Nghe An: Thai handwritten book lost in France

(Baonghean) - The Thai people in Quy Chau still preserve many ancient documents, including a handwritten copy in Lai Tay Thai script telling stories about protecting the village. In it, the handwritten copy tells about the Thai people, along with the feudal court's army and the French, fighting against the Ca Hay Han tribe. The book is 17cm x 42cm in size, 48 pages thick and was lost in France.

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The remaining handwritten documents in Thai script say that: The riot of looting led by a man named Ca Hay Han lasted for 2 consecutive years, from about 1871 to 1873. Also according to Thai documents, the people of ancient Quy Chau district contributed greatly to the victory over the tribes that invaded the Muong village at that time, which the previous history books called "bandits".

Mr. Vi Ngoc Chan and the Thai book about the rebellion of Ca Hay Han. Photo: Huu Vi.

Mr. Vi Ngoc Chan - Deputy Director of the Quy Chau District Political Center is also known for his research articles published in many newspapers and magazines. He is also an artist of the Lai Tay Thai script, a type of writing from the ancient Phu Quy region.

Mr. Chan also took the time to collect many aspects of indigenous culture, including handwritten copies in Lai Tay Thai script telling stories of the Thai community in Quy Chau district defending their villages. Among these, there is a handwritten copy telling the story of the Thai people, along with the feudal court and French soldiers, fighting against the Ca Hay Han tribe. The book is 17cm x 42cm in size and 48 pages thick.

Mr. Chan said that this handwritten text was originally from the Thai people of Quy Chau prefecture. After 1954, the book was lost and went to France. During a business trip to Vietnam, Mr. Michel Feclus, a lecturer at a university in Paris, gave it to Mr. Vi Ngoc Chan.

According to Vi Ngoc Chan's translation, the story is written in Thai Nghe An's poetic form, and can be summarized as follows: In the first year of Ham Nghi (1884), Quy Phu encountered a widespread arson attack in both Quy Chau and Que Phong districts today. Later, when King Ham Nghi had to flee because of the loss of the country, the court established Dong Khanh to rule the world.

A page from the book about the war between the army of district chief Sam Van Hao and the Ca Hay Han tribe. Photo: Huu Vi.

In the first year of Dong Khanh, Mr. Phu Co (Sam Van Hao), who was then the District Chief of Thi District (Thuy Ha - Quy Chau today), Que District (Que Phong), immediately recruited 200 Muong and Thai soldiers, went to fight, and killed the enemy general named Ca Hay Han. From then on, the people of the two districts returned to their hometowns.

Author Tran Tri Doi, a researcher on the culture of ethnic minorities in Hanoi, in a book published in 2001 also cited a Thai text from Quy Chau talking about the "Xa Rebellion" event. A rather detailed story. In the story, it is said that, in addition to Sam Van Hao's army, there were also French soldiers and soldiers of the feudal government participating.

According to documents collected by Tran Tri Doi, after recruiting a powerful army, Mr. Sam Van Hao also joined forces with powerful people in the area and appointed Mr. Lang Van Hanh as the military commander, but all under the command of Sam Van Hao. After that, the feudal - colonial government provided guns to Mr. Hao to quell the rebellion. The provincial governor named Tan Chun (the name of the Thai people) led his soldiers to fight the enemy. When they reached Chau Loc commune (Quy Hop today), they encountered Sam Van Hao's army setting up more forts to fight the enemy.

Quy Chau village today. Photo: Trong Sach.

At this time, the rebel camp was at a place called Suoi Den. They were good fighters, Sam Van Hao's army, the royal army and the French soldiers died a lot and had to retreat to the Tam Hop commune area (Quy Hop today). Governor Tan Chun later died of illness and the French soldiers and the royal army had to retreat, abandoning the conquest.

Sam Van Hao came up with a plan to invite General Ca Hay Han to his station to negotiate peace, asking that from now on they would be brothers and not fight anymore. General Ca Hay Han agreed and immediately sent troops to negotiate peace while Sam Van Hao waited in ambush. General Ca Hay Han was shot dead. From then on, the rebellion was quelled.

Mr. Vi Ngoc Can said that the publication of the documents, which have been kept for a long time, has no other purpose than to help readers better understand the history of Phu Quy, a land that still has many mysteries. These conflicts are now a thing of the past.

Thai people in Chau Binh (Quy Chau) enjoy the village festival. Photo: Trong Sach.

The book "Dai Nam Thuc Luc Chinh Bien" also recorded: In the 1870s, the Qing Dynasty's remnants, along with a number of other tribes, also caused trouble in the two districts of Tuong and Quy. The court had to send troops from the province to suppress them.

These troops operated along the Vietnam-Laos border from Son La to the western part of Nghe An. Many bandits originated from Laos and crossed the Truong Son Mountains to cause trouble. Some were remnants of uprisings against the Qing Dynasty who came to our country to take refuge. These troops lured other tribes to encroach on our land and plunder. The court at that time called them “bandits”.

Through these historical documents, it can be seen that for a long time, Quy Chau district was a land of many changes. This also shows the indomitable spirit and intelligence of the ethnic minority communities in the western part of Nghe An.

Sam Van Binh - Huu Vi