Posted: Tuesday, July 25, 2017
The original name of some provinces and towns in southern Vietnam (Part 2)
Previous part: Part 1
3. Bãi Xàu
It’s a coastal district of Soc Trang Province, so there are some peoples claim that “Bãi Xàu” is misspelled and its correct form must be “Bãi Sau”. In fact, though it’s a beach, “Bãi Xau” doesn’t mean a bank (bãi). It comes from the Khmer word “Bai Xao”, which means “undercooked rice”.
Legend has it that in the past, a group of Khmer peoples who opposed the Nguyen dynasty had to eat undercooked rice before being chased.
4. Kế Sách
It’s also a district of Soc Trang Province and located near Ba Thac seaport, most of its land is deposited by Hau River, very suitable for coconuts and sugar-canes planting.
In Khmer, sand means “K’sach”, therefore, “Kế Sách” is derived from the Khmer word “k’sach”.
To be continued…
Vietnamese Language Studies 