Lesson 4: Blacksmithing and the story of "forging" the profession

(Baonghean) - The blacksmithing profession followed the Mong people from the North to their settlements, and then forged products became a characteristic of the community's culture. Moreover, the durable and sharp knives and hoes also partly represent the qualities of the Mong people.

The sun had set behind the mountain, but Pho Ban Pha Noi (Muong Tip - Ky Son) and Ba Di still had time to take us to visit an active blacksmith. He said that these days the slash-and-burn season has passed, so the number of blacksmiths operating regularly is quite small. The whole village now has only 5 blacksmiths that are regularly on fire. During the slash-and-burn season, there are dozens of houses that forge farming tools, mainly hoes and knives.

Mr. Lau Nhenh Hua's house was on the edge of the village, at the foot of a rocky mountain. When we arrived, we saw Mr. Hua and another worker forging Mong knives. The blacksmith was 65 years old, and had spent nearly half of his life working with the furnace. Showing me his hand, as strong as a piece of ironwood, Mr. Hua returned to his main work. On the red-hot coal stove was a wide iron bar. It was said to have been cut from an old car and bought from a scrap metal dealer in Muong Xen Town, nearly sixty kilometers from his home.

One hand pushes the bellows, which resembles a large bicycle pump, the other hand holds a pair of chopsticks to turn the red-hot iron piece. The chopsticks are also cut from two small steel rods. Mr. Nhenh Hua said that the bellows, shaped like a bicycle pump, is made from a tree trunk, and inside is stuffed with chicken feathers to make a piston to prevent air from escaping. He said that the piston must be made from chicken feathers, not rubber or fabric. This material is durable, has good friction resistance, and is easier to handle than a piston made of rubber or fabric. In addition, the gas system and the charcoal stove are both made of clay.

Forging knives in Pha Noi village (Muong Tip commune - Ky Son).

Old age, familiar eyes, hands have been helping other households in the village for many years, then Lau Nhenh Hua built his own blacksmith shop. That was when he moved out, had to clear the fields to raise his children, needed farming tools. All Mong men are like that, knowing how to clear the fields means knowing how to make a blacksmith shop! Since starting his career, the farming tools he made were almost only for his family's needs. "I make them for my own use. I don't sell them to anyone. And even if I did, no one here would buy them because everyone knows how to blacksmith." Old Mong people often call themselves "father". If he has a suitable assistant, every day Mr. Nhenh Hua can both cut iron and forge 2 complete Mong knives. Not every skilled craftsman can achieve such progress.

The foreman, who had been standing there with a hammer for a long time, suddenly joined in the conversation: “If you just cut iron, heat it for a while, hit it a little bit, and then use a boring machine (grinder) to make nearly ten knives in one session, you can make nearly ten knives. This type is often sold in the market, but the Mong people cannot use it.” The bare-faced forger at the forge was talking about the knives made in the Mong style sold at Muong Xen market (Ky Son), Hoa Binh market (Tuong Duong), each one only costs about five to seven tens of thousands. And the phat knife forged by the Mong people in Muong Tip must cost up to 200,000 VND.

“It’s expensive but it can be used for many years, sharpened over and over again until the knife is flat and broken before having to throw it away,” said the deputy of the village, Va Ba Di. It turns out that this quiet guy is quite talented. He plays the flute well, knows how to read the calendar to choose a good day, and is also a pretty good blacksmith in Pha Noi village. He shared: The Mong people’s knives and hoes are durable and sharp because the blacksmiths here do not use grinders. From the iron cutting stage until the knife is finished, there is only heating and hammering. “Hammering to make the blade, hammering to bend the tip of the sickle. In general, there is only heating and hammering. Workers in the lowlands often temper iron with salt water and used engine oil. My family only uses stream water and banana tree trunks to cool the iron,” Va Ba Di said, and according to him, that is the secret to making the Mong people’s blacksmithing products as sharp as we see.

Coming to Nam Can commune, another Mong "land" in Ky Son district, we see that each village has a few blacksmiths. These households maintain their profession to serve the needs of their families and the villagers. The knives and hoes they make are also products that help families earn extra income. But for Mr. Va Chay Xa in Lien Son village, it is different. His blacksmith, the only one left in the village, mainly serves the needs of his family and neighbors. Every farming season, his blacksmith is red hot all day and the sound of hammers hitting the anvils resounds. The sound of Mr. Chay Xa's hammer has become a familiar sound in the village.

Mr. Va Chay Xa said that he maintains the forge to preserve his father's profession. According to him, knowing a profession but not preserving it is a crime. Mr. Va Chay Xa's determination to preserve the blacksmith profession has helped people in Lien Son village have a place to go to repair their hoes and knives that have become dull after a season of farming.

Looking at the sweat of the blacksmiths in Lien Son village dripping in the May sun next to the blazing furnace, one can understand the hardship but also the pride they feel when creating a satisfactory product. Mr. Va Chay Xa said: To have a good knife or hoe, the blacksmith must carefully prepare every step. In the past, when there were no good materials, the craftsman had to use an iron basin to smash off all the paint on the outside and melt it. Now the most popular type of iron is car springs.

According to Mr. Va Chay Xa, when heating iron, one must use hard charcoal to ensure the right heat. A good craftsman is one who has a keen eye and knows how to look at the heat of the iron to temper it. If the iron is too young, the product will warp, and if it is too old, it will easily chip. Looking at his hands hammering each sharp sound on the iron bar, one can see his passion for blacksmithing. His eyes hardly leave the iron bar, he watches carefully so that each hammer blow does not miss a single point. The shiny buffalo horn handle that he prepared in advance is inserted into the shiny knife that has been finished, looking very eye-catching. Thus, a Mong knife is completed.

We asked about the origin of the Mong blacksmithing profession, but the oldest people in the villages could not know when it began. Mong boys only know that they were born with the blacksmithing profession. From generation to generation, people needed knives to go to the forest and hoes to dig fields, so they had to have the blacksmithing profession. However, some people also affirmed that the Mong knife blacksmithing profession originated during the war with the Han people. Mr. Va Pa Denh in Lien Son village, who is over 90 years old this year, said: In the past, when they were at war with the Han people, the Mong people had a very powerful weapon that made the Han people afraid, which was the crossbow. The Han people immediately came and said that for every chicken they would exchange it for a crossbow trigger. The Mong people thought that crossbow triggers were easy to make, but chickens were difficult to raise. In just one night, all the crossbow triggers were taken away. The next morning, the Han people attacked, and the Mong people had no crossbows to resist, so they had to flee. While running and fighting the enemy, people thought of a way to make another weapon to fight the Han people. And the Mongol knife with a sharp shape like a sword was born from that.

Thus, perhaps the Mong people came to blacksmithing because of an urgent need in the struggle for survival. With the meticulousness that has become their nature, Mong blacksmiths make knives and hoes that rarely chip, if anything, they are only dented by time and labor.

Mr. Va Chay Xa said: “Mong people making knives and hoes is not just about finishing the job. Mong people must carry their knives with them when they go to the fields or return home.” The knife is closely attached to each person. Therefore, making a good product to carry with them for life is not easy at all. That is why for many years, Mr. Va Chay Xa has been struggling to find successors to keep the profession. He is hoping that his sons, the next generations, will continue to preserve the blacksmithing profession.

Huu Vi - Dao Tho