The person who "keeps the soul" of Van Kieu crossbow in the middle of Truong Son mountain range

(QBĐT) - Amidst the modern life that is creeping into every village, there are still people who silently preserve traditional crafts as part of their flesh and blood. Ho My, a Bru-Van Kieu in K-Oóc village, Trọng Hóa commune (Minh Hóa), ​​is one of those rare people - both an "artisan" who makes elaborate crossbows and an excellent crossbow athlete who has won first prize at the district level 7 times.

Ho My, 34 years old, in K-Ooc village, started learning how to make crossbows when he was 12-13 years old. At an age when many children were still playing, he studied with a teacher in the village. The teacher not only taught him how to choose a crossbow, but also taught him lessons in patience, meticulousness and respect for nature - indispensable things in the process of making a complete crossbow.

Ho My said that a crossbow usually has 4 main parts: wings, body, trigger, and string. The crossbow body is about 75-80cm long and the wings are about 85-90cm long. The body and wings of the crossbow are made from the "luoc cu chin" tree (as the locals call it) - a type of tree with high elasticity, hardness, and durability. After being cut, the tree trunk is brought back to dry thoroughly in the sun for 7-10 days, sometimes even a month if the weather is humid. Ho My shared: "If you do it in a hurry, the wood will crack or bend, and the shot will not be accurate. You have to let the wood "rest" until it is completely dry, then start planing and carving."

Crossbow and arrows were crafted by Ho My's hands.

The crossbow string is a special feature of his product. It is made from old fiber optic cable. “Fiber optic cable is very strong and has good elasticity. If you know how to braid it, it will be more durable than the forest rope, fishing line, and cement bag string that our grandparents used before,” Ho My added. The combination of traditional materials and modern creative materials makes Ho My’s crossbow not only durable but also strong and accurate.

In addition, the arrow of the crossbow is about 45cm long, made of light and straight bamboo, the tip is meticulously sharpened to help the arrow when launched from the crossbow be both fast and sturdy, and when hitting the target, the crossbow does not bend or deviate. Thanks to that, the rate of hitting the target is higher. In the back of the arrow, instead of using feathers as usual, Mr. Ho My uses a wild pineapple leaf to create a diamond shape. The crossbow made by Mr. Ho My can shoot from 250-300m and accurately hit targets within a distance of 20-30m.

Not only does Ho My do the crafting, he also makes people throughout the region admire his marksmanship. He started competing at the age of 14, and to date, Ho My has won first prize 7 times at district-level crossbow competitions. He has also represented his locality in crossbow competitions at commune, district, province and central region levels.

With passion and enthusiasm, before each Culture- Sports -Tourism Week and the Minh Hoa March Full Moon Festival or the provincial and district competitions, Ho My eagerly looks forward to it, diligently practicing day and night. In addition to practicing, he also carries a crossbow to the fields to shoot away wild rats, squirrels, birds... to protect the crops of the local people.

Crossbows made by Ho My have high accuracy when fired.

In competitions and sports, Ho My always completed his shots excellently. The most memorable memories for him are the tense competitions, with decisive shots, sweaty hands and the pressure when his opponent was ahead of him. However, thanks to the encouragement of the local people, it gave him more motivation to regain his composure and overcome himself to complete the competition excellently.

Each time he participates in a competition, it gives him valuable lessons, helping him to increasingly perfect his shooting skills and gain experience to pass on to his children and students.

In the simple stilt house, it seems that the most precious things to him are the neatly hung crossbows, which seem to be associated with the story of his life. With his passion and dedication to crossbow making, Ho My wishes to preserve the cultural beauty of the nation, helping the next generation understand that these seemingly primitive items contain the cultural soul of the Bru-Van Kieu people and need to be preserved.

Ho My also makes crossbows and sells them to the locals, as a way to preserve the cultural identity of his people. Each crossbow takes him about a week to make and sells for about 1 million VND each.

Le Phuoc

Source: https://baoquangbinh.vn/van-hoa/202505/nguoi-giu-hon-no-van-kieu-giua-dai-ngan-truong-son-2226580/