 |
| Soc Bom Bo today. Photo: DOAN PHU |
Bom Bo's return
In 1997, when Song Be province was divided into two provinces, Binh Duong and Binh Phuoc , we visited Bom Bo village many times and met with the village elder, Dieu Len. At that time, Bom Bo village belonged to Dak Nhau commune, Bu Dang district, with simple thatched roofs, wooden walls, and bamboo fences. The lives of the S'tieng people in the village were still full of difficulties.
In those years, the village elder, Dieu Len, was just over 50 years old, so he was still strong and robust. He often welcomed us into his house, roofed with corrugated iron and bamboo walls, one of the most decent in the hamlet. We didn't mind the extremely arduous journey to Bom Bo hamlet to find out if the hamlet still resounded with the sound of pestles pounding rice as in the song "The Sound of Pestles in Bom Bo Hamlet" by the late musician Xuan Hong... Although the lives of the S'tieng people in Bom Bo hamlet were difficult at that time, the village elder Dieu Len remained steadfast in his faith in the Party and the State, persistently playing the role of spiritual leader of the people in the hamlet, and bravely fighting on the front lines of "eradicating hunger, reducing poverty, and building a cultural life."
| “Bom Bo village has over 660 hectares of agricultural land, partly used for wet rice, upland rice, and various other crops. The S'tieng people in Bom Bo village have converted most of their cashew plantations to high-value crops such as coffee, pepper, rubber, and fruit trees, combined with livestock farming and employment in businesses, resulting in a relatively stable and prosperous life,” said Dieu Don, Deputy Secretary of the Bom Bo Village Party Branch. |
Returning to Bom Bo hamlet (now Bom Bo village, Bom Bo commune, Dong Nai province), the village elder Dieu Len had passed the age of 80, and his health was no longer what it used to be. Although we couldn't meet the elder, we were still touched when we asked about Bom Bo village and heard the young S'tieng people and village officials explain things as clearly as Elder Dieu Len did in his younger, healthier days.
The village of Bom Bo still welcomed us with its familiar weather: cloudy mornings and heavy rain around midday. The only difference was that after the rain stopped, even while strolling around the village, our sandals and shoe soles remained free of mud because the village roads were now paved with asphalt or concrete from the alleyways to our houses.
Mr. Dieu Nhap (of the S'tieng ethnic group, Head of the Fatherland Front Committee of Bom Bo village) said that the entire Bom Bo village now has only 2 poor households (according to the new rural development criteria). All other households are well-off and have a comfortable economic situation.
Bom Bo village currently has 176 households with over 900 S'tieng ethnic minority people. During their lives there, many S'tieng children have married Kinh people and people from other ethnic groups… However, this has not diminished the traditional cultural identity of the S'tieng people in the village, but rather contributed to making their cultural identity even richer.
The bustling sound of pestles in Bom Bo village.
Soc Bom Bo is known for the S'tieng people's rice-pounding movement to feed the troops during the resistance war against the US, peaking in the Dong Xoai - Phuoc Long Campaign in 1965. The people of Bom Bo pounded rice day and night, providing 5 tons of rice to serve the campaign…
 |
| Ms. Dieu Thi Xia still preserves the traditional weaving craft of the S'tieng people in Bom Bo village. |
To create the video "The S'tieng people of Bom Bo village sing ' The Sound of the Pestle in Bom Bo village '," we requested permission to record and film the S'tieng people in the village singing the song "The Sound of the Pestle in Bom Bo village" in their own simple, unadorned S'tieng voices, without gongs or musical accompaniment. We thought our request would be difficult to fulfill, but the S'tieng people were very enthusiastic in their support.
“The first time I met the late musician Xuan Hong, the composer of the immortal song ' The Sound of the Pestle in Bom Bo Village ,' was around 1990-1992, when the late musician and a group of artists came to Bom Bo Village for a cultural exchange. At that time, many people from Bom Bo Village gathered to meet the artist who made 'The Sound of the Pestle in Bom Bo Village' resonate throughout the mountains and forests from North to South,” Mr. Dieu Nhap recounted.
Before singing, Ms. Dieu Thi Xia said that all the S'tieng people in the village know this song and even dance to the music and the sound of gongs. The song "The Sound of the Pestle in Bom Bo Village" by the late musician Xuan Hong has been ingrained in the blood and soul of the people of Bom Bo village for many generations. On every festival occasion, the song is sung in the flickering light of the bamboo torches that never go out in the brave and steadfast Bom Bo village.
 |
| Besides farming, the S'tieng people in Bom Bo also have the custom of raising buffalo and cattle. |
Although of Kinh ethnicity, Mr. Pham Quoc Hung (59 years old), after marrying Ms. Thi Khap, a S'tieng woman from Bom Bo village, learned to weave baskets, forge knives, and make traditional S'tieng machetes for personal use or sale. Mr. Hung is also skilled at playing gongs and drums, so he was elected Deputy Leader of the Bom Bo Village Gong and Drum Team to perform and preserve S'tieng culture during festivals and cultural exchanges with other hamlets, villages, and communes in the province.
Mr. Hung and Mrs. Khap's family has three children of Kinh-S'tieng descent who are well-behaved, hardworking, and good singers. Therefore, when Pham Ly Hung (18 years old, the youngest son of Mr. Hung and Mrs. Khap), with his strong S'tieng voice, sings, the village of Bom Bo becomes even more vibrant. The rhythmic pounding of pestles and the flickering torchlight amidst the prosperous and developing landscape of Bom Bo reflect the unity and solidarity of the S'tieng people of Bom Bo, all working together towards a thriving Bom Bo...
We left Bom Bo village as the rain stopped, the sun came out, and cars and motorbikes traveled back and forth on the winding paved road leading to National Highway 14...
The S'tiêng ethnic cultural conservation area in Bom Bo hamlet covers a total area of over 113 hectares, including a 70-hectare core zone. Phase 1 of the conservation area project commenced in 2010, with a total investment of over 85 billion VND. In early 2018, the former Bu Dang district invested over 20 billion VND from its budget to upgrade, renovate, and beautify the conservation area, making it more complete and presentable.
Doan Phu - Ba Thanh - Cong Minh
Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/dong-nai-cuoi-tuan/202507/bom-bo-ron-rang-nhip-song-moi-b9931ca/
Comment (0)