Community-based tourism in Van Xuan

Every spring, tourists flock to historical sites, scenic spots, and tourist destinations to learn more about the values and traditional cultural identity of the ethnic minorities. From the district center, the Cam Ba Thuoc temple is the first attractive invitation, leading visitors to the ancient Trinh Van land, now Van Xuan commune (Thuong Xuan district), home to caves, temples, communal houses, and villages of the Thai and Muong people.

Community-based tourism in Van Xuan The Hon Can area will be an attractive destination for tourists visiting Van Xuan.

Setting the goal of using community-based tourism as a cornerstone in the advanced rural development program, Mr. Luong Cong Tham, Chairman of the People's Committee of Van Xuan commune, enthusiastically spoke about the tourism potential of his locality. After Thuong Xuan district launched its community-based tourism development plan until 2025, with a vision to 2030, Van Xuan commune achieved the new rural development status in 2020. This serves as a foundation for the commune to embark on developing community-based tourism in the future.

When mentioning Van Xuan, one cannot fail to mention the Nang Han Festival, which has recently been recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. The main venue for the festival is Muong Cave. Previously, to reach Muong Cave (Cang Khen village) and admire the stalactite formations depicting a young woman resting, and stone elephants and war horses bowing in reverence, people had to wade across the Nhong River and then climb into the cave. Now, the people of Lum Nua and Cang Khen villages have donated land to widen the road leading to the cave. While not overly spectacular, stepping into Muong Cave gives the Thai people a feeling of renewed energy and faith. The story of Nang Han, beautiful in appearance and character, and courageous in sacrificing herself for the peace of her village, continues to remind the people of their gratitude. Besides the spiritual aspect, the people of Trinh Van also enjoy themselves by singing and dancing around the flower tree, playing traditional games like throwing the ball, pushing sticks, stirring the fields, dancing the bamboo pole dance, and playing gongs and drums.

Also in Lum Nua village, Van Xuan commune, the Nine-Room Temple festival is being restored, where buffalo sacrifices are held on the summit of Pu Pen. According to the records of Dr. Hoang Minh Tuong: Before sacrificing the buffalo, following the instructions of the shaman of Chieng Van village, the villagers take the buffalo to the river to wash it thoroughly, feed it the grass it likes, then the shaman performs the ritual of awakening, lights incense, sprinkles sacrificial wine on the head, neck, and body of the buffalo and prays: “Today, on an auspicious day, Lum Nua village, Chieng Van village, is holding a ceremony to worship Heaven. (...) Dear buffalo, beloved buffalo, the villagers are transforming so that the buffalo can go to the other side of the mountain, to be with our ancestors, to the heavenly realm. Sacred buffalo, precious buffalo, please bless the village with good health and bountiful harvests. Don't be sad when you go far away, buffalo!” After the ancestral worship ceremony, praying for the heavens and earth to bear witness, the villagers lead the buffaloes to Ta Pha Wharf – the heavenly water source – to slaughter them and prepare the sacrificial offerings. After the ceremony, people from nearby and distant villages together pay their respects to the Heavenly King and the deities, gather the offerings, and return to their long, spacious stilt houses. There, everyone partakes in the blessings, drinks rice wine, and young and old, men and women, chat and laugh together in shared joy.

The ritual of sacrificing a white buffalo to Heaven on Pú Pen Hill is now mainly organized on a clan-wide scale within the Cầm clan of Lùm Nưa village. Instead of holding it for a whole month, the clan only organizes it on the 3rd day of the first lunar month to be ready for the Nàng Han festival. “Currently, Vạn Xuân commune is in the process of building the Nine-Room Temple with the hope of restoring and developing the buffalo sacrifice ritual to become a festival for the Thái people in the province in general and in Trịnh Vạn in particular,” said Mr. Lương Công Thắm, Chairman of the People's Committee of Vạn Xuân commune.

When mentioning the historical traditions of Trinh Van land, one cannot fail to mention the Cam family with names like Cam Ba Hien, Cam Ba Thuoc... According to the books Quoc Trieu Chinh Bien Toat Yeu and Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi ( Thanh Hoa province, volume 2), it is recorded: In 1837, Mr. Cam Ba Hien (the 3rd generation ancestor of Mr. Cam Ba Thuoc) followed the army to suppress a rebellion, but was later captured, tempted, and bribed. He refused to comply and was killed. Therefore, Emperor Minh Mang praised him as a loyal man, posthumously awarding him the title of Chief of the Fifth Rank, establishing a temple in the village, and having a plaque inscribed with the words "Loyal and Virtuous" to commend him. The Dai Nam Thuc Luc further states: The court officials submitted a petition to Emperor Minh Mang listing 469 people to be worshipped at the Trung Nghia Temple, which the Emperor approved. Mr. Cam Ba Hien, along with 152 others, was worshipped at the western altar, promoted from team leader to squad leader. Previously, at his temple in Lum Nua village, there was a stone stele erected by his descendants in 1911 that recorded the above content.

In the late 19th century, the Cam family also included Cam Ba Thuoc, a highly educated and talented man with a patriotic heart and love for the people. Responding to the Can Vuong (Support the King) decree, he raised the banner of rebellion, establishing Trinh Van as a resistance base against the French colonialists for 11 years, from 1884 to 1895. After many battles, due to the unequal balance of forces, the rebel army suffered heavy losses, and food and weapons ran out. Cam Ba Thuoc decided to disband the rebel army and leave the base to avoid capture by the enemy, thus preventing further casualties among his soldiers and the local population. He was executed at the age of 36. Out of sorrow for his sacrifice, the people erected temples in his honor in Lum Nua (Van Xuan) and Coc Che (Xuan Le), and later moved his shrine to Cua Dat.

Unfortunately, the temple dedicated to the two men in Lum Nua village has been lost. Currently, the commune is constructing a temple dedicated to Cam Ba Hien to meet spiritual needs and to serve as a source of information to help people understand the land and people of Van Xuan.

To develop community tourism, Van Xuan commune has proposed building Hang Cau village as a pilot project. Compared to the other nine villages, Hang Cau is located at the far end of the commune but has many climatic advantages. Here, tourists can visit Thien Thuy Waterfall (also known as Mu Waterfall) - a complex of four waterfalls nestled beneath the majestic Pu Ta Leo mountain range. For those who enjoy exploration , Thien Thuy Waterfall is an attractive destination. To reach the waterfall, visitors must trek over 500 meters through the forest, climbing slopes and passing ancient trees hundreds of years old... It is a complex of waterfalls arranged in a circular arc, stretching nearly 1 kilometer. Here, visitors can not only admire the beautiful waterfalls but also experience the wild natural environment of the Xuan Lien Nature Reserve. All these combined beauties represent the potential for Van Xuan commune to develop tourism. In particular, since the concrete road leading to Thien Thuy Waterfall from Provincial Road 519 was built, the number of tourists visiting Thien Thuy Waterfall has increased significantly. In the summer, it welcomes hundreds of visitors every day.

Also in Hang Cau village, near Thien Thuy waterfall, the Hon Can area boasts a portion of the vast, emerald-green Cua Dat lake. Leading us around the Hon Can area, Mr. Le Huu Toan, head of Hang Cau village, introduced: "Soon, on this lake area, tourists will be able to take boat trips to admire the surrounding scenery, then stroll into local houses, sit on stilts to drink tea and chat; enjoy the traditional folk songs and dances, sip on rice wine, and eat traditional dishes such as sticky rice cooked in bamboo tubes, river fish, free-range pork, and hill chicken..."

Speaking about the advantages of Hang Cau village, the village Party Secretary, Mr. Le Van Hong, said: Hang Cau village currently has 176 households, of which 102 are Kinh people. With the advantage of being located right within the Xuan Lien Nature Reserve, the villagers are striving to develop the economy, with community tourism being a sustainable direction. Hang Cau village is aiming to achieve the status of a model new rural village by 2025.

Mr. Luong Cong Tham, Chairman of the People's Committee of Van Xuan commune, said: The commune has 1,251 households, of which the Thai ethnic group accounts for 52.8%, the Kinh ethnic group accounts for 45.2%, and the rest are other ethnic groups. Under the leadership and guidance of the Standing Committee of the District Party Committee, and with the efforts of the Party committee, government, and people of all ethnic groups in the area, Van Xuan commune is continuing its journey towards building an advanced new rural commune, maintaining its position as a leading commune in the "5 Xuan" cluster (including 5 communes: Xuan Chinh, Xuan Le, Xuan Thang, Xuan Cao, and Van Xuan) of Thuong Xuan district.

Using community-based tourism as a foundation for building a new rural area is the approach that Van Xuan commune is taking to promote the traditional cultural values of Chieng Van village in general and Trinh Van land in particular; while simultaneously developing the economy and building a prosperous life for the people. Hopefully, with its existing potential, Van Xuan will soon become an attractive destination on the Thanh Hoa tourism map.

Text and photos: CHI ANH

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