Salty Tam Dong salt grains

Famous for its rice fields and coastal craft villages, Thai Thuy commune (Hung Yen province) is also known for its traditional salt making in Tam Dong village - a national intangible cultural heritage. After hundreds of years, the salt grains here still retain the salty taste of the sea and are imbued with human affection.

From early morning, salt farmers in Tam Dong village (Thai Thuy commune) go to the fields to produce salt.

Stick with the profession

We visited the salt fields in Tam Dong village, one of the salt-making areas that has been in existence for hundreds of years in the coastal countryside. Mrs. Bui Thi Doan was using a rake to gather the crystallized salt into piles while talking to us: Hundreds of years ago, coastal residents used seawater to make salt. To get salt grains "born" from seawater, the salinity had to be high. But instead of having to depend on the salinity of seawater, Tam Dong salt farmers have overcome this in a very unique way by drying sand to increase the salinity. Salt farmers will lead seawater through ditches to the fields, then drain the water to fill the small ditches interspersed in the "seed" sand fields, and at the same time fill the tanks with water. From the tanks, the water will seep into the "seed" sand beds that people spread on the sand beds. At the end of each day, people will collect the dried sand and filter it with seawater, then let it settle, before drying it to make salt.

Mr. Vu Duc Lien (80 years old) still works diligently in the salt fields.

Mr. Vu Duc Lien shared: The salt making profession in Tam Dong has gone through many ups and downs for generations, there were times when the price of salt was bitter, but the salt workers here still kept their jobs, working hard in the salt fields, working hard in the sky. People still pass on the saying: "From the grandfather's generation to the father's generation/There is a pile of sand for carts to go in and out" to talk about the hardship of the salt making profession. In the past, there were no bicycles, so they had to walk to sell salt. There were days when the sun was blazing hot, the heat from the road rose up, the sun poured down from the sky, two baskets of salt weighed heavily on their shoulders, fainting was normal. The salt making profession is hard, arduous, "sweat, tears" but it is the main livelihood of the workers in Tam Dong village. Salt workers from 60 to 80 years old to this day still work diligently in the fields to dry sand and make salt. This is not only a livelihood but also a way to preserve the traditional cultural values ​​of the craft village.

Scooping seawater into the settling tank is one of the traditional salt making steps in Tam Dong village.

Through many ups and downs, the elderly people of Tam Dong village (Thai Thuy commune) still work to maintain the salt making profession.

Salty salt grains of salt farmers in Tam Dong village (Thai Thuy commune).

"Paving the way" for Tam Dong salt to spread far and wide

Temple of the Lady of Salt in Tam Dong village (Thai Thuy commune).

The Tam Dong salt industry has developed in association with spiritual cultural tourism , associated with the story of the Salt Lady. According to legend and folk records, the Salt Lady is the third concubine Nguyen Thi Nguyet Anh, wife of King Tran Anh Tong. She is the one who has contributed to preserving and developing the salt industry in this land and is respected and worshiped by the people as the Goddess of Fortune of Tam Dong village - the god who brings fortune, peace and prosperity to the people. Every year, on the 14th day of the 4th lunar month, the villagers hold the Salt Lady festival. During the festival in Tam Dong village today, the indispensable offerings to the Salt Lady are salt - a product associated with the childhood of the Salt Lady, still preserved by legend. The solid, iridescent Tam Dong salt packages are packaged into small packages, arranged on a worshiping plate like a tray of five fruits to offer to the Lady. The recognition of the salt-making profession in Tam Dong as a national intangible cultural heritage not only affirms the unique cultural value of the locality but also contributes significantly to the preservation and development of the craft village.

Dai Dong Cooperative (Thai Thuy commune) cooperates with a number of businesses to organize salt production and consumption for salt farmers.

Tam Dong salt products are made according to the traditional method of the North, which is to permeate salt water through sand, so the salt retains many vitamins and minerals, has a light salt concentration (17 - 20%) and more than 60 trace elements that are beneficial to human health, and can be used as medicine because it has all the ingredients of 12 types of salt. For the salt farmers here, salt is not just a spice, salt is also a blessing, a place to send wishes for a warm and prosperous new year. Salt is now put into beautiful small red bags, adding to the meaning of praying for a year with many lucky things. The bags of salt bring the sellers joy for a prosperous year of wholesale, and are also a place where buyers send many wishes.

Salt of Tam Dong salt farmers is currently diversified in production for consumption in and outside the province.

Mr. Nguyen Trong Bang, Director of Dai Dong Cooperative (Thai Thuy commune) said: Up to now, the salt production area has been planned to be 50 hectares, Tam Dong village still has 60 households maintaining salt production with an area of ​​8 hectares. Salt output reaches 400 - 500 tons/year. To "pave the way" for Tam Dong salt to go further, the Cooperative focuses on renovating and upgrading the salt field infrastructure; applying science and technology in salt production and processing, increasing productivity by at least 30% of special salt products to coordinate and develop with spiritual tourism of Phu Ba Chua Muoi festival; linking with a number of businesses to expand salt production to supply markets inside and outside the province. Up to now, the Cooperative has linked to produce 4 main products such as: Spiritual salt with a selling price of 800,000 - 1,000,000 VND/4-tael bottle; Ground salt costs 18,000 - 20,000 VND/4-ounce jar; spice salt costs 25,000 - 30,000 VND/4-ounce jar; foot bath salt costs 150,000 VND/3-ounce jar.

Amidst the modern pace of life, the Tam Dong salt fields are still dazzling white under the sun. From the salt of the homeland, Tam Dong is opening a new direction: connecting heritage with spiritual tourism, turning the traditional salt profession into a unique cultural product, contributing to the sustainable development of the local economy .

Manh Thang

Source: https://baohungyen.vn/man-ma-hat-muoi-tam-dong-3186774.html