Mother rice - a "precious grain" from heaven!

According to the people of the highlands, mother rice is very nutritious, fragrant, and has a rich, creamy taste. It tastes best when used to make porridge, and is especially good for the elderly and those who are ill… As the owner of the rice field said, “If a neighbor cooks porridge with mother rice, the next-door neighbor will smell the irresistible aroma.”

Traditional customs of the ethnic minorities in the highlands.

It's the rainy season, so every plot of land in the high mountainous areas of Phan Son and Phan Lam (Bac Binh district) is covered in lush green vegetation. In the spacious garden of Mr. Mang Khanh's family (Ta Moon village, Phan Son commune), there are many crops such as elephant grass, corn, bananas, and especially the vibrant green of the rice plants that were sown more than a month ago.

Mr. Mang Khánh is taking care of the rice plants in the garden.

Mr. Mang Khanh led me to his spacious garden with many kinds of plants. He showed me a plot of about 20 square meters where he was growing mother rice, which had been lush and green for over a month. Mr. Khanh shared that for decades, his family has maintained the tradition of growing mother rice, as it is considered a "jewel" from heaven. Every year, usually in June, when the rainy season begins, it is also the time when people prepare the land and sow the seeds. The mother rice is grown by sowing seedlings, relying on rainwater and without spraying pesticides.

The rice plants thrive during the rainy season.

Mr. Khanh recounted that in the past, each household cultivated 2-3 sao (approximately 0.2 hectares) of mother rice, but at this time, almost every household has reduced the area, only planting enough for their own consumption. They wait until November or December for the rice to be harvested, which is also the time of the First Rice Festival of the Raglay and K'ho people in the area. According to the owner of the rice field, mother rice is very easy to grow; it only requires sowing, weeding, and occasional fertilization. With this small area, they expect to harvest more than 20 kg of rice. After bringing the rice home, each family will cook the new rice for offerings. They also set aside 2-3 kg as seeds for the next season. The rest is used by the villagers to cook porridge.

Mr. Mang Ngoc Van (born in 1959 in self-governing group No. 2, Phan Lam commune), a respected village elder in the area, shared: "For decades, my family has been cultivating mother rice as a way to preserve tradition, something we cannot abandon." Mr. Van said that in the past, people mainly cultivated upland rice, including many varieties, but only offered mother rice as a sacrifice. Through the ups and downs of time, the area dedicated to mother rice cultivation in the highlands of Phan Lam and Phan Son has decreased significantly, but the people still cherish and preserve this beautiful tradition.

Audio editing. Ngoc Lan

Preserving values

Mr. K' Bay, Chairman of the People's Committee of Phan Son commune, shared: "Through a review, there are currently about 20 households in Phan Son commune that cultivate mother rice. The household with the largest area cultivates about half a sao (approximately 1000 square meters), while the smallest is 20 square meters." Mr. Bay added that the local authorities are still promoting the preservation of mother rice cultivation among the people to maintain this tradition.

The villagers are harvesting the mother rice crop.

Pounding rice.

Regarding the possibility of developing it into a local specialty product, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Phan Son commune stated that it is very difficult because the mother rice plant has a long growing season, requires manual care and weeding, and is not treated with pesticides. Therefore, mother rice is considered a clean, high-quality, and delicious agricultural product. In particular, the rice grains from mother rice make a very tasty porridge. When harvesting, if there is a surplus, the villagers sell it to other households for seeds or offerings, at a relatively high price of about 30,000 VND/kg.

Pounding mother rice during the Tet rice harvest festival.

According to research conducted in the two highland communes of Phan Lam and Phan Son, the mother rice variety is highly valued by the Raglai and K'ho ethnic groups. When cooked, the rice grains expand, become fluffy, and have a sweet, fragrant taste. This mother rice variety is very vigorous, and its grains have a distinctive milky white color, different from other rice varieties. However, currently, only a few households still cultivate mother rice on small plots of land. This is also the reason for the degradation of the genetic resource, leading to a significant decline in both yield and quality.

Mother rice – the "jewel" of heaven – has seen its cultivation area gradually shrink for various reasons. However, for the K'ho and Raglay people, dry-grown mother rice in their fields remains deeply intertwined with their lives and spirituality. It not only serves their daily needs but is also one of the unique cultural customs that has been, is, and will continue to be maintained over time…

It is known that on December 7, 2022, the People's Committee of Binh Thuan province issued a decision approving the selection results for the science and technology task "Restoring mother rice varieties and building organic farming models along the value chain in mountainous communes of Binh Thuan province". The leading unit implementing the task is the Southern Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology. The project will be implemented over 36 months with the goal of restoring mother rice varieties and building organic farming models along the product consumption chain to enhance the economic value of mother rice varieties and improve the lives of people in mountainous communes of Binh Thuan province.

Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/lua-me-hat-ngoc-cua-troi-123164.html