The Prajna boat, also known as a hearse boat, is a means of transporting the deceased's coffin to its final resting place. In Caodaism, the Prajna boat has a unique design, resembling a golden dragon, with a dragon's head and tail, and a golden house built in the center of the dragon's body to hold the coffin.
Mr. Khoan has just finished assembling the dragon head components.
The design and construction of the boat-shaped vehicles are entirely handcrafted. Currently, the only place licensed to operate and design the Bát Nhã boats is the Bát Nhã Boat Committee of the Cao Đài Holy See in Tây Ninh .
According to Mr. Le Van Ngan, Deputy Head of the Boat House Management Board, in the past, boat-shaped vehicles were mainly pushed by hand. However, in recent years, for convenience, these vehicles have been designed to be motor-driven. Most are homemade by local communities, with the driver sitting behind a dragon's head and a glass shield in front. Recently, the transportation sector has prohibited homemade vehicles from circulating on roads due to safety concerns. These vehicles must have blueprints and a suitable dragon-shaped body design installed on a small truck.
When changing vehicles, local communities and religious groups would turn to the Boat House Committee to design the vehicle and, most importantly, to create a golden dragon that matched the traditional Cao Dai boat vehicle design.
The dragon's head after completion.
The dragons on the boats are made from jackfruit wood. To obtain the parts of the dragon that fit perfectly, such as the head, tail, nose, and ears, the craftsman must be skillful in sawing the wood. Mr. Nguyen Van Khoan (Long Thanh Bac ward, Hoa Thanh town) has been carving dragons for boats for 20 years. Mr. Khoan said that in the past, he pushed boats with others in the committee, and then saw the older men carving dragons, so he became curious and went to see how they did it. Gradually, he became fascinated, "and I don't remember exactly when I learned to do it."
From a large block of jackfruit wood, Mr. Khoan had to carve it into the shape of a dragon's head. "The hardest part was at the beginning, when the wood was still a large, whole piece. We had to carve it ourselves. In the old days, the Boat House Department didn't have much machinery, and transporting it to the sawmill was difficult, so we had to be patient and carve it slowly. In recent years, the Boat House Department has had a power saw, so the carving process has become much easier," Mr. Khoan shared.
Despite having no prior training in sculpture or carpentry, through perseverance and a keen sense of aesthetics, Mr. Khoan gradually became familiar with his new job: sculpting wooden dragons.
Meticulous and unhurried, yet each stroke of Mr. Khoan's chisel is decisive and neat. Through his skillful hands and artistic vision, each part of the dragon's head gradually emerges: the harmonious pair of horns, the high forehead connected to the large nose, the majestic eyes, the vividly curved tongue… Even the dragon's fins are meticulously crafted down to the smallest detail.
The Prajna boat-shaped vehicle is now designed on a truck chassis to ensure traffic safety.
“Previously, there were large jackfruit trees, and the wood could be cut into solid blocks, but now there are no more large trees. We have to select the wood to make different parts. The larger pieces of wood are used for the head and tail, while the smaller pieces are used for the forehead, nose, teeth, ears, horns… and then we assemble them. Trees are hard to find now, but the demand is still there, so we have to find a way to make them for the parishes,” Mr. Khoan said.
After the dragon is sculpted, it is left to dry in the sun, allowing the wood to shrink. Then, from the yellow wood with its joints, through the layers of paint applied by the craftsman, each line and expression of the majestic and powerful creature, the leader of the four mythical creatures, is more clearly revealed. There are the pearly white teeth, the white and red horns, the dragon's body with its two main colors: red, white, and yellow…
“Besides the parts made from wood, the fins, eyelids… are cut from pieces of plastic and then painted, creating a soft, delicate feel instead of being made from wood. Or the dragon's whiskers are attached after completion with two springs and a red light on top. We just base our work on the models our ancestors used,” Mr. Khoan said.
In the "dragon body"—where the coffin is placed—carpenters and painters also carve and paint with symbols of the celestial eye, dragon pillars, phoenixes, etc., in bright colors, as if guiding the deceased to a peaceful and serene spiritual world .
“Right now, I’m the only one in the Boat House Committee doing dragon sculpting. I also hope that someone who truly enjoys volunteering and has a talent for it will join, and I will guide them to maintain this work of the Committee. No one has been able to do it yet, and I’m worried, but this is a talent, a hobby, and requires perseverance and diligence,” Mr. Khoan shared.
Ngoc Dieu
Source
Comment (0)