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| People of Team 9, Thanh Duc village, Xuan Quang 3 commune (Dong Xuan district) maintain the traditional craft of weaving bamboo mats with Mo o tree. Photo: MANH HOAI NAM |
Keep the weaving profession
The Ky Lo River flowing through the bend of Thanh Duc village has changed its course, but the gentle winding around the bamboo groves remains intact. In the past, Thanh Duc people went to the river's source to cut Mo o, float them on rafts to the shore, then carry them back to their yards to split and weave baskets, trays, etc. But then the upstream forest no longer had Mo o trees, the river gradually dried up, the course changed, leaving only a small stream, and the people who made bamboo baskets in Thanh Duc village gradually abandoned their profession. In the village, there are only a few households in team 9 splitting Mo o and weaving rice paper drying trays.
For many years, Mrs. Thai Thi Lien's family has kept the craft of weaving bamboo mats. Small in stature, nearly 50 years old, Mrs. Lien sits whittling bamboo mats and then takes advantage of the time to weave bamboo mats to transport them to traders in the afternoon. Mrs. Lien confided: Thanh Duc village stretches from team 1 to team 9. In the past, everyone in the village did the traditional craft of weaving bamboo mats. Some weaved grass cutting baskets, chicken cages; some weaved ky, bo rolls... Later, the bamboo mats no longer existed because they were located in an area where acacia forests were cleared for planting, and with the advent of plastic products, people abandoned the craft. Recently, bamboo mats have grown back under the stream next to the acacia forest, and people in team 9 have gone to cut them down and split them into bamboo mats to weave rice paper drying trays, reviving the traditional craft.
Mr. Nguyen Tan Sanh sat whittling bamboo and shared: I whittled bamboo when I was in secondary school, thanks to that I learned the experience of splitting and whittling bamboo straight and evenly when weaving bamboo mats to make the mats durable and beautiful. I have traveled to many places and learned that the craft of weaving bamboo mats is a very valuable one, preserving the secret of edging.
Mr. Sanh recalled that in the late 80s of the last century, people from Team 1 to Team 9 took advantage of the free time to cut Mo o trees to split bamboo strips to weave baskets and trays to earn extra income. In the days when oil lamps were still used, people would stay up late at night to shave bamboo strips, weave baskets, trays, etc. Thanh Duc village was recognized as a village with a traditional weaving craft. When electricity was available, the company cleared the forest to plant trees, so Mo o trees were gone, and people in the village switched to other jobs, some working as bricklayers, others working far away. Recently, Mo o trees have grown back, and with a source of raw materials, people in Team 9 have worked hard to cut them down to weave trays to revive the traditional craft.
The traditional craft of weaving mo o in Thanh Duc village has existed for a long time, but then faded away. Recently, the people of Team 9 revived the traditional craft. This is the only place in Dong Xuan district that preserves the traditional craft of weaving mo o.
Ms. Doan Thi Ngoc, Head of Thanh Duc Village Women's Association
Not only weaving baskets but also weaving grass cutting baskets, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Phuong's family can do it all. Each product has its own weaving method and the most difficult step is the edging step, but being born in a craft village, Mrs. Phuong has experience and knows the "secret" of each weaving and edging step of each product line. "Weaving a basket is also very elaborate, after weaving it must be burned over fire to prevent termites later and increase durability, but calculating the income of a day's labor is not much, mainly taking the labor as profit. Sometimes it is discouraging, but we still try to keep the profession of our ancestors", Mrs. Phuong said.
According to Ms. Phuong, each day, she makes 5 trays of bamboo strips, selling them for 80,000 VND/tray. Those are trays that are ordered to be woven with ribs, and the edges are also woven with ribs. The trays brought to the market are sold for only 40,000 VND/tray, the slanted bamboo strips have ribs and cores, and the edges are woven with ribs from the inside of the Mo o tree. After weaving, they are handed over to traders to transport by truck to rice paper factories in Song Cau town, Tuy An district, and Phu Hoa district.
"As for weaving baskets, every day I split bamboo strips and weave 5 baskets to hold grass for cows, and sell them at the market for 40,000 VND each. But I don't weave baskets often because nowadays cow farmers use sacks to hold grass to feed their cows instead of buying baskets to hold grass," said Ms. Phuong.
The only place to weave traditional mo o
On the district road running through Thanh Duc village, at the beginning of the village, turn around and follow the small road to Team 9, which is paved with clean, beautiful concrete. The hamlet of houses weaving rice paper drying trays appears in the middle of the peaceful countryside. People from far away come to see the hands skillfully whittling bamboo strips and weaving them with Mo o, very interested.
Ms. Doan Thi Ngoc, Head of the Women's Association of Thanh Duc village, said: The traditional craft of weaving bamboo baskets in Thanh Duc village has existed for a long time, but then faded away. Recently, people in Team 9 revived the traditional craft. Preserving the craft of weaving bamboo baskets contributes to solving employment problems and creating more income for many workers. This is the only place in Dong Xuan district that preserves the traditional craft of weaving bamboo baskets. Team 9 is near the river junction, where the Tra Buong River flows into the Ky Lo River. Recently, people have come to visit, but the number is small. In the future, if the authorities invest in infrastructure, develop eco- tourism combined with sightseeing and experiences, the traditional craft of weaving bamboo baskets will continue to expand the number of participants.
According to Mr. Nguyen Duc Thang, Head of the Provincial Rural Development Department (Department of Agriculture and Environment), to develop craft villages associated with tourism, it is necessary to change the mindset from agricultural production to synchronous rural economic development. In addition, people must be trained in basic skills, especially ethnic minorities in mountainous areas. Provincial authorities need to study and develop mechanisms and policies to attract investment, encourage the development of community tourism, and combine sightseeing and experience.
Source: https://baophuyen.vn/xa-hoi/202506/nguoi-dan-doi-9-hoi-sinh-nghe-dan-mo-o-truyen-thong-5752789/
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