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Concept
Noakhali District
Summary
Noakhali (নোয়াখালী), historically known as Bhulua (ভুলুয়া), is a district in southeastern Bangladesh, located in the Chittagong Division. It was established as district in 1821, and officially named Noakhali in 1868. Its headquarters lie in the town of Maijdee, therefore Noakhali is the only district of Bangladesh that is not named after its main town.
The name of Noakhali District comes from the town of Noakhali (নোয়াখালী), which was the former headquarters of the old district. It is a compound of two words; Noa (meaning new in Noakhailla) and Khali (a diminutive of khal meaning canal). The history behind its naming is traced back to a canal that was dug in the 1660s in response to devastating floods which had affected the area's agricultural activities. The canal ran from the Dakatia through Ramganj, Sonaimuri and Chowmuhani, to divert water flow to the junction of the Meghna River and Feni River. After its excavation, locals began calling it "Noakhali" (a new small canal) and a town with this name emerged around it in Sudharam.
Prior to changing its name to Noakhali District in 1868, the district was formerly referred to as the District of Bhulua (ভুলুয়া). Former spellings by the British East India Company include "Bhullooah" and "Bulloah" though these were less consistent with the Bengali pronunciation and spelling. When the district was ruled by the Mughal Empire, it was known by its Persian variant which was Bhalwa (). According to local Hindu mythology, the etymology of Bhulua is related to an incident experienced by Adi Sura's ninth son, Bishwambhar Sur, who had passed through the region during his travels. Sur rested in the area and had a dream in which he saw that Varahi would make him the sovereign of this territory with the condition that Sur worships her. On a cloudy day in 1203 CE, Sur built an altar for Varahi and sacrificed a goat. When the clouds moved away, Sur realized that he had sacrificed the goat to the west, which was not acceptable in Hinduism.
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