Preserving ancient houses of the Mong people in Ky Son
(Baonghean.vn) - The house with a sa mu roof is closely associated with the year-round life in the high mountains and is a typical feature of the long-standing culture of the Mong people. However, these hundreds of years old houses are at risk of being lost.
With their own cultural characteristics, the Mong community has contributed greatly to creating a diverse culture in harmony with other ethnic minorities in the Western region of Nghe An.
Currently, this community lives mostly in Ky Son district. When setting foot in Mong villages, the most noticeable thing is the image of houses roofed with sa mu wood lying close together, on the slopes of high mountains. Over time, the sa mu roofs have turned a moldy green, ancient, and quiet in the middle of the forest.
According to the Mong elders, the houses of this community were previously roofed with oily wood like sa mu to retain heat. Sa mu wood helps them overcome the cold winters in the high mountains and maintain cool air in the hot summers. At the same time, this type of wood can be used for dozens, even hundreds of years. This is a tradition of the Mong people since ancient times when they first migrated to the high mountains of Ky Son district.
Currently, Ky Son has 25,932 Mong people, accounting for 32.46% of the population living in the area.
In the process of development, the Mong people have preserved their cultural heritage.
Culture such as indigenous knowledge, customs, and material culture. Notable among these is the material culture of houses made of sa mu wood.
According to a survey, the Mong people in Ky Son district are currently living in 73 villages/12 communes, however, only 23 villages/6 communes are preserving hundreds of ancient houses made from sa mu wood dating back hundreds of years. This is an extremely valuable heritage with important value to the locality. However, this heritage is facing the risk of being lost, and needs a suitable restoration and conservation plan.
Mr. Vu Chong Di in Huoi Giang 2 village (Tay Son commune) in the past years lived with his children and grandchildren in a cozy sa mu roofed house that was passed down from his father. However, when his children grew up and built their own houses nearby, wooden houses were built but were no longer roofed with sa mu wood, but instead with fibro cement panels. His children also mobilized to replace the sa mu roof that was nearly a hundred years old.
“The sa mu roof has changed, I feel like I have lost something sacred. But thinking back, my children are right, wood cannot be exploited anymore, and an old roof will sooner or later be damaged and leaky” – Mr. Chong Di shared.
Unlike Mr. Vu Chong Di, Mr. Vu Lau Phong in Huoi Giang 1 village did not choose to replace the roof, because for Mr. Phong this was a precious gift that his father left for future generations. Mr. Phong said that many times during the rainy season, the roof leaked. He had to buy transparent plastic roofing sheets to put under the sa mu roofing sheets. This both helps prevent rain and leaks and preserves the ancient features of the house.
Previously, the sa mu roof houses were mainly concentrated in Huoi Giang 1, 2, 3 villages with about 200 households and some in Lu Thanh village, but currently in Huoi Giang 1 village only about 60% of the sa mu roof houses remain, Huoi Giang 2 and 3 only 20% remain... Some households have tried to preserve them by covering them with transparent plastic roofs under the sa mu roofs to try not to change the nostalgic look of the houses. However, in the long term, the intervention of superiors is needed to preserve these houses.
In Nam Can commune, where 6/6 Mong villages live, the roofs of houses made of sa mu wood are also in a state of “complete loss”. According to our observations, most of the houses here, following the development, are newly roofed with corrugated iron or tiles. The number of sa mu roofs in this border commune can be counted on the fingers.
In the past, all houses were roofed with sa mu wood. However, since 2006, when the asphalt road connecting Luu Kien commune (Tuong Duong) was built, people rushed to rebuild their houses or replace the roofs as a trend. Now, if you want to restore them, you can't find any wood. This is truly a pity.
This is truly an alarming situation when Ky Son district is trying to develop tourism based on the strengths of nature and the cultural identity of ethnic minorities. Many people also expressed concern that the houses with sa mu roofs are fading away, which also means that the culture of the Mong community is gradually being lost and falling into the "past"...
The district is also very interested in this issue, because this is not only a national cultural identity but also a direction for developing eco-tourism and community tourism. In March 2024, the district sent a document to the Department of Science and Technology proposing a plan to restore and preserve ancient Mong houses in 23 villages in 6 communes in the district, with a total cost of 500 million VND. Hopefully, with the participation of all levels and sectors, the restored sa mu roofed houses will be an attractive destination for many tourists inside and outside the district.
