Lesson 1: Pa Di village has "two thousand leaf tree"

Following the simple verses, full of heroic poetry, about a source of Pa Di folk songs, stretching along the Northwest autumn road, against the misty mountains, we arrived at the homeland of the "two thousand leaf tree" when the chrysanthemums along the road to Muong Khuong were just beginning to bloom yellow flowers.

Whenever I mention the Pa Di ethnic group, I immediately imagine the roof-shaped hat worn by women on their heads. This image is easily seen during trips to Pa Di villages, or suddenly seen at the Muong Khuong fair. If Ha Nhi girls have very large braided buns on their heads, Red Dao women have bright hats with colorful tassels... then with Pa Di ethnic women, on their heads is a long, high, pointed hat, imitating the shape of a roof.

Looking for the answer to the uniqueness of the “roofs” on the heads of Pa Di women, we went to the house of Mrs. Po Chin Din, in Chung Chai B, Muong Khuong town, and were explained that the Pa Di people believe that “women build the nest”, so the traditional headdress simulates the roof - where the woman in the family has the duty of “keeping the fire”…

According to the traditional customs of the Pa Di people, when welcoming a daughter-in-law to her husband's house, the mother-in-law often sews and gives her daughter-in-law a traditional hat of her people, a roof-shaped hat, with the hope that the daughter-in-law will bring fortune to her husband's family.

I remember, a while ago, I was once explained by Mrs. Po Chan Len, who specializes in making Pa Di ethnic costumes and hats in Coc Ngu village, Nam Chay commune, about this special "roof": Pa Di people often rely on the color of their costumes and the style of wearing roof hats to distinguish between young and old people, unmarried people and married people. If sewing clothes for girls, the mother still uses black indigo fabric as the main material to cut and sew shirts, skirts and other accessories such as hair ties, roof hats. Embroidery thread uses brighter colors, mainly using thread colors, blue, red, white, yellow...

Returning to the story of Mrs. Po Chin Din, we heard her say that when she was a child, she loved sewing and embroidery, so when she was only 13-14 years old, she learned to sew by herself. From her love and passion, Mrs. Din learned to cut fabric by herself, looked at sample dresses and embroidered. When she didn't know anything, she asked her mother and sister. Just like that, her sewing skills became more proficient over the years, growing up with her... At first, she sewed and embroidered clothes for herself, when she got married, she sewed clothes for her husband and children... Whenever she had free time, she would huddle around the sewing machine, diligently working with the needle and thread.

Mrs. Din also enthusiastically guides the Pa Di people in sewing and embroidery. In Chung Chai B, she enthusiastically guides anyone who loves embroidery and sewing, because she is concerned and hopes that the next generation will not let the national tradition fade away.

A complete Pa Di ethnic costume, including a skirt, shirt, and hat, costs nearly ten million VND. It took her many months to make, of which the roof-shaped hat required the most meticulousness and time, because to have a traditional roof-shaped headdress, the Pa Di people use a head scarf, hair rope, forehead scarf, and neck scarf. At the top of the neck scarf, round tassels made of colorful cotton or wool were decorated.

The roof-shaped hat is made from hand-woven cotton fabric dyed indigo. Pa Di women are very skillful in joining and applying beeswax many times to make the hat stiff, and when it rains, the hat is waterproof. The front part of the forehead is elaborately decorated with white silver in a sinusoidal shape, symbolizing corn and rice grains. The upper part is made of linen or cotton with a sparkling silver thread. The back has a rectangular silver frame embroidered with birds and trees, representing a life close to nature. When wearing the hat, Pa Di women tie their hair high on top of their heads, and turn the upper part of the hat up. The lower part is rolled up to hold the hair and hat, helping Pa Di girls to move comfortably without it shifting when going to festivals or going to work.

In addition to embroidering and sewing traditional costumes, Mrs. Po Chin Din also knows how to sing folk songs. While talking to us, Mrs. Din took out a round instrument from the family's wooden cabinet and showed it to us. The round instrument is a musical instrument used to perform Pa Di folk songs, made of wood, has 4 strings, and the head is shaped like a dragon's head, symbolizing the power of life, goodness, luck and prosperity.

Having a passion for traditional musical instruments and traditional culture since her childhood, Mrs. Din has devoted her life to the zither since she was 15 years old until now. Mrs. Din said: When I was young, I often followed my siblings to folk music performances and secretly practiced the instrument during their breaks, so I learned to play the instrument and my passion for playing the instrument took root without me realizing it.

By now, Mrs. Din has mastered the round zither and knows many Pa Di folk songs, including the lyrics of about 10 ancient folk songs, which are songs about the 12 months and seasons of the year, the 12 zodiac animals, and songs about the life of the Pa Di people. The Pa Di people do not have their own written language, so the lyrics and singing are passed down orally through many generations. Because she knows many ancient songs, she is invited to participate in local cultural and artistic activities.

The lyrics of the ancient Pa Di folk song are difficult to learn and difficult to translate. If you do not know how to sing folk songs, you will not be able to translate the meaning of the lyrics...

Mrs. Po Chin Din said

As a son of Pa Di village, Mr. Po Van Nam is about to enter the age of “knowing one’s destiny”. Carrying the artistic gene from his father - poet Po Sao Min, studying at Hoang Lien Son Intermediate College of Culture and Arts, then studying at Hanoi University of Culture, after graduating, Mr. Po Van Nam returned to “join the army” of the cultural sector of Muong Khuong district. Contributing to preserving the culture of local ethnic groups, including the Pa Di ethnic group, going through the ups and downs of life, Mr. Po Van Nam is currently the Deputy Director of the Center for Culture, Sports and Communication of Muong Khuong district.

Exactly 30 years ago, Mr. Po Van Nam traveled to the villages to learn, collect and record the indigenous culture of the ethnic minorities in Muong Khuong. However, at that time, computers were not popular, and records were written by hand, so many documents were lost and could not be found again.

Through the research process, Mr. Nam realized that the most unique features of the Pa Di culture are costumes, folk songs, and folk dances. Therefore, many traditional cultural materials of the Pa Di have been recreated, built into works of art combining tradition and contemporary, performed in many places such as the work of dancer Truong Duc Cuong.

The Pa Di people preserve their ethnic culture relatively well, are hard-working and diligent, so their economic life is quite good. Before, I spoke Nung language like my mother's language, after I started working, I went to the village to learn Pa Di language like my father's ethnic group.

Mr. Po Van Nam shared.

Concerned about the story of cultural preservation, Mr. Po Van Nam shared: I have also participated in many training courses on folk culture research and Pa Di ethnic culture research. However, in the face of the ups and downs of time, I always long for the traditional culture of my people to be preserved and maintained in the most effective way, thereby spreading and promoting in the life of the Pa Di community.

The Pa Di people live mainly in Tung Chung Pho commune and Muong Khuong town. The Pa Di people have the custom of celebrating Tet (kin cheng) on ​​the 23rd of the 6th lunar month, organizing merry-go-rounds, playing musical instruments, singing folk songs, etc. The Pa Di people also have a number of traditional crafts such as silver carving, making incense, brewing wine, and making water pipes.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/bai-1-ban-pa-di-co-cay-hai-ngan-la-post384479.html