The keeper of the "soul" of memories of the old fishing village

Artisan Nguyen Van Leo with the fishing boats that have been part of his life. (Photo: HOANG TRUNG)

36 years of making wooden miniature models

In the house of artisan Ba Leo, there are many models of fishing boats, canoes, airplanes, villages, densely populated areas, sea fish, warships, etc. Coming here, many people feel like they are lost in a miniature version of the old world .

Artisan Ba Leo said: “At the age of 15, I followed a fishing boat and became a captain drifting at sea. In 1989, I went ashore but my love for the sea of my homeland was always in my mind, so I took jackfruit wood pieces and carved them into the shape of fishing boats, rare and extinct fish species, whales... to ease my longing for the sea. After that, I searched for materials to make models of the secret areas of the US and puppets during the resistance war, airplanes, warships, guns of all kinds, the renovated Thoi Thuan village... I worked from day to day, for 36 years now without rest, with hundreds of different types of models displayed right at home.”

The planes used in the resistance war against America to save the country were sketched out of wood by artisan Ba Leo.

In 2010, on the occasion of the Seafood Festival held in Can Tho city, the collection of "Fishing and River Models" by artisan Ba Leo was recorded by the Vietnam Record Book Center in the Guinness Book of Vietnam with the largest number of 150 models. That gave him more strength to continue creating many wooden models to preserve old memories.

According to statistics, up to now he has more than 500 models of ships and boats; 49 models of airplanes and warships; many models of fishing tools, primitive weapons of our army during the resistance war, secret areas, spike pits, and scenes of renovated villages...

Artisan Ba Leo said: “I myself do not know carpentry, but with passion, I have researched and learned how to create wooden models that are most similar to the outside reality and are miniature with very meticulous details. Initially, I chose jackfruit wood with beautiful grain to make, then there was no more jackfruit wood so I switched to thao lao wood to continue making until now. Among them, there are models that only take a few days to make, but there are complex models that take weeks, even months to complete.”

Memories of the 1960 Dong Khoi movement in Ben Tre province (old) through the perspective of artisan Ba Leo.

For old images of villages, secret areas, spike pits, wartime bombs, airplanes, warships, etc., he had to go to all the museums to see the images, carefully record every detail and meet living witnesses to find out how to restore them as accurately as possible.

Artisan Ba Leo said: “During the anti-American resistance war, right in Thoi Thuan commune, there was a secret area where people were forced to live to separate the people and the revolution. At that time, I was still young and only entered once, so I don’t remember many details. Therefore, I had to meet many elderly people in the village who had been sent to the secret area so they could accurately describe the fences, gates, houses inside, etc. to sketch out the exact same thing. These are historical relics to preserve and educate future generations.”

Dream of setting up a gallery to educate the younger generation about revolutionary traditions

Now 75 years old, artisan Ba Leo still works hard every day carving wooden bars to preserve old memories. His house is now like a miniature museum with many topics neatly arranged on shelves and hung on the walls.

Recently, Ms. Le Thi Kim Linh, owner of the eco-tourism model Homestay Con Ba Tu and Homestay Nha Ngoai in the same locality, offered to take tourists to visit the miniature museum of artisan Ba Leo.

Thanks to that, artisan Ba Leo is able to explain each model to visitors who come here to better understand the people and revolutionary land of Thoi Thuan.

Image of boats and canoes in the old Mekong Delta.

Artisan Ba Leo said: “Every now and then, when a group of tourists comes here to visit, I don’t charge them anything, but just sell each person a fresh coconut at the market price for refreshment. In addition, I also make some fishing boats and canoes to sell to tourists in need, but the exhibits are not sold at any price.”

Ms. Le Thi Kim Linh said: “Both of my homestays do community tourism with local people to experience catching snails, pulling nets in the sea, collecting snail shells to draw shapes, visiting watermelon fields to harvest watermelons, visiting salt fields, catching clams, catching crabs, fishing, taking guests to the local market, boat docks... Especially, recently, taking guests to visit artisan Ba Leo's house, tourists really like the wooden models like a miniature museum".

Artisan Ba Leo wishes to have a gallery to preserve models of old memories in the coastal village of Thoi Thuan.

Now that he is old, artisan Ba Leo dreams of the locality establishing a gallery to preserve all the old memories to educate the younger generation. At that time, he will donate the products he has painstakingly created over the decades to the gallery.

Thoi Thuan village during the resistance war against America to save the country.

Thoi Thuan Commune Party Secretary Nguyen Thanh Phong commented: “The products made by the hands of artisan Nguyen Van Leo have brought out vivid images, recreating artifacts that no longer exist. These products have great significance, not only preserving old images but also helping viewers feel a heroic historical period of the locality. Currently, the artisan is preserving them, creating conditions for people, tourists, and students to visit and study.”

According to the Party Secretary of Thoi Thuan commune, the locality also plans to establish a gallery to preserve the historical products of artisan Nguyen Van Leo. From there, it will be a place to propagate and educate the revolutionary tradition to the younger generation.

HOANG TRUNG

Source: https://nhandan.vn/nguoi-giu-hon-ky-uc-lang-bien-xua-post915526.html