Dong Bich - village of poets

(Baonghean) - Dong Bich village would be like many other villages in Nghe An in my mind, if it had not appeared in many poems and stories of writers born and raised in the village.

The name Dong Bich Hoa evokes Quy mountain, the three-branched banyan tree, Nha Vang stream... and farmer mothers lulling their children to sleep, teaching them with folk songs, proverbs and poems.

From Vinh, through Thanh Chuong to Do Luong town, stop at the Do Cung ferry crossing, turn left and go a few hundred meters more to see a small village in the middle of the fields. That is Dong Bich village of Trung Son commune, Do Luong district.

Cung ferry terminal today. Photo: Vuong Trong

The village is imbued with a peaceful and eternal atmosphere. To the right is Quy mountain, as if hiding to give the village the morning sunlight... The ancients passed down that the children of Dong Bich village were often the best students in the region, because heaven and earth had given the village all the brightest and purest things of the morning.

Entering the village, you will meet the residents with smiles. If you stop under the village banyan tree, where the wind often lingers for a while before leaving, you will feel very comfortable and peaceful. Dong Bich people love trees, especially the banyan tree. Under the banyan tree is where the villagers sit to enjoy the cool breeze, on the tree is the sky where birds chat with each other. The villagers, trees, birds and animals live together in harmony.

You will see that in this village, it seems like you never hear loud voices. For generations, villagers have always treated each other with smiles and soft greetings. In this small village, in the past, you could always hear the lullabies of mothers.

Those lullabies lulled all the children of the village to grow up. The village only has one occupation, farming. The village has never had a traditional occupation. Perhaps that is why the simplicity and honesty of the people of Dong Bich village remain intact to this day. Many writers and journalists come here and jokingly say that if there is a secondary occupation of the village, it is… poetry writing.

A small village, home to nearly 500 people from the Nguyen Van, Tran Van, Vuong Dinh and several other families... almost everyone knows each other, lives in love and care for each other. The villagers live long lives, with up to five people dying at the age of over 100. Of the 500 villagers today, nearly 100 are 80 years old or older.

Usually after 7pm the village is quiet, only the sound of people in each house remains. However, if you come during holidays, you will see villagers from all over the country returning. On the village roads, vehicles and people are bustling with greetings. There are many colors and laughter in the village reunions. Wherever they are, whatever they do, the villagers always turn to their birthplace.

Poet Vuong Trong next to the banyan tree in Dong Bich village. Photo: VT

Then you will see banyan trees and rows of stone benches; meet the newly built cultural house, the beautiful benches are also the sentiments sent by the villagers far from home. You will see concrete roads running around the village. Part of it is also the sentiment sent by the people far from home. The village has contributed to nurturing the beautiful souls of the children of the village. The children of the village who have left always remember every tree and blade of grass of the village. They are always present with the village in their hearts.

Older villagers often tell each other stories from their childhood. It could be the ghost stories in Nha Vang stream, which are still sacred legends to this day. Poet Vuong Cuong, a son of Dong Bich village, said that his father only bathed in one place his whole life, Nha Vang stream.

That is the stream flowing from the heart of Quy mountain, filtered, scented from the ground, the stream water is clear and cool and fragrant. The sky has built a stone wall surrounding the citadel like a bathhouse. Where the water flows through, there is a small groove carved. Children in those days often heard stories about white-shirted figures coming out from Nha Vang stream, villagers firmly saw young men carrying shoulder poles walking and singing songs of the South.

Then at noon and in the evening, ghosts often gather at the market. The sounds of buying and selling, bargaining or arguing can be clearly heard. At night, ghosts light fires and patrol. There are even ghosts cutting traditional Chinese medicine... The spine-chilling stories made the boys of the past, now grown up, "not only did they not dare to enter the Golden House, but they also did not dare to sleep alone".

Quy Mountain, the mountain that has become the symbol of Dong Bich village, is also the origin of the name of a famous poet from Nghe An: Thach Quy - Vuong Dinh Huan. Photo: PV

It could be the story of a “common friend” of many generations in the village, that is the “century buffalo herder” named Lan, from childhood until old age, people still saw him leading his buffalo home every day on the bumpy village road. He, along with his buffalo, went through many rains and sunshine, changes, to create a memorable mark for many villagers…

It could be a common dream about the village banyan tree, a three-branched, nine-budded banyan tree whose hollows contain many jet-black “wood-splitting” insects. When the banyan fruit is ripe, it falls purple all over the road. Under the banyan tree, people walk and children play. On the tree, birds fly around eating fruit and singing. Sometimes, the poop falls on the children’s heads and faces.

Those could be the naughty games of herding buffaloes, cutting grass, catching bees, catching butterflies, picking blackberries, and collecting dung on Quy mountain. Those could be the times when the children had just grown up and stole grapefruits and peanuts from the village. In the face of those unusual games, the villagers never considered them bad. The tolerant villagers still reserved special spaces for the children with the belief that they were the children of the village.

Indeed, the foolish games of the past have contributed to nurturing the souls of countless people who love their villages. How many children in the past, when they grew up, when the Fatherland was in danger, took up arms and went to fight on all the battlefields. The children of the village went out, doing all the good things, adding beauty to the village. They knew that they only had the right to beautify their village, no one could make their village ugly. A small village had hundreds of martyrs, wounded soldiers, soldiers, and youth volunteers...

That village has hundreds of bachelors and dozens of teachers spread throughout the country, carrying the heart of Dong Bich people, working and contributing with pride for the village. That small village has three doctors and many masters. Poet Dang Huy Giang said, in the whole country, only Dong Bich village, the Vuong family has a collection of poems of 4 generations of descendants with 28 authors and 900 pages of quality poetry, equal to the country's poetry. In the past, there was "Ngo family literary school", now there is only "Vuong family literary school"!

Cover of the Vuong family's poetry collection. Photo: PV

The poet was not exaggerating at all. This small village has three poets who are members of the Vietnam Writers Association (they are brothers, uncles and nephews: poet Vuong Trong, poet Thach Quy- Vuong Dinh Huan, poet Vuong Cuong), many are members of the provincial Literature and Arts Association, many do not join any association but still write poetry on a daily basis. That village, the people of that village seem to have been born to express the soul of the village.

Dong Bich village is inherently loyal and despises money. People respect and worship culture, worship the good. In today's market life, it is also an extension of the ancient meaning. Extending the qualities of Dong Bich villagers - a cultural village to future generations...

Dong Bich village seen from Quy mountain. Photo: PV

And like me, I came to Dong Bich because of the enticing poem: "When my eyes close their gaze/ Take me back to my birthplace/ My village is small, the entrance is also small/ Cars returning have to stop on the official road...." (Vuong Trong), "Quy Mountain is small but why are there so many rocks? I was a cowherd in a rock cave to take shelter from the rain/ Broom flowers fell under the wings of a bee/ White rocks were exposed to the midday sun/ I had not yet cut enough firewood to tie a pair of strings/ I was already sitting sideways on the rock, my lips purple"... (Thach Quy).

Coming to Dong Bich, you will understand why that small village is always the place of endless nostalgia and love for those who live far away. Then you will understand why such passionate poetic souls were born here...

PV