The secret to forging sharp knives and farming tools... of the Mong people in Nghe An

Keep traditional profession

One day in mid-May, together with local officials, we went to Muong Long 1 and Muong Long 2 villages, Muong Long commune to seetraditional blacksmithingof the people have been preserved for generations. From the beginning of the village, the sound of hammers can be heard far and near.

Observation shows that, under the traditional roofs of the Mong people here, the forges are glowing red with fire, strong men wearing protective clothing, diligently making sharp knives from scrap iron bars.

To learn about the blacksmithing profession of the Mong people here, we visited the family of Mr. Lau Xia Re in Muong Long 1 village. Sitting next to the red-hot coal stove, rhythmically hammering, Mr. Re slowly said that the blacksmithing profession is closely linked to the living and farming activities of the people in the highlands. Since ancient times, the people here have forged agricultural tools such as knives, hoes, rakes, etc., including tools for hunting and shooting wild animals.

Therefore, in the past, almost every family had a forge to make their own farming tools and household items. Every family was like that, “father passed down to son”, and Mr. Lau Xia Re himself was taught by his father to keep the profession since he was young. Just like that, the forging fire here is preserved by many people, creating a special “brand” for the blacksmithing profession of his people.

Mr. Re said that forging good farming tools depends on the experience of each worker, which is difficult to describe in words. In addition to the steel tempering technique, there are many other secrets such as choosing good steel, suitable for each product. Not all steel can make a sharp knife.

For example, to make a sharp knife, you need to forge car spring steel. During forging, if the steel is not tempered hot enough, it will be soft and cannot be used for a long time. On the contrary, if it is tempered too hot, it will easily break during use. The special thing about the Mong people's forging profession is the tempering of steel. To carry out this step, they use many different methods, each person has their own secret.

Therefore, despite the effort and experience, a good blacksmith still needs more than a day to make a knife. Therefore, the price of a good knife sold in Muong Long is from 400,000 - 500,000 VND to be worth the effort.

Good blacksmiths can tell if a knife is good or bad by just tapping it lightly. “Making a knife with a nice size and shape is easy, but making it good and durable is difficult. Not everyone can do it, it requires a lot of experience,” Lau Xia Re shared.

The Mong people's handmade forges often create wind with homemade tools. They use hollowed-out tree trunks, then make pistons to pull out and push in to create wind. When the master forge sits in the forge, there must be an assistant sitting next to him to push the wind to make the charcoal furnace burn brightly. However, nowadays, some blacksmiths use electric equipment to blow the furnace, and grinders to improve the time spent making agricultural tools.

Not only serving daily life, many blacksmiths in the commune have made goods to sell on the market, becoming a profitable profession, their products have "traveled" to communes and districts in the outer regions.

Also a Mong person passionate about blacksmithing, Lau Ba Do in Muong Long 1 village is both a teacher and a maintainer of the traditional blacksmithing craft passed down from his ancestors. Mr. Do said that meticulousness and dexterity can be trained through the process of working, but the first and foremost requirement of blacksmithing is that the worker must be in good health. The master and assistant must coordinate well, when hammering, they must strike the hammer in a consistent rhythm, when blowing air into the furnace, it must be appropriate for each time. Only then will each product made be a "work" that is respected and used durably by the user.

“Blacksmithing requires men to be healthy and persistent, so not everyone can do it. The craftsman must also have a delicate sense of hearing and eyes. The hands of a blacksmith must be firm and calloused, but also sensitive enough to assess the quality of each product made,” Lau Ba Do shared.

Building a blacksmith village

Mr. Va Cha Xa - Chairman of People's CommitteeMuong Long communesaid that the blacksmithing profession of the Mong people here has existed for a long time. Previously, there were hundreds of households practicing the profession, but now it has decreased to about 40 households. The reason is that agricultural tools from the lowlands are sold a lot at the markets, so some households do not maintain the blacksmithing profession but instead buy them at the market for convenience. The people who still keep the fire burning in the forge are all skilled in the profession.

People maintain the blacksmithing profession, in addition to producing agricultural tools for their families, they also sell them to the market. The main products are knives, hoes, shovels, hammers, sickles and other agricultural tools.

“Recently, the commune was recognized as a Mong women's lace embroidery craft village in Muong Long 1 village. Currently, the locality is encouraging people to maintain and develop the blacksmithing craft to come here to propose recognition of the blacksmithing craft village. The purpose of maintaining and developing local traditional crafts is not only to serve the daily life of the people, but also to promote tourism development. Every time tourists come to Muong Long, they can enjoy the fresh, cool climate and watch people doing traditional crafts,” Mr. Va Cha Xa shared.

In Nghe An, Mong people live in many communes of Ky Son district such as Tay Son, Nam Can, Huoi Tu...; in Que Phong district, Mong people live in Tri Le commune; and in Tuong Duong district, Mong people live mostly in Luu Kien, Nhon Mai communes...

In general, wherever there are Mong people, there is the traditional blacksmithing profession, which is still maintained by the people. However, in Muong Long commune (Ky Son), nearly 100% of the population is Mong, so the number of blacksmiths here is the largest. With the orientation of the local government, it is promised that the blacksmithing profession at Ky Son Heaven's Gate will be preserved and developed further./.