The secret to longevity in the 'hundred-year-old village' behind the gate of heaven

Over a hundred years old still working in the fields

On cold winter days, we crossed the Heaven’s Gate to find the house of Mr. Va Pa Gio (102 years old), in Trung Tam village, Muong Long commune, Ky Son district. But it took us quite a while to meet him because we had to wait for him to come back from herding cows in the fields. “You’re over a hundred years old and still working in the fields?”, a friend who was with us opened his mouth and asked Mr. Gio’s youngest son, who is also over 40 years old this year.

A corner of Muong Long. Photo: Dao Tho

Mr. Gio's wife, Mrs. Lau Y Mo, is 88 years old this year, still active and agile. She surprised everyone with her fluent Kinh language. For the Mong people, women over 40 years old usually do not know Kinh, because in the past women were not allowed to go to school. Mr. Gio and his wife have dozens of children, but they do not depend on or live with anyone. The couple at this "rare" age still live in a house at the end of the village. There, the old man still goes out every day to cut grass, herd more than 5 cows and a large garden of three-flower plums. As for the old woman, in addition to cooking, her main job is to take care of her flock of chickens and geese, which amounts to nearly 100. "They just like to do that. I can't stop them," said Mr. Va Pa Bi, the youngest son of the couple.

When we arrived, Mr. Gio had just returned from herding cows in the fields. Photo: TH

According to records, Mr. Gio was born on September 1, 1919. In the 60s of the last century, he was the Chairman of the People's Committee of Muong Long commune. Up to now, Mr. Gio has been retired for more than 40 years. Before coming together, Mr. Gio and his wife had both been through a marriage. Mr. Gio had 6 children with his previous wife, and Mr. Mo had 5 children with her previous husband. After getting married, they had 6 more children. In total, the old couple had 17 children. Of which, Mr. Gio's 2 eldest sons are now over 80 years old, with white hair and beard. That is the number of children, as for the number of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, Mr. Gio said he could not remember. He could only estimate that the total number of his descendants had exceeded 300 people.

“The Mong people are hard-working and diligent. They cannot bear not working, it is very sad,” Mr. Gio explained why he is over a hundred years old and still works in the fields. He believes that one of the most important secrets to longevity is to work diligently and do manual labor regularly to improve health. “If in the lowlands people often exercise, then up here people work in the fields. It is very good for health,” he said.

Mr. and Mrs. Va Pa Gio. Photo: MH

In addition, the elderly here still live a self-sufficient life. They almost do not need to go to the market to buy food. Vegetables and fruits are grown by themselves, chickens and ducks are raised by themselves. The elderly believe that clean food increases longevity. In addition, an important condition for the Mong people in Muong Long to live longer than other regions is the cool climate. This place is likened to a Da Lat in the middle of the hot Lao wind of Nghe An. Most of the commune's residents are located in a large valley, at an altitude of about 1,500m above sea level. Because of this altitude, and being protected by the surrounding mountains, the climate is quite cool, with clouds covering all year round. A day in Muong Long has 4 seasons, the morning is the foggy scene of Spring, the noon is warm like Summer, the afternoon is the weather of Autumn and the evening is the cold of Winter.

Married at 93

Saying goodbye to Mr. Gio, we went to the house of Mr. Va Y Xong (105 years old), in Muong Long 2 village. Mr. Xong was born on July 1, 1916, and is currently the oldest person in Muong Long. Mr. Xong's husband, Mr. Lau Cha Xia, is younger than his wife, but is also 101 years old this year. When we arrived, Mr. Xong was still collecting dry branches under the plum forest to bring home to warm himself.

The oldest woman in Muong Long. Photo: TH

“It’s the cold season now. The elders are old and weak, so they can’t run out of firewood. They just sit around the kitchen all day,” Mr. Xong said with a smile, his hands still tightly holding the bundle of firewood. This is also a rare case in Nghe An where both husband and wife are over 100 years old. Even at this age, the old couple still live independently, without needing anyone to take care of them. For more than a year now, the old man’s health has been weaker, he can no longer go to the fields to collect firewood or herd cows, and can only stay at home. The old woman, although older, is still agile and healthy. Both husband and wife currently live on the allowance for the elderly.

Mr. and Mrs. Xong are over 100 years old but still live alone and do not live with their children and grandchildren. Photo: TH

Mr. Xong said that he could not remember which year they got married, but he knew that the Mong people in those days often married very young. Boys were usually married at 13 or 14 years old, and girls were a little older, around 15 or 16. After that age, they were considered unmarried. The couple had 8 children together, 3 boys and 5 girls. Of which, the first 2 sons live in Laos, are now over 90 years old, and have not returned to Muong Long to visit their parents for decades. Therefore, the couple did not know how many grandchildren and great-grandchildren they had in Laos. The 5 daughters married far away, so the only son close to them was the 8th son, who is now 62 years old.

Talking about the secret to longevity, Mr. Xong said it was due to diet. “Living long is because we don’t eat MSG,” Mr. Xong said with a smile, then pointed around the kitchen to say that his family doesn’t have many spices to cook with besides salt. Apart from the lard from the pork they raise and use to make their own meat, Mr. Xong and his wife never use cooking oil or lard bought from the market to cook. Mr. Xong and his wife affirmed that eating clean food is the most important secret to living long.

Also at a rare age, not far from Mr. Xong’s house, Mr. Xong Ga Vu, although 101 years old, is still healthy and clear-minded. When we arrived, he was engrossed in playing his panpipe for a group of children around 10 years old. He introduced them as his great-grandchildren. “That means their grandfathers are my grandchildren. These are just a few,” Mr. Vu said, not forgetting to show off the rather long panpipe that he had just spent 7 million VND to buy.

Mr. Xong Ga Vu is still very healthy. Photo: MH

Mr. Vu was also the Chairman of the People's Committee of Muong Long commune in the early 60s of the last century, then the Vice Chairman of the District People's Committee, and retired with the position of Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ky Son district. Mr. Vu had 3 wives and 18 children. Of which, the third wife he just married a few years ago.

Mr. Xong Ga Sua - the 8th son of Mr. Vu said that in 2013, his mother passed away due to old age and poor health. That year, Mr. Sua was also the Chairman of the People's Committee of Muong Long commune. "About a month after my mother passed away, my father called us all home and said that he could not live alone. He had to get married," Mr. Sua said. After the family meeting, Mr. Vu's daughters-in-law were assigned by their husband to go to all the communes in Ky Son district to find a wife for their father.

Not long after, his children also chose a widow in Huoi Tu commune, at that time she was just over 50 years old. At that time, Mr. Vu was over 93 years old but still very healthy, working in the fields regularly. His children and grandchildren then arranged for the two of them to have a date at Muong Long market. After that meeting, there was a small wedding, with only family members attending. It was called a small wedding but there were more than 30 banquets, with more than 300 guests attending. Because Mr. Vu's children and grandchildren actually had more than this number. Mr. Vu said that because his third wife was already old when she got married, she did not give birth to any more children. The 18 children were all from the two previous wives, of which the first son, who was over 80 years old and lived nearby, even looked older than his father.

Mr. Xong Ga Vu talks to visitors. Photo: TH

According to statistics from Muong Long commune, the whole commune has 8 people over 100 years old, not to mention nearly 20 others who are also approaching this age. For people over 80 years old, the whole commune has 68 people. For a highland commune with less than 1,000 households like Muong Long, this number is already too high. However, according to the village elders here, in the past, the number of people living over 100 years old was much higher. Currently, although economic life is increasingly prosperous, the number of people living long is decreasing. In the past, there were many people who even lived to be 113, 114 years old.

According to Mr. Vi Van Thanh - Chairman of the Elderly Association of Ky Son district, the whole district has 35 people over 100 years old, of which Muong Long commune alone has 8 people. "Almost every year, the statistics show that the number of elderly people in Muong Long is outstanding," said Mr. Thanh.