It is a mountainous district, bordering with 8 ethnic groups. The Thai people in Nam Po district have both Black Thai and White Thai branches, accounting for 18,50% of the total 8 ethnic groups living in the district, concentrated mainly in 5 communes: Cha Nua, Cha Cang, Cha To, Nam Khan and Na Hy. From the center of the district, following the road to Km45, we circled to Cha Nua commune, the villagers lived along both sides of the road and the other side of the stream was as beautiful as a charming picture with sturdy stilt houses and spacious concrete roads. page to copy. In front of the headquarters of the Commune People's Committee is a large white text: "Join hands to build Muong village". It seems that a new life "full of rice and warm clothes" is existing in every house in Cha Nua. In the small but quite solid stilt house of the family of Mr. Tao Van Pin - one of the good knitting artisans in Na In village, Cha Nua commune. Mr. Pin and his wife are hard at work knitting a tray of rice and a mouthful of Thai people to send to guests in time. As a good knitter, Mr. Pin has many hand-woven items, from the rice tray, the brooch that sisters and mothers often wear on their hips when working in the fields, farming, fishing, baskets, etc. rags, baskets for agricultural products on the field... All these utensils are made by Mr. Pin himself to serve his family and sell to neighboring areas to generate additional income for the family. This year Mr. Pin is 78 years old, but his rough hands are quick with thin threads to complete the unfinished rice tray. Mr. Pin confided: “Since I was a child, I have been taught by my father and mother how to knit household items, watching my parents make me gradually learn. By the time I became an adult, I knew how to knit most things from simple to complex, now trade is convenient, social networks are developed, I not only knit for my family, but I also knit and sell. customer request placed on your facebook".
According to Mr. Thung Van Doi, in Na In village, Cha Nua commune, materials used for knitting by Thai people are often exploited in the hills and mountains around the residence area, including trees such as bamboo, rattan, and Giang. , sawn, forest rope… These materials are selected by the practical experience of the knitters. In order to have beautiful and durable wicker products, the selection of raw materials is very important, even though they are available, they must know how to choose trees that are not too old, not too young, and not cut off. When brought home, do not leave it for too long because the tree is dry, it will be difficult for weevils to split the spokes and also not keep the appropriate plasticity, when bending the spokes it is easy to break. At the same time, the rattan and bamboo trees must be straight and long to produce smooth bamboo yarns, so that when knitting, they do not have to connect many segments. After selecting the qualified bamboo, jasmine, rattan, etc., the knitters will begin to sharpen the spokes. The knitting stage is also a decisive factor for beautiful products, so it requires experienced knitters. Splitting spokes thin or thick depends on the product to be knitted. After splitting the spokes, they must be polished so that the spokes are soft, smooth and even, so that when knitting the spokes, they are close together. After finishing, he took it to soak in the stream for 2 days to ensure no termites. Knitting requires ingenuity and meticulousness in each stage, from the preparation of the knits to the final stage of the product. The Thai knitting technique is also very diverse, people often choose the type of knitting depending on the product they intend to knit, for example, knitting baskets, baskets, shoes, sieves, bu to keep poultry, they knit long fashion, double long, knitting. squares, nested horizontally and vertically. As for items such as rice trays, mouthpieces, and baskets for women's needles, they are often knitted crosswise, knitted in the shape of a filling to create a pattern to make the product more aesthetic. After knitting the items, people often put them on the smoked stove for about 1 month to keep the utensils durable and shiny.
Mr. Thung Van Anh, Chairman of Cha Nua Commune People's Committee said: "The thousand-year-old living history of the Thai people has formed a typical traditional culture. Cha Nua commune has 6 villages, of which 5 are of Thai ethnic group. Thai people here still keep the knitting craft. Most of the elderly people in Cha Nua commune know how to knit handicraft products. Knitting not only helps the Thai people here keep their national cultural identity, but also helps them have more income to improve their lives. In the coming time, the commune will continue to propagate to people about the importance of preserving the nation's traditional craft so that people can actively participate in preserving and preserving unique traditional products. At the same time, pay more attention to vocational transmission and vocational training for people of working age, youth and youth so that the knitting profession does not disappear. Currently, the life of ethnic minorities in general has changed a lot. With the appearance of cheap, durable, and plastic items that are sold a lot on the market, especially finding jasmine and rattan trees is no longer as easy as before, but having to go a long way, knitting for use is no longer possible. many people choose. The people who are good at knitting are mainly the elderly, but there are not many, today's young people are hardly interested in knitting. Therefore, in order to keep the knitting profession of the Thai people in particular and the cultural values of the ethnic groups in the district in general, Nam Po district has determined to restore and preserve the cultural values of the ethnic groups associated with them. with socio-economic development as the key task in this period of 2021-2025.
