Lesson 3: About Xieng village, listening to love songs

Road to Xieng village.

We went to the house of village chief Ngan Van Mai, asked to visit the village and ask how the people here do tourism. He said: “You guys are lucky. If I had been a few minutes later, I would have gone up to the hill”. There was a herd of cows waiting for grass, so Mr. Mai could only give us a short time. He said that the village is considered a community tourism spot because of its own advantages.

In addition to tourism products such as stilt houses, brocade, and singing, the village also has the scenic Pha Lai dam. The dam is also an annual tourist attraction that attracts a large number of visitors from near and far to enjoy. This is also a river wharf from which people can take a motorboat to the Dan Lai village at the source of the Giang River. On the river, people can see the silhouettes of a few agile monkeys clinging to the branches, and there are still many small animals such as squirrels, flying plows, etc. In the village, there are also houses equipped with motorboats to serve the travel needs of people going in and out of the villages at the source of the river, and working groups, while tourists are rare.

Since being recognized as a community tourism destination, the village management board has made a study tour to Mai Chau (Hoa Binh) to learn how to do tourism. There, Lac village has been a tourist destination since the 1960s, so it has a lot of experience in this field. Western and Vietnamese tourists flock to it... "The Thai language there is the same as ours, the stilt houses in our village are just as beautiful as theirs. So why are we inferior to them? I believe that if we do it right, we will be like them" - Mr. Mai confidently said.

The Giang River landscape and Pha Lai dam have been famous for a long time, but the story of community tourism has just begun. Going to see the village people built, I just realized that the stilt houses can also be used as accommodation for guests. At this time, the villagers thought about this but found that the stilt houses here still lacked many things, such as a closed toilet. The stilt houses of the Thai people in Lac village are not even as high as the houses in their village, but they are fully equipped and can welcome Western tourists. As for those who come to Xieng village to visit, they stay in Luc Da or in Con Cuong town. Although they have thought about restructuring some beautiful stilt houses in the village as accommodation for tourists, the investment in renovating these stilt houses often costs tens of millions of dong, so it has only stopped at the planning stage.

The village has a weaving group that has been operating regularly since 2008, mainly women who work extra during the off-season, and has not yet become a craft village. Although a cooperative has been established, the income is not as steady as the Hoa Tien craft village in Quy Chau. Ms. Ha Thi Hang - Head of the Xieng village handicraft and fine arts cooperative said: "The main customers are still foreign tourists. During the most recent visit of a tourist group from France, members of the cooperative sold tens of millions of dong."

On such occasions, the cooperative members also take on the responsibility of cooking traditional dishes and performing arts for tourists. However, each year only 6-7 groups of tourists come to the village, so the main job is weaving brocade.

The elderly people in Xieng village still love the melodies from all over. Through the introduction of Ms. Ha Thi Hang, we went to the house of Mrs. Thuong. When asked her family name, she immediately said: "Just call me Mrs. Thuong from Xieng village!"

Mr. Thuong, a singer of the Thai Folk Song Club.

It was late afternoon, the old lady led the herd of cows into the gate. Hearing what Ms. Hang said, I work as a journalist, and am Thai, and like to listen to singing, the old lady quickly tied the herd of cows into the barn. Even though she was past her “old age”, she was still very agile. Every step was quick. She said to me in Thai: “I thought young men didn’t like to listen to singing.” I said: “But I know the Xang tune, I want to hear you sing.” She smiled mischievously: “It’s only for people of the same age, and only sung when they are young!” Then she said: “Hey, young man from a distant village/Don’t speak so casually when you come to our village.” Thinking for a moment, I responded with the Nhuon tune of my hometown: “I’m just a little bird learning to lay eggs/A young rooster learning to crow…” The Nhuon tune seemed to be incompatible with the Hat Thap tune of Ms. Thuong, making everyone laugh out loud.

On normal days, I and the people in the community only listen to modern music. Even though we don’t say it, in our hearts, we always reserve a corner for Thai folk songs. It’s like a source, just waiting for the right moment to flow. That day, Mr. Thuong was also happy because at least he wasn’t disappointed by the young people who love Thai folk songs.

When saying goodbye, Mrs. Thuong said: “Seeing you today reminds me of when I was young, boys and girls would sing everywhere. The boys played the flute, the girls sang, it was so much fun”. And Ms. Hang said: “If you want to hear singing everywhere, I will call you whenever there is a wedding in the village. Only on occasions like that can we call real singing everywhere…”.

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