Set up traps on Cai Lon River

After finishing the trap, he took it down to the boat and waited until early the next morning to take it to Cai Lon River to find a place to set it. My grandmother got up early in the morning to prepare food and water to help him. The trap was very large and had a complicated structure, so every time he set it, I saw my grandfather had to immerse himself in the river, stick trees, and tie ropes for a whole morning to finish.

The inner part is the basket, the outer part is called the tung, the edge has a long line to block the fish and lure the fish to swim along the net into the tung. When the fish enter the tung, they continue to swim along the mouth of the basket, which people often call the tongue, to get inside. With this basket, water flowing in or out can trap fish because there are baskets at both ends. Each time the water is lowered into the basket like this lasts from 6-7 months until the Cai Lon river water becomes salty and then the basket is pulled up. Therefore, the basket must be made very sturdy to withstand the force of the river's flow.

Mr. Tran Van Vien, residing in Vinh Tan hamlet, Hoa Chanh commune (U Minh Thuong) visits the Cai Lon river.

When I was young, my parents worked far away, I stayed at home with my grandparents, wherever they went, they took me with them. When they went to set up traps and check the traps, my grandmother would pull the boat to the edge of the water coconut leaves to protect me from the sun. While waiting for my grandfather to check the traps, my grandmother split some water coconuts for me to eat. The sweet, fragrant water coconut rice soothed the heat of the afternoon. My hometown is surrounded by rows of green water coconuts that have been there for generations, so water coconut dishes are associated with the childhood of most children here. Although we eat them all the time, the fragrant smell of water coconut rice and the sweet taste of coconut water always attract us.

I like to sit with my legs dangling in the water, splashing water, and playing with water coconut leaves to form flowers. It's so much fun. Thanks to that, children in the countryside have many memories of their homeland and thanks to that, everyone gets used to the sun, the wind, and nature. I like to follow my grandparents to the river to watch them catch fish because then I can admire the natural scenery of my hometown, the Cai Lon River reflecting the blue sky and clouds, so high and beautiful. From the times I followed my grandparents to work, I saw and felt their hardships. At that time, I understood what my grandfather said: "Life is not easy, and for the poor it is even more difficult, so they have to work harder."

The results obtained after an old farmer's survey of a trap on the Cai Lon River.

Houses in the countryside often have their main doors facing the river, and my grandparents' house was no exception. In front of them was a small canal leading to the Cai Lon River, just a row of water coconuts away from which one could see the vast river. In the small canal, every house had a small wooden bridge like a floating platform to tie boats, get on and off boats, or when the water was high, to do laundry, clean fish, wash dishes... Next to that bridge, we bathed in the river many times, sat splitting water coconuts to eat, filled with memories.

After each trap is set, it takes 1-2 days for the smell of the fish to go away before my grandfather starts to check the trap. At the beginning of the rainy season, the Cai Lon River is still brackish and there are not many shrimps or fish. Each season has its own food, at this time there are more silver carp than other fish, but occasionally there are also some silver carp and catfish. From September onwards, there are more fish, especially silver carp, bighead carp, catfish, sea bass, and giant freshwater prawns...

The fish were brought back and placed in mosquito nets under the canal bank. While waiting for the traders to weigh the fish, my grandfather caught a few for my grandmother to cook for dinner. A simple country meal with vegetables and fish available. If you want to eat sour soup, you just need to go to the garden to pick vinegar leaves and cook it, it is also delicious.

My family's dinner is simple but nutritious and delicious. People in the countryside are like that, their eating habits and lifestyle are simple, rustic, simple, close to nature, their personality is genuine and honest like the peaceful, rustic features of their homeland.

The Cai Lon River has been full and peaceful for many years, but now there are not as many shrimps and fish in the riverbed as before. In the past, every time he went to check the traps, he could catch dozens of kilos of fish. He could not pull them up by himself and had to ask his friends to help. Every time he poured the fish out, the shell compartment was full. Now, if he checked the traps, he was lucky to have fish. After working hard to set up dozens of traps, when he went to check, he could only get a few kilos of fish.

The people of my hometown hope that the rivers and canals of our hometown will always embrace alluvial grains and abundant resources like in the past so that the primitive and rustic fishing profession will always be preserved as a cultural feature of the livelihood habits of the residents along the Cai Lon River, because it is an indispensable part of the peaceful and rustic countryside picture.

Article and photos: NHA UYEN

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