Famous craft villages

Báo Đồng Nai•06/08/2023

Throughout history, Dong Nai has developed famous craft villages such as: Buu Long stone carving village, Tan Van pottery village (Bien Hoa City), Thanh Phu cast iron casting village (Vinh Cuu District), mushroom cultivation village (Long Khanh City), agarwood village (Tan Phu District), fine art wood carving village (Trang Bom District, Xuan Loc District)...

Artisan Pham Duy Linh crafts products from green stone according to customer orders. Photo: N. LIEN

Traditional craft villages in Dong Nai have been formed according to the development of each stage, from ancient times to the latter half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. Therefore, each craft village in Dong Nai contains stories with its own cultural identity, creating a Dong Nai that is a convergence of rich and diverse cultural identities.

* Centuries-old traditional craft villages

It's no surprise to name some of the famous and long-standing craft villages in Dong Nai such as: Buu Long stone carving village, Tan Van pottery village, or Thanh Phu cast iron casting village. These villages were established very early, during the pioneering period of settlement by migrants to Dong Nai. These villages, some hundreds of years old, still exist today, even though their peak periods have passed.

Buu Long Stone Carving Village is one of the oldest craft villages in Dong Nai province. Located along the Dong Nai River in Buu Long Ward (Bien Hoa City), it is over 300 years old and was established by Hakka Chinese immigrants from China. Despite the ups and downs of history, Buu Long Stone Carving Village remains one of the most famous craft villages in the country, contributing many architectural and artistic works nationwide with its sculptures made from green stone, a type of stone unique to the Buu Long region. Today, the craft of stone carving is still passed down and developed through generations. Many skilled craftsmen and artisans are honored. Stone carving products from Buu Long village range from household items to mascots, reliefs, and decorative elements for architectural designs in houses, temples, and shrines.

Artisan Pham Duy Linh (Buu Long Ward, Bien Hoa City), the third generation in his family's stone carving tradition in Buu Long Ward, said that his stone carving workshop currently employs three artisans and thirteen sculptors. They are all people who inherited the craft from their ancestors and are among the few remaining dedicated to stone carving in Buu Long village today. According to Mr. Linh, Buu Long stone carving has become a symbol of Dong Nai's traditional craft. To commemorate this traditional craft, the artisans contributed to building the ancestral shrine, the "Ancestral Master's Temple," which is entirely constructed of green stone. The Ancestral Master's Temple is also a gathering place for stone artisans from all over the country on the anniversary of the craft's founding (June 13th of the lunar calendar) every year. Every three years, the Ancestral Master's Temple hosts a festival (locally known as the "Ba Pagoda Festival") attracting people from surrounding areas.

The cultural and historical values of Dong Nai's craft villages are considered to have the potential to be exploited and developed into craft village tourism products.

Along with the Buu Long stone carving village, on the other side of the Dong Nai River, the Tan Van pottery village has also made its mark in the history of Dong Nai's craft villages. Today, with societal development, pottery workshops have been relocated to industrial clusters, but the Tan Van pottery village still retains its traditional craft culture with everyday items, traditional pottery kilns, and characteristic black clay pottery products still used by people in their daily lives, such as jars, pots, and planters. Today, Bien Hoa pottery has become a symbol of Dong Nai, a popular gift and souvenir for visitors to Dong Nai.

Upstream along the Dong Nai River, the Thạnh Phú cast iron foundry (Vĩnh Cửu District) is also a well-known name. Today, although it is no longer a thriving craft, the Thạnh Phú cast iron foundry is still remembered by the locals, who have even used its name to name a street in the residential area: Xóm Lò Thổi (Cast Iron Foundry Hamlet).

* New generation craft villages

Dong Nai not only boasts centuries-old traditional craft villages, but from the latter half of the 20th century, it also welcomed numerous migrations from the central and northern provinces. Particularly after the liberation of South Vietnam in 1975, Dong Nai became a new economic zone with densely populated areas scattered throughout its localities. During this migration, people brought their traditional crafts from their hometowns to the new land, developing them into new generations of craft villages.

Learn about the agarwood tree before it is used for incense burning.

Among them, the agarwood craft village (Tan Phu District), with a history of about 20 years, is considered the largest craft village in the country, concentrated in Phu Trung and Phu Son communes. With hundreds of agarwood production facilities, the agarwood craft village supplies products related to agarwood such as seedlings, agarwood-inducing chemicals, raw agarwood, essential oils, distilled water, etc. Notably, the agarwood essential oil product has achieved OCOP 4-star certification and is consumed domestically and exported. In addition, the agarwood craft village provides employment for many rural workers. Agarwood products have been supplied to markets in China, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries for many years.

Similar to the agarwood craft villages, the fine art wood carving villages in Dong Nai are also new-generation craft villages, concentrated in the districts of Trang Bom and Xuan Loc. However, each craft village exploits and develops according to its own strengths. In particular, the fine art wood carving villages in Trang Bom district create unique products from scraps of waste wood through the hands of creative and talented craftsmen. Meanwhile, the fine art wood carving villages in Xuan Loc district create artistic sculptures from tree roots and trunks. Through the hands of artisans, these roots and trunks are transformed into statues, paintings, and mascots, creating unique and eye-catching works of art.

Ms. Vu Thanh Huong (Ho Chi Minh City), who specializes in selling souvenirs and handicrafts in tourist areas, said that her souvenir shop chain often imports some wooden handicrafts from establishments in Dong Nai to sell to tourists. Dong Nai's wooden handicrafts are highly appreciated by tourists for their quality and aesthetics, especially foreign tourists, who often buy them as souvenirs when visiting Vietnam.

Ngoc Lien

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