Than Sa - an original Tay color

From La Hien, following the Bac Son limestone mountain range, Than Sa appears both mysterious and familiar. In that valley of white clouds, the Tay people in Trung Son still live in harmony with each other, preserving the stilt houses, customs, New Year's holidays and taboos passed down from their ancestors. Although the pace of life today has changed a lot, this place still retains the rustic and calm Tay culture.

Peaceful village corner of Tay people in Trung Son.

Cultural sediments

Than Sa, just hearing the name evokes a deep land, where white clouds, mountains and forests and human memories intertwine like a fairy tale. From the center of Thai Nguyen province, in the opposite direction of La Hien, passing Cuc Duong, the road leading to Than Sa follows the green, overlapping mountain slopes.

Those mountain ranges belong to the Bac Son system, with a geological age of millions of years, surrounding narrow valleys, embracing winding rivers that irrigate crops. In the early autumn mornings, white clouds here not only float on the mountainside but also fall on the tiled roofs, creeping across the eye level of passersby, then blending into the pure white color of wild reeds that cover the backs of houses.

Many people who look at the clouds here associate them with Ta Xua and Y Ty, but Than Sa has its own unique features: a small valley of clouds, with only glimpses of roofs, corn banks, and streams. The beauty is not overwhelming or majestic, but gentle and familiar. Hidden behind the clouds and sky is a layer of ancient cultural sediments.

Many excavations have discovered in Than Sa a series of sites dating from 30,000 to 10,000 years old, spanning from the middle Paleolithic period to the early Neolithic period. The most prominent is Nguom Rock Shelter, an archaeological site associated with the famous Nguom industry, traces of humans about 41,500 years ago.

In 1982, this place was ranked as a national monument. Those discoveries are clear evidence that humans were present, lived, and lit the first fires in this land since ancient times. In the misty valley, I kept imagining that somewhere behind the smoke and clouds, there was a prehistoric hand tapping on a piece of stone, lighting a fire, opening up life.

But that thought was interrupted when the road leading to Trung Son hamlet appeared. The stilt houses were close together, the porches hung with golden corn stalks, the roofs were brown tiles the color of time. Children huddled by the windows, their curious eyes watching the stranger. The peaceful scene was like a watercolor painting, both quiet and friendly.

The old rhythm echoes today

Tay women are attached to the family hearth.

In Trung Son, the first thing that attracts visitors is the houses. Mr. Dong Van Lan, a former commune leader who participated in compiling local history, said: Here, households still build stilt houses. The materials may change, but the style remains the same, as left by their ancestors. His voice is slow and gentle, as if each grain of rice is being threshed using the ancient method of our ancestors. That is, using a disc to scrape each grain of rice so that each grain is intact, not crushed or broken.

The Tay stilt house is not only a place to shelter from the sun and rain, but also contains the culture of the community. The ancestral altar is placed solemnly, facing the main door. In the kitchen corner there is always a small incense bowl to worship the kitchen god. Each time you pray, you light three incense sticks and three small cups.

Although many families today use gas stoves and electric rice cookers, the traditional stove still keeps the fire burning every day.

In the concept of the Tay Trung Son people, the number 9 has a sacred meaning, symbolizing fertility and fullness. Therefore, the objects attached to the house such as stairs and door frames are often odd numbers, if not nine then seven or five, never even numbers.

People here also especially avoid building houses with the roof beam pointing directly at the door of another house. People believe that doing so will cause people in the house opposite to get eye diseases. The story of a family in the neighborhood whose member had long-term blurred vision, only when the neighbor's house turned the roof beam, did the disease improve, is still told today as proof of that belief.

Not only customs, but also memories of the mountains and forests are preserved in the stories. The stilt house of Mr. Dong Van Chung and Mrs. Luong Thi Nga has stood firm for more than forty years, almost intact. Mrs. Nga recalls: When they first built the house, the forest was very dense, tigers even came into the pigsty to catch pigs. Thanks to the high stilt house, people were able to escape.

It is also that desolation that has inspired human creativity. Mrs. Nga’s husband, Mr. Chung, made the monochord himself. He plays the instrument to fill in some of the wilderness of the mountains and forests. Now, the edge of the forest has become rice fields, with many new houses, but in the memories of the elderly, the roar of tigers from a desolate time still echoes.

The spiritual life of the Tay people in Trung Son has long been shaped by customs and festivals associated with crops and spiritual beliefs. Throughout the year, people have many important holidays to unite the community and express gratitude to the supernatural beings who have blessed the village.

March is the month of tomb sweeping, children and grandchildren gather to take care of their ancestors' graves, not forgetting to offer mugwort cakes, a cake with the flavor of the mountains and forests and with respect. In May, the insect extermination ceremony is associated with the simple but meaningful dish of molasses-dipped rice cakes. In July, the whole village gathers at the communal house and the temple to pray for a good harvest, hoping for favorable weather and wind. In August, the golden rice season, each family places a ripe rice ear on the altar to report to the gods for a new rice day. In October, the joy of the harvest is bustling in the parties, sharing the golden rice grains in full granaries, and the village and neighborhood relationships become stronger.

Rustic architecture of stilt houses in Trung Son.

In the case of happiness and filial piety, there are very special rituals. When a daughter gets married, when her parents pass away, she still has to hold a funeral procession, complete with pigs, chickens, fruits, incense and gold. Leading the procession is a shaman in a long dress, with trumpets and drums.

That is the way children show their filial piety and deep gratitude to their parents. The Tay also avoid starting to plant crops or build a house on the anniversary of a loved one's death, as if to keep the nostalgia from being overshadowed by new joy.

For generations, in the flickering fire in the middle room, the stories of our ancestors have been passed down. Time may change, but in Trung Son, customs, traditions, and Tet holidays remain intact. And, it is this originality and simplicity that has created the unique beauty of Than Sa - a rustic Tay color, anchored in the hearts of people every time they visit this place.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/van-hoa/202509/than-sa-mot-sac-tay-nguyen-ban-8c16003/