Contai - Etymology

Etymology

In the 15th century, during the visit of Fa-Hien, Contai was uninhabited and had no name for the outside world. In Valentine’s travelogue, a harbour, KENDUA by name, was mentioned. This harbour was on the bank of the river, a short distance from the Rasulpur estuary. Later the harbour was shifted to the present site of the Contai Town.However, it is said, the name of the abandoned port was retained for its new location, In foreigners tongue, Kendua is said to have changed first to Cauntee and finally to Contai, whereas in local tongue it has changed to Kanthi (kΛnө׀).

But linguists raise serious doubts about such change of pronunciation. They offer other suggestions.Mr.Yogesh Chandra Sarkar thinks that the name Kanthi owes its origin to outstretched sand-dune, about 27 miles from Rasulpur estuary to Peeplipattan, that from the sea looked like a long wall or Kanth (kΛnθ) as it is called by local people. Some suggest that the name may originate from the custom of local people to build long walls or Kanths around their habitation in order to keep off wild beasts like buffaloes, tigers and rhinoceroses that were found in abundance then and these Kanths gave the place its name.

Yet, some people, conversant with the local history, give another explanation. They say on the sand dunes lived Saints and Fakirs or witch doctors to whom afflicted people often came for cure and who asked them affectionately in somewhat Hindi, “Kanha thee?” meaning to say, ’where are you from? Gradually the cure-seeking people coming from distant places came to identify this unnamed place by those two words “Kanha thee”, and in course of time the words merged into one to give the virgin or Ahalya land a name.