Story in Dao village

(HBĐT) - Following Captain Bui Van Hoan - Chief of Toan Son Commune Police, Da Bac District, we arrived at Tra Hamlet, Toan Son Commune. This is a locality with a large population of Dao people. Implementing the renovation policy of the Party and State, the lives of the Dao people here have improved significantly, many families have spacious, modern houses, many cars, motorbikes... to serve the essential needs of the people. To have today's achievements is the work of many generations of Dao people and also those who have chosen this highland land to settle down and make a living.

Many Dao families are well off thanks to hard work.

While sipping a cup of hot tea, old man Ban Van Huong - former Vice Chairman of the Fatherland Front of Toan Son commune shared: The Dao people are gentle, simple, straightforward, and honest. In the past and present, generations of Dao people live by the motto: Dao people do not take anything from anyone and do not let others take anything from them. The customs and practices passed down from many generations remind descendants to appreciate and preserve the traditional identity of the nation. For generations, Dao people have preserved many unique cultural features such as: the cap sac festival, new rice, Tet Nhay, praying for crops... That helps to strengthen the village and neighborhood relationships, people agree to trust the Party and the Government to join hands in building a new countryside. However, that does not mean that Phu hamlet does not have conflicts and complications. According to old man Huong, due to low education and uneven awareness, if the solution is not reasonable, it will be difficult to convince the people, even causing disunity leading to complications.

Recalling the story of the conflict between two Dao families in the village, with prestige and responsibility, old man Huong supported the government to successfully mediate, strengthening the village and neighborhood relationship. Previously, the families of Mr. Dang Van Th and Trieu Van T had a rather fierce conflict over the division of cultivated land. The thing is, this forest land did not have a red book, but because the people had lived there for a long time, it naturally became the family's land. Therefore, the boundary demarcation encountered many difficulties and complications, leading to conflicts because each household thought the land was theirs. Just because of a few meters of land, the two families had many arguments, even "fighting", affecting the good traditions of the Dao village. Grasping that situation, old man Ban Van Huong went to each family to meet and advise with sincere but quite determined words. Old man Huong said that if it could not be resolved, the local government would intervene and discover that the land did not have a red book and reclaim it, then everything would be lost. The government created conditions for households to have land for cultivation and develop production, so people had to join hands to improve the land to have more income and stabilize their lives. Elder Huong's perseverance and responsibility gradually bore fruit, the two families gradually understood the situation, shook hands to reconcile and became closer than before.

From Tra hamlet, we followed the hillside up to Phu hamlet, Toan Son commune. Commune police chief Bui Van Hoan revealed that he would introduce a village elder who is fluent in Dao script and has a decisive voice in important matters of the hamlet and village. Seeing us, old man Dang Tien Binh warmly welcomed us and took us to visit his house. The house was built a long time ago but still retains the characteristics of the Dao people. Located next to the Da River, the climate is cool and the trees are lush, which is why at his rare old age, Binh is still active and clear-headed. This is even more precious when he brings his experiences and life lessons to teach his children and grandchildren, helping them recognize what is right and wrong, what should and should not be done according to the traditional customs of the Dao people.

Gia Binh said: "According to the Dao tradition from ancient times, a son can only marry one daughter. In the family, the father teaches his children the same way. In ancient books, it is taught that no one is allowed to violate the prohibition. If you smoke opium, you kill yourself, your family, your clan, and affect the village. From then until now, we have been persistentin educating our children, not letting them fall into bad habits and vices of society. If they violate, we will resolutely expel them from the family and clan. Thus, your actions have affected your family and relatives, becoming a pain for the family. Therefore, each family strengthens the management of their children, not letting them lose out to other families.

The lives of people here are surrounded by difficulties and external temptations that affect the youth. Favorable conditions for economic development have not yet arrived, but the negative aspects of social life have found their way there. Elder Binh said: Dao people are inherently honest, simple, always hard-working and comply with all policies and guidelines of the Party and State. In the past, whenever mentioning the police, people were very afraid. However, in recent years, due to the lack of education from family and society, children no longer retain the good nature of the Dao people, so substandard behaviors and violations of the law are increasingly occurring. Young people live a loose life, love to play, are lazy, are lured and incited by bad people, leading to crimes and social evils, including drug addicts. That makes Elder Binh very sad, he sees his responsibility to help children orient their lifestyle, morality, stay away from social evils and drugs.

According to traditional customs, in the past, any family that had a wedding or funeral would organize a grand ceremony for a whole week, having to slaughter cows, pigs, chickens to invite the whole village, the whole clan. The groom's family had to have hundreds of liters of wine to get a wife... but now weddings and funerals have improved a lot. For example, the dead cannot be left in the house for more than 3 days, drinking alcohol must be limited, not getting drunk, if violating, they will be subject to strict punishments from the clan. Along with education, the Dao people maintain traditional customs such as: "Belleng dance", "Jumping festival", "Cap sac ceremony", "New rice festival"... creating a joyful, exciting atmosphere, encouraging people to work hard, produce, pray for good crops. Educate children and grandchildren to raise awareness of saving in weddings, funerals, organizing festivals and eliminating backward customs, superstitions, building a new life. Thanks to the attention of the Party and the State, 80% of households in the hamlet have access to clean water, and over 90% of households have access to the national grid. People join hands with the local government to build new rural areas, voluntarily donating land to build roads and welfare facilities.

In recent years, thanks to the investment of the State, the infrastructure of Dao villages has improved a lot, the appearance of the highland countryside has changed positively. Many families have built solid houses, fully equipped with essential items such as televisions, motorbikes, mobile phones, etc., and even bought cars for transportation. 100% of students can go to school, the dropout rate has decreased significantly. Many Dao children passed the entrance exams to universities and professional colleges. After finishing their studies, they returned to serve their homeland, holding high positions in the local government system. Saying goodbye to the friendly Dao people when the afternoon was late, the sunlight was shining golden in the middle of the forest. In the distance were terraced fields, stilt houses located halfway up the mountain, the afternoon smoke had begun to spread.

LIKE HUNG

(Provincial Police)

Source: http://www.baohoabinh.com.vn/274/178542/Chuyen-o-ban-Dao.htm