- Journalism is a profession that requires us to face difficulties, hardships and dangers. We ourselves - reporters who have been working in the profession for many years - have had countless memorable experiences, some sad, some happy, some hard. Among those memories, we remember most about the journey of working in the middle of the night in the commune of Region 3, Cong Son, Cao Loc district.
During a business trip to Cong Son commune, we were introduced by the commune's cultural officers about the unique and special cultural features of the people here, notably the night wedding custom of the Dao Lu Gang. When we first heard about the night wedding, we were extremely curious and wanted to experience and record the beautiful moments of this special custom and practice.
One morning in mid-January 2024, we received a phone call from the cultural officer of Cong Son commune informing us that there was going to be a Dao Lu Gang wedding in Ngan Pac village. Upon hearing the news, we were extremely excited and decided to leave immediately because this was a very rare occasion that we had been waiting for for many months.
That afternoon, after arranging our work, we immediately took two cameras and set off. While traveling, we discussed and came up with ideas to create a unique photo work that could partly depict the meaning and wedding customs of the Dao Lu Gang people. It took us 2 hours to travel from Lang Son city to the center of Cong Son commune. At this time, different from our initial imagination, expectation, and excitement, we began to feel tired and afraid in the middle of the quiet, foggy, cold mountains and forests, without a single person at dusk. The fear was even greater when there was no phone signal here, we could not contact the officials of Cong Son commune People's Committee to find the way to the bride's house as planned.
We decided to continue moving along the main road in the hope of finding a house with lights on to ask. In the thick fog, the bitter cold of winter made us want to give up at times. However, with the determination to record special moments, we calmed ourselves down and continued along the deserted road. Luckily, in the thick fog, a light flashed, we ventured towards the only light in the dark. When we arrived, we were overwhelmed when we saw that this was the headquarters of Cong Son Commune Police and were shown the way to the bride's house by the police. At around 7:30 p.m., after a long journey, we arrived at the bride's house and joined the locals in staying up all night to cook the feast, attending the wedding ceremony from 3 a.m.
By the red fire, the neighbors cooked together, some picked vegetables, some roasted pigs. The cheerful laughter seemed to tear apart the silence of the night in the Cong Son mountains and forests, all our fatigue gradually disappeared. While quickly arranging the food, Mr. Duong Trung Choi, Party Secretary and head of Ngan Pac village, shared: For generations, the night wedding custom of the Dao Lu Gang people has been maintained by the people and has become a very unique cultural feature. People believe that all the best things begin when the sun has not yet risen, so the wedding ceremonies of the Dao Lu Gang people are all performed at night to avoid bad things.
To prepare for the wedding ceremony, from 2am, the bride Trieu Linh was assisted by her grandmothers and mothers to put on traditional costumes. At around 3am, the groom's family arrived and performed the rituals before the bride left the house. The groom's family picked up the bride's family by motorbike. However, with a limited number of vehicles, we had to walk. That night, in the drizzle, the bride's path was more than 2km long, the entire road was muddy and slippery, with pine forests on both sides of the road, not a single house. However, those difficulties did not make us falter, with the desire to create a meaningful work, spreading unique cultural features to readers, our steps seemed to quicken as we crossed the forest road in the quiet night.
At around 4am, the bride's family arrived at the groom Duong Huong's house and luckily we were there in time to record the main ceremonies of the wedding.
After a long night of work, at 6am, we said goodbye to the bride and groom and headed home. On the forest road, through the early morning mist, a strange feeling of nostalgia rose in our hearts, both joyful and reluctant.
Perhaps for us, this is the most memorable business trip since we started our journalism career. Not because of the difficulties on the journey, but because of the way we overcame our “fear” and completed the work. This trip not only helped us – young reporters – understand more about the unique culture of the Dao Lu Gang people, but also made us understand, love, be proud of and appreciate our profession more.
Source: https://baolangson.vn/chuyen-tac-nghiep-dang-nho-tai-cong-son-5048908.html
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