The sun usually rises earlier in the fishing village than in other rural areas. Around 4 a.m., the fishermen light up their small suns as they set out in their small boats to catch fish near the shore.
By morning, the fish and squid of all kinds were glistening and fresh in the nets. The fishermen nimbly used their hands to paddle their small boats to bring the fish ashore. Time passed quickly, and the small boats with oars were gradually replaced by motorized composite boats. The small boats disappeared, and the craft of making them became a thing of the past.
On the more than 2-kilometer-long beach of Hamlet 2, Phuoc The Commune, Tuy Phong District, there is a cluster of dozens of basket boats. These colorful basket boats, arranged in a line, tilted to catch the sunlight, make the scenery even more vibrant and unique. This is a small, long-established fishing village, a place where migrants from bygone eras chose to settle and build their communities. From here, you can see Cu Lao Cau, a small, beautiful island quite close by. We were particularly impressed by the simple, rustic basket boats, which the locals call "thung chai." These boats, though rudimentary, are sturdy and very useful in all fishing villages due to their versatility.
We visited the family of Mr. Huynh Hien, a long-time basket boat repairman in Hamlet 2, Phuoc The Commune, to learn about the basket boat making craft. Mr. Hien is one of three children of Mr. Huynh Hy, considered a master basket boat maker in this region. Mr. Hien said: Almost all the basket boats used locally, and even in Lien Huong, Binh Thanh, and Chi Cong, are made by his family. After his father passed away, he was the only one in his family to continue the craft, but since no one orders basket boats anymore, he keeps the trade going by repairing damaged boats for the locals. The basket boat making craft has been with his family since they settled here for over a hundred years. Along with the seafaring profession, the family's basket boat making craft has also gone through many ups and downs and gradually disappeared by his generation.
No one knows exactly when the basket boat originated, but research from documents and elders reveals that during the French colonial period, the French imposed many exploitative taxes on the poor. The fragile boats of the fishermen could not escape the high taxes and levies, so people devised the basket boat for transportation and fishing along the coast. Over the centuries, the number of basket boat makers gradually decreased because the profession only provided enough to live on, and required working under the sun and in the rain.
Making a basket boat involves six steps: selecting bamboo for splitting and shaping, weaving the strips, attaching the rim, making the basket, and applying oil. Among these, shaping the strips requires not only high skill but also experience. The strips must be uniform, straight, soft on the outside and gradually harder towards the inside for easy weaving. After shaping, the strips must be dried in the sun for a day to prevent shrinkage later. From these bamboo stalks, through many stages requiring the skill and meticulousness of the craftsman, a sturdy basket boat with a round rim and evenly woven strips is created. Making a beautiful and sturdy basket boat is not simple. First, one must know how to select mature bamboo, with round nodes, free from insects, ant nests, and broken tops, as these are considered taboo. Then, the bamboo is shaped into strips, dried, and only the outer layer is used. Whether a basket boat is beautiful or not depends on the skill of the craftsman, and when it reaches a level of perfection, the boat makers can be called artisans. In the process of making a basket boat, weaving the bamboo strips to create the rim are the two most important steps. From the bamboo strips, the craftsman weaves a slightly rounded frame with a border around the four corners. The lifespan of the basket boat depends on this stage, and each person has their own unique weaving technique. Following the weaving of the bamboo strips are the rim and the sizing of the boat. Sizing is quite tiring as it requires manpower and even auxiliary tools. The process of sizing the rim of the basket boat requires precision in measuring the diameter and height according to the customer's specifications. This is done through manual operations and a few auxiliary tools such as bamboo stakes, palm leaf ropes, and weights. After the rim is completed, it is secured with nylon cord to increase durability. The basket boat is then coated with cow dung and resin oil and left to dry in the sun.
Mr. Hien mused: "Making a beautiful basket of bottles requires a lot of effort and dedication, but its value isn't high. I chose this profession because I enjoy the feeling of satisfaction when I see my products are beautiful, sturdy, and the users are happy with them."
As the sun rose higher, the fishing boats began to return. The small, rickety boats that had been lying exposed on the shore also went out to sea to fulfill their purpose. Amidst the vast expanse of sea and sky, these already precarious boats became even more unstable as they couldn't carry the fish ashore and had to return to wait for the next boat to arrive.
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