Old Car Trunk

( Quang Ngai Newspaper) - Nowadays, perhaps many people do not know about the trunk, because very few people use this item. Therefore, when I saw the trunk in a thatched roof house on Ly Son Island, I was nostalgic about my difficult life.

In folklore, the thatched roof house is often called the ancient house, the house made of wood, the family church. This is a type of house built by the Ly Son residents hundreds of years ago. The house is managed and lived in by the head of the family, and is also the common property of the family. The thatched roof house has 3 rooms and 2 wings, built of wood and has two layers of roof to keep the temperature of the house regulated, warm in winter, cool in summer.

Old car trunk.

The arrangement of the altars and the objects inside the house must be balanced and in harmony with the whole, especially the placement of the bed for the clan leader is very important. The bed is specially designed to imitate the ancient chest. The wooden chest is usually placed in front of the main altar in the middle of the house to serve as a resting place for the clan leader, as well as a place to discuss the common work of the clan.

Wooden chests have kneeling legs and legs with wheels for moving, so they are called cart chests. The size of cart chests varies, depending on the area of the worship space inside the house. The surface of the cart chest is about 2m long, 1.4m wide, 1.2m high; there are smaller types, 1.2m long, 80cm wide, 60cm high. Most of the chests have smooth surfaces without patterns, but there are also types with elaborate carvings in the form of stylized four sacred animals "dragon, unicorn, turtle, phoenix", or apricot, orchid, chrysanthemum, bamboo representing the four seasons "spring, summer, autumn, winter". The cart chest has many elaborate carvings to show the important role of the patriarch in the worship house.

Nowadays, many people who visit the thatched houses on the island, at first when seeing the chest placed in front of the worship space, think that it is a place to put offerings on days when the family has a worship ceremony. But in fact, the chest is the resting place of the clan leader, a place to sit and drink tea or to receive guests when they come to visit.

The wooden chest is made in a parallelogram shape, the top can be closed and opened. Inside the chest is hollow, usually has 3 compartments, the compartment used to store assets, valuables such as gold and silver; the compartment to store ceremonial clothes; the compartment to store books, documents recording the clan's affairs. On both corners of the wooden chest are attached locks and the key of the wooden chest kept by the clan leader. The clan leader resting on the chest is also to preserve and protect the clan's assets from being stolen. For smaller chests, they are placed close to the main altar, followed by the table and chairs. The clan leader's chest will be placed on the left side of the main altar in the house.

The role of the patriarch is very important in the clan temple as well as in the worship and development of the clan. Therefore, the trunk for the patriarch is designed differently from the usual bed. In addition, the patriarch also bears responsibility for the village, especially on holidays, Tet, and the Hoang Sa soldier's Khao Le festival... no matter where he lives, he must be responsible for the worship of the gods in the village temple.

Furthermore, the selection of the person to hold the position of Village Chief must be a member of the clan's ancestors, so the clan leader will be the representative of the clan. For the clans on Ly Son island, the role of the clan leader is highly respected, so the image of the carriage trunk also reflects the role of the clan leader.

Nowadays, the trunk is no longer suitable for the times, the family's assets have a safe place to be stored. The thatched roof house, when renovated, no longer has space for the trunk, but instead is a table and chair set used to receive guests of the family. However, some families and clans still preserve the trunk as a memory of the old life.

Article and photos: VO MINH TUAN

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