Kien and emptying into Cua Rao - Xa Luong commune. The Nam Non River is 102 km long, originating from Xieng Khouang, Laos, flowing through Ky Son and 7 communes of Tuong Duong district to Cua Rao, where it merges with Nam Mo to form the Ca River. Legendary stories about the two rivers, Nam Non and Nam Mo, personify their destinies as two different people.

Indeed, the Nam Non River, with its winding rapids and waterfalls, its banks lined with towering rocks that seem to challenge the rushing, murky water, churning up white foam, powerful like a young man, while the Nam Mo River appears gentler and smaller, resembling a young woman. Legend still holds that long ago, in the distant ocean, there lived a pair of sea serpents. One day, the pair swam upstream along the Ca River to the Cua Rao area to frolic. At that very moment, on the summit of Pu Xai Lai Leng, the celestial officials were holding a grand feast. While eating, drinking, and reveling, they saw the two sea serpents disrupting their festivities. Angered, the celestial beings sent the Thunder God to hurl a red-hot steel blade at the sea serpents, injuring both. The female serpent, less severely wounded, carved through the mountain and created the Nam Mo River, while the male serpent, more severely injured, became much more ferocious and also carved through the mountain, creating the Nam Non River...

Another legend says that: Long ago, there was a beautiful girl who loved a boy from the mountains. They loved each other deeply, but because their families forbade their marriage, the girl stood on the high mountain and wept for days and nights. Her two streams of tears formed the Nam Non and Nam Mo rivers. The boy, heartbroken, collected both streams of tears and combined them to form one large river, which is the Ca River today.

Each story offers a different explanation for the formation of the river confluence, but all are meaningful, making the place not only beautiful and poetic but also mysterious and sacred. At the confluence, the ferocity and destructiveness of the Nam Non River are gone; the riverbed is deep, and the water flow is regulated, making it very calm. Along the riverbanks, the forest casts its lush green shade, and small boats are moored close together; houses, carpentry workshops, and shops are gradually springing up with the process of urbanization. The landscape is gradually changing with the improvement of people's lives. The Cua Rao suspension bridge at the river confluence is considered a symbol and a source of pride for Tuong Duong, representing the spirit of unity, and a highlight in this picturesque landscape built in the 1980s with the contributions of tens of thousands of people. The inauguration day of the bridge was a grand celebration in Tuong Duong, with people from all the villages and surrounding areas flocking here to celebrate and feel immense pride. On the day the Ban Ve hydroelectric project commenced construction, a new, more robust reinforced concrete bridge, suitable for heavy vehicles, was erected, ending the suspension bridge's "historical mission."

Standing on the bridge groaning under the drilling rigs, we turned our gaze towards the confluence of three rivers, where the Con Temple loomed faintly behind ancient trees. Originally, the temple had three brick and tile chambers, but due to war damage, it became a ruin in 1950. The only remaining traces are the side gate and the memories of the local elders. However, to this day, no one knows who the Con Temple was built to worship, only that it is very sacred. When the main mode of transportation was by boat, fishermen from all over would visit the temple to light incense and pray for peace. Today, the Con Temple at Cua Rao has been restored to a fairly impressive state.

How many times has the water at the confluence of the rivers changed course? Nature is always mysterious, but it is not silent; it always has its own voice. The remnants of history (Cua Rao Bridge, Con Temple...) have also endured through many eras and are gradually changing; people and time have, are, and will continue to write history for it. In the future, when the Ban Ve hydroelectric project is completed, ecotourism and cultural tourism models will be opened up, and then the confluence of the rivers – the end point of the Nam Non and Nam Mo rivers, and the beginning point of the Lam River – will become one of the destinations for tourists.

Hoang Hao - Nguyen Phuong Thuy -K50 Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi