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| Illustration: Phan Nhan |
He missed the days he lived in Nha Trang. His house was deep in the alley, but every Mid-Autumn Festival was bustling and exciting. The sound of the clacking sound penetrated the slum houses, the smell of baked cakes and sticky rice cakes sold on the street rushed into his nose, he had to puff out his chest to inhale. The most exciting thing was that every afternoon he and the other kids in the neighborhood followed the lion around the street. But now... He wanted to cry. Oh, how sad! This desolate mountain village had no concept of Mid-Autumn Festival.
- Mom, why don't people here know how to dance the lion?
- I know. But we are so poor, we don't have enough to eat, so where do we get the energy to dance?
- I like lion dance.
- If you like, dance yourself!
- Where is the lion to dance? Oh, why don't you go to town and buy me a lion head?
- Ask if anyone wants to buy your mother, then sell her and use the money to buy a unicorn!
Being rejected by his mother, he was dejected.
He put his hat on his head and stormed out of the house. He went to find his best friends to complain. He was a child, his friends were also children. Without Mid-Autumn Festival, what was the point of having children? He and his two friends sat there, frustrated, sighing, their faces all sad like a merchant about to go bankrupt.
It was noon, Ton and Luom invited each other to come home for dinner, but he didn't want to. In this situation, he didn't even want meat rice, let alone vegetables. Mom kept calling him to come home, but he refused to eat. Never mind. Starving for one meal won't kill him. Not eating rice is the most effective way to "protest". Mom was always afraid that he would be hungry. He was a bad eater. If he was a little hungry, he would go limp. Mom worriedly shouted, "rice or whip, which one do you choose?". He still didn't come home. Don't even think about using the whip to pressure him. He still sat still under the mahogany tree. He started to shiver from hunger, but he felt his pride was soaring, so he still sat still. Mom gave up, went to the mahogany tree to invite him in, and said, eat, if you like to dance, I'll make a lion for you tonight...
After dinner, mother and child sat down to make a dragon.
The lion head was an old basket with a hole in it. Mom took a knife, placed the basket on a log behind the house, flattened the rim into an oval shape, and said that was the lion's mouth. Next, she drilled two round holes on top to make eyes. "Here's the lion head, dance!". "What? Put a torn basket on your head and dance? Disgusting!". He sat there with a drooping face. Mom suggested, we should take colored paper, stick it on, trim the hair and whiskers, and it would become a lion head. Basically, how beautiful would the dance be? Any lion is a lion. This idea seemed good! He then used up all the colored paper, and if it wasn't enough, he tore off some white paper, cut it into small strips, and stuck it on the basket. It looked colorful and sparkling. Whatever! It was better than nothing.
If it has a head, it must have a body. If the unicorn doesn't have a body, if it wears it, it will definitely look like a girl with a lion face. Frowning in thought, it's out, it ran to borrow a floral blanket from its mother. Mother shouted: "You're playing dirty, what will you use to cover yourself? If you dance like rice, I'll give you a blanket to dance with?". Oh my god, the unicorn's head is a... torn basket, but you want to dance like rice. Mom, try showing me a real unicorn head..., it grumbled inwardly. Its father encouraged it, using a torn mosquito net in the corner of the house as a coat for the unicorn, when he was little, he played like that too, thinking back now it's still funny... Mid-Autumn Festival is basically fun!
So be it, so be it. Well, just dance anyway, who knows, maybe the unique lion head will impress people. Oh, there's still one thing missing. This is a small thing, but without it, the lion team will just stand there crying. That's right. Very quickly, Ton ran downstairs to get the lid. Luom ran to get two drums. Luom is good at playing frog drums, so he's okay with the lion drums.
That's it, tomorrow evening at 7 pm the lion dance team (three people) will officially practice to debut and perform in time for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
But Mr. Dia doesn't have a mask, well, I hope everyone sympathizes with Mr. Dia Ton, he is a poor household god with a code number. Not only does he not have a mask, but he must have a fan and a belly to have a place to perform. Well, he took a piece of cardboard and cut it into a circle to make a fan, then he rolled up two or three old shirts, stuffed them in, and used his mother's old hat strap to tie it across Ton's belly. Immediately, Ton had the fat appearance of Mr. Dia. "You have to joke around with everyone, you hear, you have to make people laugh, Mr. Dia has the duty to make the host happy, especially the kids... What's wrong? You're so stupid! Mr. Dia is the incarnation of Maitreya, always cheerful, you hear, if you accidentally show that face of not eating, you'll get whipped by me." - He raised his teeth, "teaching" Ton very methodically and strictly.
He gathered the lion dance team mainly to practice for Mr. Dia Ton, but Luom was already at ease playing the drums, and he had practiced the lion dance himself to perfection. The left and right attacks, the advance and retreat, the brave leaps, the high jumps, the prostrations… everything was rhythmic and graceful. His father praised him for being a girl but having talent for lion dancing.
Everything was ready, just in time for the full moon.
Tung tung tung cac tung tung tung tung! That was the sound of the lion drum of the other team (the lion dance team on the streets of Nha Trang that he had seen), while their lion dance team kept clanging and clanging on the dirt road.
- Uncle, let us dance in your house?
- What are you dancing for? You're deaf!
- It sounds so loud but the lion dance is very good, uncle...
- Is that you?
- Really...dance, uncle?? Please...
- Go play somewhere else!
- We dance without hanging money.
- Whose children are so stubborn! - Uncle Ba shouted angrily. The three children kept quiet and backed out into the street.
Or we can just dance on the street, Ton said. He was angry, how can we dance on the street? On the street, we need people to watch, the street is so deserted, are we dancing for ghosts? Already discouraged. Just leave it to me, let's keep going.
Cheng cheng cheng…
The lion dance team stood in front of Uncle Tam Tuan's house. Learning from experience, he would not be foolish enough to bring his refined lion dance team into the house and get yelled at again. Uncle Tam Tuan was a friend who grew cassava and often went to drink tea with his father, so he boldly said:
- Uncle Tam, let the lion dance team in the house!?
- Go to another house, my house is too small!
- It's okay, my lion dance team is too thin.
- But you don't have a gift bag?
- This is a free lion dance team, okay?
- YES!
After the "uh" sound, the sound of "cheng cheng" arose. Luom was so excited that he hit the lid of the pot hanging on his belly really loudly. The drum beat urged the lion to stretch its body, pounce, spread out, and undulate very bravely, attacking left and right... Ong Dia hugged his big belly, went to the tea table to pour water, and fanned the victim. Cheng cheng... too much, the lion troupe used all their strength to perform. Only when they were exhausted and could not dance anymore did they stop.
The host clapped his hands loudly. The lion dance team was ecstatic. He was so excited that he even gestured with his hand, and Luom immediately started to clap. But Uncle Tam said: "Where are you going in such a hurry? After the dance, you have to receive your reward?". "Yes, this is a free lion dance team." Uncle Tam laughed heartily, holding up a plate of boiled cassava, spread with chives and sprinkled with fragrant pepper. "Here, this is food for the volunteer lion dance team." Oh my god, I've seen my wife selling this dish in front of the school gate all the time, I'm dying to see it, but where can I get the money to buy it? The lion dance team saw the big plate of cassava, their six eyes were brighter than flashlights, they reached out and took a quick photo.
After finishing the cassava dish, all three of their stomachs became the belly of the Earth God.
Cheng cheng cheng. Lan goes again...
But this time, I went home to sleep. Uncle Tam told me not to stay out late, or I'll cause trouble for the neighborhood. Besides, I'm too full, I can't jump around very well.
***
That was the Mid-Autumn Festival twenty years ago, the Mid-Autumn Festival of me and my two best friends.
As time passes, not many things are forgotten, but many changes occur.
The old mountain hamlet is now a district town, Uncle Tam Tuan has passed away. My two friends and I drifted to Saigon to earn a living. If we happened to meet each other, the three of us would laugh and tell the story of carrying a ragged basket to dance...
This morning, early August, Luom called me and insisted that we should go to the mountain village to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. I asked him what was going on and he smiled and said, "Let's go back and see if there are any children in our hometown who still carry a ragged basket to dance. Then we can sponsor them a grand lion dance so they can enjoy the Mid-Autumn Festival to the fullest."
Source: http://baolamdong.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/202409/doi-lan-mien-phi-61229d5/
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