Cherish the two words "compatriot"

(Baonghean) - Language, costumes, rituals and customs make up the diverse identities of ethnic groups, and love and solidarity make up the strength of all of us!

1. On an April day, the wind still carried a slight chill, but the sun was full on every path. The sun was not harsh but seemed transparent as if made of sparkling pieces of glass... Everything, as if urging people to find a close friend, a familiar corner to sit, sing an old song, or simply be silent. Be silent, and breathe in the space that seemed to come from memories, flickering with childhood dreams. What are you dreaming about? Oh, I seem to be dreaming about the dream of haystacks and peaceful smoke, the sound of birds chirping on the branches of honeysuckle blooming with pink buds. What about you? Ah, I am remembering the sound of bees flying in the forest, the sound of the waterwheel murmuring its peaceful turns at the stream at the beginning of the village. I remember the mountains, I remember the weaving frame under my mother's hands suddenly appearing with a sun motif, then images of grass, trees, and animals at the foot of the cloth...

Enjoying the festival. Photo: Tran Hai

I held your hand. The two of us, one was from the plains, the other came from the distant mountains, I was Kinh, my friend was Thai, in some party, when I sang Vi, my friend sang Nhuon. What brought us close together, and made us indispensable? Many times, we asked each other as a joke, but neither of us answered.

2. No answer, but we all know one thing deep down, we have the same origin, the same land. You can remember the fields, I can remember the fields, but it is of a strip of land that our ancestors shed blood and bones to protect for thousands of years. Not only me, but you, too, have so many deep relationships between the Khmu, Odu, Tho, Muong, Mong and Dan Lai... I told you the story of "Dragon's Children, Fairy's Grandchildren" with 100 children of Lac Long Quan and Au Co migrating up the mountains and down to the sea to form and multiply into regions, areas, and the Bach Viet lineages, then you told me the story of "Mother's Gourd", that we were all born from a gourd, the children of a couple. The Xa, Thai, Lu, Lao... and finally the Kinh emerged from there. And because there were too many children, unable to raise them all, the parents divided them up to go in different directions to find food. From then on, ethnic groups were formed in different territories, each with its own way of life and cultural identity, but in origin, they all emerged from a gourd, born from a mother.

3. Although the stories have different details, they all explain that we share the same bloodline. Our country has gone through many ups and downs of world affairs, but the peoples still stand side by side, respect and harmonize with each other, although each people has its own identity and language. Is the sac of a hundred eggs, or the gourd, real or fake, history or legend? That question is no longer important, because the life of a person or a nation does not depend on what actually happened, but on what is believed, cherished and desired. And a strong nation is a nation that knows how to unite, knows how to cherish the two words "compatriots", knows how to believe and aspire together.

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