One day, Do paper…
What is the future of Do paper, is the concern of many people working in the craft in Nghi Phong commune, Nghi Loc district. Although we know that in the development trend of society, such decline is inevitable, but we still need to save and preserve it so that the cultural and historical values of this ancient craft village do not disappear.
What is the future of Do paper, is the concern of many people working in the craft in Nghi Phong commune, Nghi Loc district. Although we know that in the development trend of society, such decline is inevitable, but we still need to save and preserve it so that the cultural and historical values of this ancient craft village do not disappear.
Do paper on Cu Ky land
No one knows when the Do paper of Phong Phu village, Nghi Phong commune, was created. I only know that the old people in the village who grew up with me skillfully scraped the bark of the Niệt tree and the way to make Do paper from the Niệt tree is imprinted in my subconscious. “Many years ago, when looking for answers about the history of the Do paper village, everyone went to interview the oldest man in the village - Mr. Suu. At that time, he was 100 years old, still very clear-headed, and could still eat peanut candy. But he did not have an answer, he only knew that the profession had been formed a long time ago” - said Ms. Vuong Thi Loan (born in 1966), one of the few people still following the profession.
The niết tree used to make dó paper is taken by the locals from the fields, on the mountains or bought from the districts of Diễn Châu, Quỳnh Lưu and some districts in Hà Tĩnh province. After peeling off the tree trunk, scraping off the outer layer of the niết tree, it is sliced as thin as a sheet of paper and stuffed with lime water, squeezed clean and cooked thoroughly. After cooking, the niết bark is soaked in running water for 1 day and then pounded finely, it must be pounded by hand to ensure flexibility and toughness. The last step is the paper weaving. When making dó paper, the niết bark mixture is scooped into a mold, shaken back and forth to spread the mixture evenly. The water and the sap of the ivy will flow through the mesh, the tree powder dries into a sheet of paper. The finished dó paper after drying is thin, light, tough, and has an opaque white color. This type of paper is popular because it can be kept for hundreds of years without rotting thanks to the dó fibers' ability to absorb and release moisture well.
To save time and increase productivity, do paper makers must know how to look at the weather and arrange their work appropriately. On rainy days, they do the shell making step, and on sunny days, they dry the paper. “On dry days, we dry the paper, on rainy days, we scrape the nets. If we have enough raw materials, we can produce almost all year round. However, because raw materials are increasingly scarce, we usually only dry one batch every 4-5 days. Although the job is not hard, because of thehandmade"It requires diligence, hard work, and dexterity" - Mr. Nguyen Van Ha (born in 1960) shared.
During the process of making dó paper, many people have tried to apply some methods to improve and innovate the product. “In the past, dó paper was not as white as it is now, the paper was brownish, much darker. There was a time when Mrs. Tuyết (a villager) made sheets of paper that were much brighter and more beautiful, traders rushed to buy white paper, we had no brown paper left. No one knew how Mrs. Tuyết made such beautiful batches of paper. Until Mrs. Tuyết got old and could no longer produce, we approached her and asked for the secret, then she revealed it. Many people also tried to grind the ingredients instead of pounding them by hand, but the final product was crumbly and unusable. And the more I work, the more I realize that our ancestors were so talented when they came up with the way to make dó paper, the basic ingredients to make it, cannot be added or subtracted” – Mr. Hà shared more.
As the only locality in Nghe An province producing handmade do paper, in December 2007, Phong Phu do paper craft village was recognized as a provincial craft village. However, as soon as it was recognized, for some reasons, people abandoned the craft, leaving only about 20 households. Since then, the number of households still remaining is only 5, with only 3 households still producing steadily.
Working in Nghi Phong commune for more than a year now, Mr. Nguyen Cong Anh - Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune said: "Previously, when I was working at the People's Committee of Nghi Loc district, my impression of Nghi Phong commune was the saying "Nghi Phong is a poor commune with a large area of cu ky...". Cu ky means silver sand, the land of cu ky cannot produce or grow anything. In return, the land area of the commune is twice as large as the surrounding communes, the strengths of the people are in developing craft villages, typically vermicelli production, bamboo and rattan weaving, paper making".
Where to do paper?
In recent years, after the re-planning of Vinh City, Nghi Phong has become the core area, land prices and the speed of industry change has been rapid. The area for the old dó trees to grow is no longer there, and the niệt trees are also gradually disappearing.
“Similar to the bamboo and rattan weaving profession, when raw materials are no longer available, other job opportunities are more diverse, many people quit the profession. Only those who really want to stick with the profession will maintain the profession by finding raw materials from other places and most of them are elderly. This change is inevitable, it is very difficult to preserve” – Mr. Nguyen Cong Anh shared.
We visited Nghi Phong do paper village on sunny days. With such weather conditions, about 20 years ago, wherever you went in Phong Phu village, you would see white paper frames drying in the garden, along the dirt roads. But now, of the hundreds of households that used to make do paper, there are only 3 households left, the do paper frames that covered the sky now only lie modestly in the yard or on the sidewalk of the concrete alley. Do paper products are now mainly used to paste fish bellies, occasionally there are customers ordering large quantities to make incense, handmade fans, kites...
"I have four children but none of them follow the profession. The only daughter who knows how to do it lives far away. The other two families in the village who do the profession are also old. Perhaps, when our generation dies, we will also take the profession with us to the other world..." - Mrs. Loan laughed.
“It’s not that people have turned their backs on do paper. In recent years, some customers have come to us to learn the craft and want to spread the craft. We have participated in sharing experiences organized by Nghe An Museum and some private organizations. There were even Koreans who came to our house, learned the craft, bought frames and brought the paper back to their country. They also asked us to experiment with many different designs of do paper, very creative and beautiful. We are willing to share, without any intention of keeping it for ourselves, just hoping that the precious craft of our ancestors will not disappear,” Mr. Ha shared.
In many places, the craft of making do paper is preserved and developed into an experience activity serving tourism. Even with creativity and aesthetics, do paper is used to create works of art, widely applied in the production of souvenirs. This is also a bright direction for do paper.traditionalin the future. Hopefully, that future will be very near.
