Lifeblood of Coconut Village

(Baonghean) -My hometown was formerly called Coconut Land, or Coconut Village, now Tuong Son Commune, Anh Son District (Nghe An). The village's Chinese name is Lan Lang, meaning beautiful like an orchid branch because of the shape of the river, the shape of the mountains and the green color of the immense fields.

According to the ancients, the Coconut land was quite prosperous and bustling with the scenery on the wharf and under the boat. The market was located along the Lam River, where goods were exchanged between the upstream and downstream regions. Today, the Coconut land has National Highway 7A running through it, the land is fertile so it still retains its prosperity and bustle.

When I was a child, I often followed my grandfather (97 years old this year) to plow the alluvial land along the river. A vast alluvial land. He said: “In the past, this was a village. When the war against the US ended, implementing the policy of relocating people to avoid floods and to take land for cultivation, the village was moved to the valley between the low mountain ranges. In the past, in this riverbank area, there were 4 residential villages: Dong Song, Phuc Dien, Quan Tien, Phu Dinh...”. Later, when Mr. Nguyen Trong Hung, a retired Literature teacher, a person passionate about the history and culture of his homeland, showed me the research documents about Dua village, I realized that there were many coincidences with my grandfather's story. Some time later, Mr. Hung's documents were published in the press and compiled into the book "Famous Vietnamese Villages" published by Thanh Nien Publishing House. The book includes 51 articles about famous villages, including my hometown's Dua village. When hearing this news, everyone in my hometown was very proud and excited.

A corner of Coconut village today

Phuc Dien village is the main residence of the Bui Cong family. According to legend, during the Gia Long period (Nguyen dynasty), this family had great merit in exploiting ironwood and transporting it to the capital Hue to build palaces, temples and mausoleums, so their name was changed from Bui Duc to Bui Cong (meaning "merit"). At the same time, the royal court granted them the privilege of exploiting 300 mountains in the region without paying taxes (Tam bach dinh son vo huu thue le).

The Le Quoc family is associated with Quan Tien village. This family has great contributions to the Tay Son dynasty (Nguyen Hue). When the Tay Son army marched to the North to fight against the Qing army, many people from the Le Quoc family enlisted in the army and made great contributions. In particular, Mr. Le Quoc Cau was promoted to Commander, then was awarded the title of Marquis, then the title of Admiral. Mr. Le Quoc Ly was awarded the title of Heroic General Ly Nghia Hau. Mr. Le Quoc Dam was awarded the title of Heroic General Dam Ngoc Ba. And Mr. Le Quoc Tran was awarded the title of Admiral Ngoc Hau. Currently, the Le Quoc family's ancestral temple still preserves 7 royal decrees of the dynasties awarding outstanding children of this family.

The fourth largest clan is Nguyen Sy, residing mainly in Phu Dinh village. When the French colonialists invaded our country, responding to the "Can Vuong" edict of King Ham Nghi, Le Doan Nha raised an army and organized the construction of ramparts and citadels in Mac Dien village (now the territory of Hung Son commune), about 2-3 km from Dua village on the left bank of Lam river. At that time, the Nguyen Sy clan tried to mobilize their children to join Le Doan Nha's army, among them was Mr. Nguyen Sy Chau who was appointed to the position of Cai Co, later burned to death by the French invaders.

When talking about the Coconut land, we cannot help but mention the scenic spots of Dragon Ferry and Royal Wharf. According to legend, after capturing Tra Lan citadel, the Lam Son army led by Le Loi sought to attack and destroy the Ming army in Bo Ai and Kha Luu. The section of the river flowing through the Coconut village had a protruding mountain that suddenly blocked the water flow and changed direction, creating a deep abyss with many dangerous whirlpools. To guard against the enemy, Le Loi and his generals chose this area to cross the river to the right bank to observe their battlefields in Bo Ai and Kha Luu. Therefore, the ferry carrying Le Loi across the river was called Dragon Ferry, the position where Le Loi sat to observe the enemy was called Royal Wharf. Currently, this location has been chosen to build a water pumping station to irrigate the Coconut fields and a suspension bridge connecting the left and right banks is under construction.

From the Do Rong - Ben Ngu area, about 3-4 km downstream is Len Thung cave, a heroic relic, demonstrating the indomitable and resilient spirit of the army and people of the Coconut land in the confrontation with the US air force. When the US escalated its bombing of the North in an attempt to cut off the rear support for the Southern front, the Ministry of Defense decided to choose the area in front of Len Thung cave as a field airport. Because the cave has a large area, it can accommodate 3-4 fighter planes at a time, and the large cave entrance is convenient for planes to enter and exit. Every time the radar signals an enemy plane, our fighter planes suddenly take off from inside the cave to fight back, causing the American "thunderers" to be terrified and scared out of their wits many times. It can be said that the Coconut airport contributed to the victory of the army and people of the North against the power of the "US Air Force". The area of ​​the Coconut Airport today is green all year round with rice, corn, and peanuts, as if there had never been a trace of bombs or bullets. And Len Thung still stands tall in the middle of the land, like the stance and bravery of the Coconut people in the life-or-death confrontations with foreign invaders.

If Len Thung is a symbol of heroic, indomitable, and resilient will in combat, But Mountain is a symbol of the studious spirit of the people of my hometown, Dua village. The elders still pass down the story of the past, when a geography teacher passed by here, saw a rocky mountain standing next to a beautiful lotus pond, pointed and said: "This is the land of learning! Because that mountain is the pen mountain, and this lotus pond is the inkstone". Since then, the landscape of But Mountain and Lotus Pond has become a symbol of the studious spirit of generations of people of Dua. And the people of my hometown are very proud to say that But Mountain and Lotus Pond have written the history of their homeland for many generations and continue to highlight the traditional beauty as well as record the changes and progress of a heroic and resilient homeland.

It is impossible to count all the sacrifices and losses of the people of Dua village through the revolutionary struggles, especially the two resistance wars against the French and the Americans. There is no need to give specific numbers, but just to affirm the recognition of the Party and State for the people and soldiers of Dua with the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces (in 1998). And there is a special coincidence, since 1987, Regiment 335 (belonging to Division 324, Military Region 4), a regiment awarded the title of Hero, was stationed in Tuong Son commune. In the song "Dua - my beloved motherland", musician Van The, a son of his homeland, has the lyrics: "Dua, my motherland, today turns a new page in history, the heroic regiment is stationed on the heroic land".

The "new history" of the land of Coconut has green as the main color. That is the green of forests, fields, corn fields and mulberry fields, and the slow green of the poetic Lam River. On the background of green, evoking peace, is embellished with yellow, evoking warmth and abundance. That is the yellow of rice fields and corn fields in the harvest season. There is also the golden color of silkworms under the diligent and hard-working hands of the sisters, the mother of the land of Coconut. It should be added that my hometown has a long-standing silkworm farming profession and it is still maintained today. After many efforts, in 2007, a hamlet was recognized by the Provincial People's Committee as the Silkworm Farming Village. Along with green and yellow, the picture of Coconut village today is also dotted with many other colors evoking a prosperous and peaceful village scene. For generations, the survival of the people of Dua village has been closely linked to the fields and alluvial land, so almost everyone is honest and gentle. Today, the country is on the path of innovation, the people of my hometown are still attached to the fields and alluvial land, the only difference is that they are more agile in applying science and technology to production, choosing new varieties of rice and corn with high productivity to create bumper crops, increasing income. Along with that is intercropping and crop rotation to "not let the land rest" and bring a prosperous life, many households have enough to eat and save.

The school opening drum has sounded, many children happily carry their books on the smooth asphalt and concrete roads stretching across the villages. And I always believe that the generation of children today will be the ones to continue writing the history of their homeland tomorrow, so that the traditional source of the Coconut village will continue to spread...

Bui Cong Kien