A view of Hoi Xuan town (Quan Hoa). Photo: Do Luu
1. In his modest stilt house, nestled in the Kham neighborhood of Hoi Xuan town, Cao Bang folk artist Nghia meticulously collects the ancient artifacts he has spent decades searching for through his fieldwork. Twice a year, besides attending to village affairs, funerals, and traveling to Quan Son and Muong Lat to teach how to play the bamboo flute and the Thai ethnic script, he returns home to clean and admire them. For this man nearing eighty, it's like his purpose in life, a joy difficult to describe. Sitting before me, he remains the same, enthusiastic and warm, like someone working in propaganda, only with a deeper, more profound understanding and reflection. He speaks passionately and intently about the land of Hoi Xuan, as if recounting it with complete passion and understanding.
According to Mr. Nghia, citing the Quan Hoa District Gazetteer, before April 1966, when the communes had not yet been divided, the administrative boundaries of Hoi Xuan spanned four present-day communes and towns: Hoi Xuan town, and the communes of Phu Xuan, Nam Xuan (Quan Hoa), and Trung Xuan (Quan Son). In 1987, Quan Hoa town was established, using part of the area and population of Hoi Xuan commune, to serve as the district center of Quan Hoa. After Quan Hoa was divided into three districts in November 1996 (Quan Hoa, Quan Son, and Muong Lat), in December 2019, in accordance with the Party's policy of streamlining the organizational structure, Quan Hoa town and Hoi Xuan commune were reunited and renamed Hoi Xuan town.
I asked about the origin of the beautiful name Hồi Xuân (Returning Spring), and the old artisan shook his head: "Everyone has their own explanation. Some say it was given during the French colonial period, others say it's because this land has many beautiful girls..." According to the Quan Hóa District Gazetteer, since the feudal era, Quan Hóa district has had a Hồi Xuân commune belonging to Phú Lệ district. The more widely accepted explanation, according to Mr. Nghĩa, is that during a spring festival at the foot of Múng Mường mountain, the village was bustling with joyful songs and dances to the sounds of gongs, drums, and melodious chants. When these sounds echoed through the vast space and the rocky mountains, they reverberated, making the atmosphere even more vibrant and joyful. Finding it strange and beautiful, as if the mountains and forests were contributing to the joyful music of the village, the villagers unanimously agreed to use this phenomenon to name the area. Hồi Xuân means the echo of the spring festival returning and reverberating.
I stood on the Na Sai bridge, listening to the gentle breeze blowing from the Ma River, its reflection shimmering in the verdant green of Mung Muong. It's not easy to find a land with so many rivers and mountains. Hoi Xuan is a valley overflowing with greenery, surrounded on all sides by mountains and forests. In the distance, the Pù Luông mountain range stretches majestically, and before me, the imposing Mung Muong peak stands tall and awe-inspiring. In the middle of this valley, the Luong and Lo rivers, flowing steadily from their distant upstreams, meander through countless mountains and rapids before meeting the Ma River here, depositing alluvial soil to form mounds and plains.
Mr. Nghia chuckled: "There's an abundance of shrimp and fish here, and every dish we prepare tastes delicious and unique. It's unique because they swim and feed in three different rivers. The taste of fish from these three rivers is also different."
2. Perhaps because it is situated in a place where mountains meet rivers, with lush vegetation and abundant fish and shrimp, this land has long been inhabited by ancient people. The stories about Muong Ca Da, as recounted by the artisan Cao Bang Nghia, are hazy and ethereal, yet full of fascinating details.
The story goes: Long ago, this land was called Muong Hung, Muong Huong (named after the two daughters of the village chief). The king of the sea gifted them two buffaloes, one with bronze horns and the other with iron horns. Whichever direction the buffaloes called, all the other buffaloes and cattle would run in that direction. Before long, the village chief had buffaloes filling the forest, cows filling the fields, money beyond measure, and clothes and fabrics to give away. Tired of his life of wealth and luxury, the village chief traveled throughout the villages, asking for ways to become poor.
Following the advice of the people of Cho village, Mr. Hung and Mrs. Huong cast their fishing nets onto the altar and pretended to be fishing. His hand was pierced by a splinter, becoming red, swollen, and extremely painful; no medicine could cure it. He reluctantly heeded the fortune teller's advice and sacrificed both buffaloes given to him by the sea king as an offering to the household spirits. From that day on, the buffaloes that had previously come to their village suddenly disappeared. Mr. Hung and Mrs. Huong quickly became impoverished, lacking even cassava to eat or clothes to wear. They wandered aimlessly in remote forests and mountains, their fields turning yellow and their village desolate.
Cao Bang folk artist Nghia stands beside the artifacts he has collected. Photo: Do Duc
Later, a group of people known as the giant army of Lord Giới came to cultivate this land at the confluence of two rivers. Blessed by nature, the fields and farms soon flourished, and houses became numerous and lively. However, having a village without a leader, lacking someone to govern the community, everything was delayed, disrupted, and there was discord and conflict between superiors and subordinates.
One day, a corpse drifted ashore on the Ma River. At the same time, a flock of crows flew overhead and pecked at the body. After a while, the dead man stirred and came back to life. Curious, the villagers flocked to the banks of the Ma River to witness the event, showing their reverence for the man who had come back to life. They then escorted him back to their village and honored him as the village's founder. From then on, the villagers lived in harmony, cultivating fields and working together to fight wild animals and floods. Life became increasingly prosperous, and the village was filled with songs and laughter. The name Ca Da village – the village where the crows saved – originated from this story. The Ca Da people were skilled fishermen on the river and hunters in the forest, but they always considered crows their benefactors and never killed them.
By the 15th century, after repelling the Ming invaders, General Lo Kham Ban was granted permission by King Le to settle in this area, both to secure the border and to maintain peace. From then on, Muong Ca Da became increasingly populous and bustling. Out of gratitude to the general, the villagers erected a temple in his honor, where incense is burned year-round, and named the village after him. The Kham and Ban neighborhoods are a testament to this.
The ancient tales are fantastical, their truth or falsehood unclear. It's only that a love of greatness was needed for the people of this region to be shrouded in a mythical aura, idealizing and glorifying the land and its people. For Mr. Cao Bang Nghia, this grandeur and rich character are also found in festivals, rituals, embroidery, and indigo dyeing... And to preserve these values of his ancestors, from his youth to his old age, he has endured countless hardships, crossing hills and streams, conducting fieldwork and collecting information.
3. More than 15 years ago, I first knew Cao Bang Nghia, a talented yet nostalgic figure, when he was the Head of the Propaganda Department of the Quan Hoa District Party Committee. In this region, he is a person who understands and cares deeply about traditional culture. Not only is he proficient in various forms of local folk performances, but he can also skillfully play many traditional musical instruments such as the oar flute, bamboo flute, and mouth organ, as well as perform traditional songs and chants. A few years ago, he participated with veteran "senior" figures such as Ha Nam Ninh, Ha Van Thuong, etc., in carrying out the project "Research, collection, compilation of documents, creation of fonts and digitization of ancient Thai script in Thanh Hoa; research and compilation of a Thai-Vietnamese dictionary in Thanh Hoa." This project was later awarded the Thanh Hoa Science and Technology Prize in 2020 and is now being widely applied in teaching among the Thai ethnic minority in Thanh Hoa. Furthermore, he independently researched and collected ancient documents to recreate the legends, stories, and incantations of the ancient Ca Da region. According to him, this is a vast treasure trove of folk culture, containing immense value in terms of history, culture, and the rich spiritual life of the Thai ethnic people of Thanh Hoa province.
The procession of the palanquin carrying General Lo Kham Ban, commander of the army, during the Ca Da Muong festival. Photo: Do Duc.
As he said, not to mention legends and stories, the shamanic chants in the Ca Da Muong region are very rich and diverse. Each ritual has its own shamanic chant, such as the shamanic chant for the spirit-making ceremony, the funeral shamanic chant, the roof-raising shamanic chant for house construction, and then the shamanic chants for the village guardian deity and the earth god... Each chant usually has rhyme and rhythm, sometimes slow and leisurely, sometimes climactic, sometimes melodious, suitable to the context and space of the event, making it easy to remember and understand, like the folk songs and proverbs of the Kinh people. Shamanic chants are like a unique path to the past in the rituals and ceremonies of the ancient Thai people of Ca Da Muong, such as the Xin Muong ceremony, the Cha Chieng festival... "Shamanic chants are a part of the soul and identity of the Ca Da Muong region. Understanding this, I put my efforts into creating them. I hope that the younger generation will learn a little," Mr. Nghia confided.
Even now, in festivals, gatherings, and classrooms, one can still see the elderly artisan diligently reciting incantations and rituals, or teaching the younger generation about the traditional flute, mouth organ, and Thai script, hoping that this heritage will not become a thing of the past. Cao Bang Nghia remains the same, enthusiastic and passionate, as if possessing an immense love for the land and people of his homeland.
In late spring, the upstream waters flow gently like silk. I drifted along on a boat bobbing in the early morning mist, my eyes gazing at the tranquil Phi Cave, its thousand-year-old stalactites, then out to the vast confluence of the Ma River. From this confluence, a short distance downstream, I reached the meeting point of the majestic Lo River. Along the banks stretched a bustling, vibrant town. Occasionally, a distant temple bell rang, and I drifted into intangible visions of the primeval era of village and community establishment. The water at the two river confluences has deposited millennia of alluvial sediment, sculpting Phi Cave, Ong Pagoda, Ba Cave, the stele of General Kham Ban, and even the vibrant, colorful festivals... of Springtime.
Notes by Do Duc
Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/nguoc-ngan-hoi-xuan-245465.htm
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