The person who preserves the cultural identity of the Thai people

Journey of collecting Thai objects

For many years now, the stilt house of Mr. Vi Van Phuc (77 years old), in Block 2, Con Cuong town (Con Cuong district, Nghe An), has become a familiar destination for groups of tourists who want to learn about Thai ethnic culture. Although he is very busy, old, and not as healthy as before, every time a guest comes, Mr. Phuc is very enthusiastic in introducing each artifact. The stilt house next to National Highway 7 has long been considered a free museum for tourists every time they visit Con Cuong district.

“Sometimes I am very tired and have no free time, but whenever tourists come, I still try to introduce them. Especially for the younger generation, every time I see them, I forget my tiredness. I really want them to understand Thai culture,” said Mr. Phuc.

Mr. Phuc is a retired cadre, currently a prestigious person in the block. He was born in Muong Qua (Mon Son commune) - a land famous for its rich Thai culture. Mr. Phuc was born and raised in a house with 4 generations and nearly 30 people living together. At that time, men plowed, fished, women spun silk, weaved cloth... Therefore, from a young age, the customs and lifestyle of the Thai people were ingrained in his mind.

Mr. Phuc in a corner of the area displaying agricultural tools. Photo: Tien Hung

Unlike many people in the highlands at that time, Mr. Phuc was able to get a proper education. Although the economy was not very good at that time, the roads were very difficult to travel. To get to school, one had to go to a town about 20km away from home. At the age of 18, Mr. Phuc left his hometown to study in Hanoi. “It was very difficult. During the war, every time I went to Hanoi to study, I had to walk to Thanh Hoa to catch a bus,” Mr. Phuc recalled.

After finishing his studies, Mr. Phuc was assigned to work in Vinh City. He said that, during his school days and after graduating and working, although he lived in the city, he still could not forget the lifestyle of his people. The image of his mother spinning silk, weaving cloth, and the lively sounds of the bamboo flute still echoed in his mind. Along with that were worries about the cultural features of his people gradually fading away. Every time he returned to his hometown, he was very sad to see that many good customs and practices were no longer there. Many people did not even know how to speak Thai. Items that were once associated with life were gradually thrown away. Since then, he decided to start a journey to collect and preserve artifacts and antiques of the Thai people.

“I want my descendants to know something about the lives of their ancestors. Therefore, I started collecting in the early 90s, when my family moved from Mon Son to Con Cuong town. First, I moved the typical Thai stilt house from my hometown, then I started collecting items related to the lives of my people,” said Mr. Phuc.

As a cadre who often travels for work, Mr. Phuc has a lot of advantages in collecting. Every time he goes to a rural area, he buys any item he sees that he likes. There are also many items that people give him after they know about his good intentions.

Mr. Phuc currently owns 5 sets of gongs. Photo: Tien Hung

Priceless Museum

Visiting Mr. Phuc's stilt house, one cannot help but be surprised by the number of artifacts as well as their beauty. The stilt house has a total area of ​​over 300m2.²The house is almost packed with artifacts from the ground floor to the second floor. Mr. Phuc said that, although there has not been an exact count, it is estimated that more than 1,000 artifacts are on display in this house.

The first image when entering the stilt house is the loom and the nearly 100-year-old silk reel that his mother used. Those are the objects associated with Mr. Phuc's childhood. Next to it is a rice pounding bed that looks quite rustic. When we saw his curiosity, Mr. Phuc immediately used a pestle to pound the bed, making quite interesting sounds. He also enthusiastically introduced that pounding the bed (khắc luông) is a type of folk performance of the Thai people, originating from the life of production labor, closely associated with pounding rice. During the process of pounding rice, to avoid boredom and fatigue, people sometimes pound a few beats on the bed or pound the pestles together, making a pleasant sound, dispelling all the worries and anxieties of the hard working days in the fields. Over time, it gradually became a song, a rhythm, and then an art form performed on holidays, New Year's, weddings... Gradually, over time, the bamboo flute became a unique art form, the soul music of the Thai people...

Thai people's rice pounding bed. Photo: Tien Hung

The artifacts in Mr. Phuc's unique stilt house are mainly production tools, hunting, gathering, daily living items, traditional musical instruments, worshiping and funeral items... All are displayed by him in many different groups. There is a corner for the spiritual culture group; another for the weaving and embroidery group; a group of production tools; a group of hunting and fishing; a group of net weaving and knitting; a group of folk games; a group of animal husbandry; a group of jewelry and costumes... There is almost no Thai item missing from this collection.

Going up to the second floor, the first image is the wooden benches arranged by Mr. Phuc along the path. According to observation, the chairs are all carved quite meticulously, with the shape of a crocodile. There are also many vivid carvings on the chair surface. Mr. Phuc said that these are the chairs in the Thai mandarin's house, made more than 100 years ago, which he bought during a business trip to Quy Chau district.

Above those rows of unique chairs, Mr. Phuc hung gong sets. Although there has been no survey, with 5 sets, perhaps he is the person who owns the most gong sets in Nghe An today. Going deeper into the house, there are densely arranged items. Some are hung on the wall, some are placed on shelves, and items that are easily damaged over time are displayed in glass cabinets. From a collection of musical instruments including carved luong, khen be, trumpets, gongs, drums used in funerals, weddings, ceremonies, and Tet to a set of tools for storing personal belongings including pipes, chests, jars, gourds, ca bem (for men), and briefcases (for women). Then there are hunting and gathering tools including knives, traps, crossbows, and guns...

A door of a Thai mandarin's house that Mr. Phuc collected. Photo: Tien Hung

In addition, he also collected books written in ancient Thai script from hundreds of years ago. According to Mr. Phuc, his biggest worry is that nowadays, many young Thai people no longer know how to speak Thai or their own writing. "I am very worried. That is why I always remind my children to try to talk to each other in Thai when they come home so that their children and grandchildren can understand," Mr. Phuc said. To preserve the identity, in the family genealogy book written by himself, Mr. Phuc also included a lot of content inside with the hope that his future children and grandchildren will know it. These are records of the customs of the Thai people, especially in funerals, weddings, etc.

Mr. Phan Anh Tai - Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Con Cuong district said that Mr. Phuc's collection is a "priceless museum" for the Thai people in particular. "Mr. Phuc's journey of more than 30 years of collecting is truly precious. Mr. Phuc is the one who preserves the cultural identity of the Thai people," Mr. Tai said.