Why is it called "Cua Lo"?

(Baonghean.vn) Many tourists visiting Nghe An and swimming at Cua Lo beach often ask this question to tour guides, vendors, and journalists, but many are unable to answer, leaving them very disappointed. Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Tri Doi (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) has researched this interesting issue.

People usually think of the name Cửa Lò as consisting of two elements: Cửa, meaning "where the river flows into the sea," and Lò, a proper name. However, this case is not that simple.

According to the current explanation of the locals, it's a corrupted version of the name Cửa Lùa (Sliding Gate). This is because the Cấm River flows into the sea between the mountain range of Nghi Thiết commune (to the north) and Lô Sơn mountain (belonging to Nghi Tân and Nghi Thủy communes) on the other side.MaleTherefore, when the sea breeze blows in, as well as when the wind blows out from the west, people perceive this place as a wind-swept gateway. This perception gave the place its name, hence the name "Wind-Swept Gateway." From "Wind-Swept Gateway," the locals called it "Lua Gateway." Later, Lua Gateway became Cua Lo. When the French arrived in this area, the aforementioned place name was formalized into Cua Lo.

The second explanation suggests that Cửa Lò is a Malayo-Polinesian name meaning "River Mouth." This hypothesis is put forward by Bình Nguyên Lộc. According to him, in the Malayo-Polinesian language, there is the word Kưala to name the place where a river flows into the sea or where a small river flows into a larger river.

Gradually, the noun Kưala/Kưalo and the place name transformed into Cửa Lò. To support his explanation, Bình Nguyên Lộc tells us that in Ngô Thì Sỹ's (1726-1780) Việt sử tiêu án (Summary of Vietnamese History), this estuary was called Cola, and he argues that: "if the place name Cửa Lò existed before Ngô Thì Sỹ, then the historian Ngô would have translated it as Lô Khẩu." Furthermore, this author also states that in present-day Hà Tĩnh province, there is a river mouth flowing into the sea (Kinh River estuary in Kỳ Anh district) now called Cửa Khẩu, which was formerly called Kỳ La. In volume 9 of Việt sử thông giám cương mục (Comprehensive History of Vietnam), Vietnamese historians also note that this estuary is Hà Hoa in Kỳ La commune. According to Bình Nguyên Lộc, the name Kỳ La, like Ngô Thì Sỹ's name Cô La, both originate from Kưala. Therefore, the place names referring to these rivers are simply a transformation from common nouns into proper names...

The professor concluded: Analyzing several place names considered to be of Malayo-Polinesian origin along the coast of Nghe An and Ha Tinh (Cua Can, Cua Lo, Ky La, and Dau Can Mountain), we see that this coastal area still clearly retains the imprint of Malayo-Polinesian speakers. Therefore, the place name Cua Lo, a name of this cultural layer, remains to this day, and along with it, the river is named Lach Lo, and the mountain in Nghi Tan commune is named Lo Son, meaning "mountain of the Lo River." All three place names are significant.MaleThe island likely formed the original layer of place names. Later, the Vietnamese came to settle and develop the land, but they preserved the old names.

Hoang Chinh (Compiled and introduced)