Remembering Thụt Phù Lưu market...

The Thụt Phù Lưu market is held only once a year, on the 2nd day of the 2nd lunar month, right on the embankment of the Họng Thụt ferry terminal in Phù Lưu commune. From this market, countless young men and women have found their partners.

A story from hundreds of years ago

I remember going to Thụt Market in the year of the Horse (2014). One of the oldest people in the village told us about the market in his memories. He said that when he moved with his parents from Vinh Phuc to live in Phu Luu in 1946, he heard that Thụt Market had existed for a very long time, but even the elders couldn't remember exactly when it started. Back then, he was a young boy who followed his father in a boat upstream to work. The boat anchored in Thụt village, and as if by fate, it became his new home.

The old man explained the name of Thụt village clearly and convincingly. He said that the section of the river where the market is held today has a hollow in the river. Boatmen from Tuyên Quang would often rest and trade goods there. At the dock, there were many skilled cooks, who slaughtered pigs and chickens, made cakes, and sold them to the boatmen. Those on the dock would call out, and those on the boats eagerly swam, but the swirling current in the hollow kept pushing the boats downstream. The tired boats would move forward a little only to be pushed back a little. So the place was called Họng Thụt (meaning "to sink"). Later, the village became Thụt village. And the market, held only once a year at that riverbank, was also called Thụt Market because of this.

A riot of colors fills the market of the Dao people in Phu Luu.

The slaughtering of pigs at Thụt market had its own unique customs. Merchants from the lowlands often avoided eating the head, feet, and tail of the pig. So, restaurants – or rather, small eateries in those days, just bamboo stalls – would gather those parts together and hang them up. About a dozen people would agree on a price, put down a deposit, and play a game of six-sided dice. In the end, whoever won would get the head, four feet, and the tail of the pig; the others didn't question it. Eating was a minor matter; the real joy of each market day was the shared betting and games.

The festivities at Thụt market also include pam, yến, throwing the ball, and human chess... Since the area was bombed by the enemy, many games have been abandoned. However, the ball-throwing game has remained to this day. On New Year's Day, the ball-throwing game is a spiritual ritual for the mountain people. A pole is erected in the middle of a flat area. Whoever throws the ball into the bullseye will be rewarded with money, admired by the girls, and receive their affection. The villagers also rejoice, as it is a sign of harmony between heaven and earth, promising a bountiful harvest and prosperity for everyone that year. Usually, it's not until late afternoon that someone hits the bullseye – also the time when the market closes, and couples who have spent the day searching for each other move on to meeting, talking, and finding love.

Each Thụt market not only sells oil, salt, fabrics, mats, mosquito nets, and other goods from the lowlands, but also offers a wide variety of homemade cakes and pastries made by the Dao, Tay, and Hoa people of Phù Lưu. From the fragrant, sticky rice of Phù Lưu's fields, the locals mill and pound it to make sticky rice cakes, banana cakes, flat cakes, and sa-pao cakes (similar to the longan cakes of the lowlands). There are even cakes shaped like horses, goats, buffaloes, and pigs, depending on the animal year of the market. And so, anyone who comes to the market can't help but sample and buy them as gifts, a kind of New Year's token.

It's unclear if there's any connection to the Vieng market in Thanh Nam, but every Thut market sells many knives, hoes, shovels, and plows – as if reminding people that the month of festivities is over and it's time to focus on labor and production for the new season. Everyone who comes to the market buys something, whether they'll use it or not, as a self-reminder, hoping for good luck and a bountiful harvest in the new year and the new production season.

From the love song...

At Thụt Market, you'll easily come across love songs sung in the Páo Dung style: "My dear, where are you? - I'm in Hàm Yên - Let's go out together - Where are you going? I'm going to the market - Let's meet up and talk..." Amidst the melodious sound of the Pí lè horn and the clear, slightly hesitant voices of the Red Dao couples, we felt as if we were seeing before us the handsome young men and beautiful young women at Thụt Market, a place that has existed for hundreds of years.

Many people have found their life partners at this unique market. Sometimes it's a young girl in her prime traveling upstream with her parents on a boat for trade, meeting a young man from the highlands. Other times it's a young man from Bac Quang coming down to participate in horse racing, meeting a girl from Phu Luu… They fell in love, became husband and wife, had children together, and became deeply connected to the land of Phu Luu and the Hong Thut ferry landing…

Hearing stories of serendipitous encounters at the market, I think Thụt Market is truly a place of good fortune. Many people find love at Thụt Market. People from Bắc Quang, Hà Giang, become sons-in-law here; people from Hồng Quang, Lâm Bình, become daughters-in-law here; and some even migrate from this market to Lục Yên, Yên Bái, to settle down and start businesses. Even in old age, with many children, many still maintain the habit of returning to Thụt Market, as a way to relive past memories and reconnect with old acquaintances. And the children who accompany their parents to the market have the opportunity to meet, find love, and begin new romantic relationships.

I firmly believe Phu Luu is a blessed land. That's why it's the "capital" of Ham Yen mandarin oranges – one of the 50 most economically valuable fruits in Vietnam. That's why the Thut market here has thrived for hundreds of years, nurturing unique cultural traditions and each year connecting the simple yet romantic love stories of the people in this mountainous region.

Come to the exciting horse racing event!

The centuries-old Thụt market is incredibly unique, and it also hosts a spring horse racing festival on the same day as the Thụt market. Compared to other regions, Phù Lưu has the most horses. This is because many people in the commune come from Bắc Quang and Xín Mần (Hà Giang), and some have served in the army in Đồng Văn and Mèo Vạc, witnessing the exciting horse racing festivals of the northern highlands.

A dramatic match at the Phu Luu horse racing festival.

As the orange trees in Phu Luu flourished, horses became increasingly useful for transporting oranges during harvest season, carrying fertilizer for seedlings during the care season, and saving five to ten times the effort of human labor. The climate in Phu Luu was suitable for orange trees, but the terrain was not ideal, so transportation by horse was the optimal method.

On average, each horse in Phu Luu can bring in around ten million dong in revenue from transporting oranges each season. Therefore, horses are highly valued by the people of Phu Luu. The horse racing festival is held to honor this useful and familiar animal for the people of this orange-growing region, while also encouraging the development of the horse population and, consequently, the development of orange trees – a source of wealth for the people of Phu Luu.

The beauty of horse fighting lies not only in the fierce and courageous battles to win the ownership of beautiful mares. Unlike buffalo fighting, where the buffaloes are butchered at the end to offer to the gods and for people to eat for good luck, horse fighting never involves butchering the fighters. The rules also clearly state: no iron horseshoes or smearing dirt or foreign substances on the horses, as this endangers the opponent's life. This is also a unique and humane aspect of the Phu Luu horse fighting festival, aiming to preserve and develop the horse population to serve the daily life and production of the people in the mountainous region.

Twelve years have passed since I last went to Thụt Market and Phù Lưu's horse racing festival in the year of Giáp Ngọ (1944). The lingering memories of Thụt Market and the captivating horse racing festival – a lively event for the mountain villagers at the beginning of spring, a time of agricultural leisure – still resonate in my mind. I eagerly anticipate the next market day, hoping that in the years to come, many more people will return to Phù Lưu, witnessing and contributing to the changes in this fertile land with its sweet oranges, fine horses, and a market that has been a witness to countless love stories.

Thai An

Source: https://baotuyenquang.com.vn/van-hoa/du-lich/202604/nho-ve-cho-thut-phu-luu-71771e5/