Ong Hao Village – traditional craft village making mid-autumn toys

Less than an hour's drive from Hanoi , my friend said it felt like he had "traveled back in time" to three or four decades ago when he saw these completely handmade toys filled with so much old warmth. Ong Hao village (also known as Hao village in Lieu Xa commune, Yen My district, Hung Yen province) started making Mid-Autumn toys around 1961.

Ong Hao village is one of the traditional Mid-Autumn toy making villages famous throughout the country.

Nowadays, this profession has gradually faded away, with only a few families still following the profession. That is also one of the reasons why author Nguyen Ngoc Van preserves this traditional profession through the photo series “Ong Hao Village – a traditional craft village making mid-autumn toys”. The photo series was submitted by the author to the Happy Vietnam Photo and Video Contest, organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Coming to Ong Hao village (Lieu Xa commune, Yen My district, Hung Yen province) during the Mid-Autumn Festival, from the beginning of the village to the end of the alley, the colors of traditional Mid-Autumn toys are brilliant.

When the skin has reached the right temperature, it will be taken out, dried, then cut into round pieces to make the drum face and then brought to cover the drum body, this stage is called covering the drum.

Each layer of paint is painted continuously and successively until the paint meets the requirements.

Each stroke is painted with the passion and enthusiasm of the craftsmen, making the Mid-Autumn Festival more brilliant.

To complete a papier-mâché mask, it must go through 3 basic stages: Molding, drying and painting. Cement mask molds are made to correspond to a specific character. Made from natural materials such as cardboard and recycled newspapers, papier-mâché masks are made. Each mask is shaped by pasting cardboard and white paper onto a pre-cast mold.

Papyrus masks come in many different shapes, simulating many characters such as Ong Dia, Thi No, Chi Pheo, Ton Ngo Khong, Tru Bat Gioi, animals, etc.

Through the skillful hands of Ong Hao village craftsmen, the papier-mâché masks appear vividly, with pure Vietnamese shapes, expressing the charm, humor as well as the unique culture of the Vietnamese people.

Once dry, the masks are left out in the sun to dry, the drying time depending on the weather. After drying, the eyes are carved and the painting process begins. This is the process of breathing life into each stroke of the craftsman’s color, each layer of paint is continuously applied one after another, this process is carried out meticulously and carefully.

Like other folk cultural products, the papier-mâché mask clearly reflects the wishes for a prosperous life of the Vietnamese people. They are also familiar in that from the cheekbones, the bridge of the nose, to the turban on the head… all have a purely Vietnamese appearance, expressing the charm, humor as well as the unique culture of the Vietnamese people.

Vietnam.vn