New legend of Tien Ky water

(Baonghean) - An elder in Thai Minh village - Tien Ky commune (Tan Ky) recounted: In the past, the Tien Ky countryside was very hungry, for a long time trees could not grow due to lack of water. Strangely, in the rainy season, water in Mo cave flowed out, causing the fields to be flooded, but in the dry season, water stagnated in the cave, refusing to flow out, causing drought. The people of Tien Ky wished that the situation could be reversed.

Worried about the constant hunger and crop failure due to the abnormality of the water source, in early 1963, the Secretary of Ky Minh Cooperative, Mr. Luong Van Hau (born in 1927) mobilized some people to go deep into the cave with him to find out the truth. At first, no one dared to accompany him, they were afraid of "going there forever" because they heard that there were many fierce tigers, pythons, snakes in the cave... Finally, 4 people responded to follow him. They were: La Van Minh (born in 1943), Vi Van Phat (born in 1934), La Van My (born in 1925) and Vi Van Hieu (born in 1943).

Mr. La Van Minh tells about the "legend" of the past.

Mr. La Van Minh, the only person in that "expedition" group who is still alive, recounted: "The day we decided to enter the cave,(10/3/1963), relatives, villagers cried, many people stopped. They organized a meal and everyone was in tears to send us to Mo cave like sending soldiers to the front at that time. And, we "set off", in our hands only rice balls, torches, a few knives and primitive sticks".

Tien Ky water source

They made their way through the dense forest to the cave entrance. It was very difficult to get through the cave entrance to get inside; the cave entrance was very low, dark and deep like the mouth of death; the rocks were sharp like shark teeth. But when they went deeper inside, the space was wide and airy; the rock veins and cliffs were very beautiful, making them gradually lessen their fear. The stream inside the cave was quite large, flowing in a strange direction and the flow was uneven. After many hours of thinking back and forth, they decided to pry the rock blocking the old flow direction, diverting the water to the stream leading to the fields... Thanks to that, the people had regular irrigation water, the water source was no longer irregular as before. The crops were green and the people's lives became prosperous...

The villagers were extremely grateful to the group of people who "opened the water". In 1965, in the election of Labor Hero of 6 mountainous districts of Nghe An, Mr. Luong Van Hau, the person who initiated the search for water for the villagers, was honored as Labor Hero. The water spring where he and his group went to survey that year was known to the locals as Luong Van Hau water spring.

Currently, Luong Van Hau water source ensures irrigation water for about 130 hectares of crops in Thai Minh, Ke Gieng, Ke Phay villages... and is an attractive eco-tourism destination.

Following the bumpy road along Buc cliff for about 200m, visitors will encounter a clear stream. It is a fairly wide stream, leading water from Mo cave to the fields. The stream is shallow enough for visitors to wade barefoot to feel the cool and interesting prickly feeling under their feet due to the layers of gravel at the bottom of the stream. Inside the cave are small streams flowing; sparse small bushes; mossy cliffs leaning on each other creating a poetic beauty of Mo cave... Every year, on March 10, the locals prepare an offering including a chicken, sticky rice and flowers to bring to the cave to thank the mountain god for giving this "divine water" stream. Mo cave in Tien Ky is considered the guardian deity of the locals, creating a spiritual culture of the Thai ethnic group.

Currently, the locality is planning to invest in this water source to become an attractive eco-tourism destination. Hopefully, many investors will come to Tien Ky, joining hands with the locality to promote tourism activities based on the available potential.

Article and photos:Cam Thuy