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Thai Quy Chau people in the 'season' of making water wheels

Tuyen Dinh - Huu Vi• January 1, 2024 10:21

(Baonghean.vn) - Before the spring rice crop, the Thai people in Chau Tien commune (Quy Chau district) are busy with the "season" of making water wheels. The water wheels are both an irrigation project and a long-standing cultural beauty that creates the identity of the Nghe An highlands.

Clip: Dinh Tuyen

In many mountainous districts in Nghe An such as Con Cuong, Tuong Duong, Que Phong, farmers use water wheels for agricultural production, but the most are still in Chau Tien commune, Quy Chau district. At peak times, this area has hundreds of water wheels installed by farmers along rivers and streams. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

The Thai language in Nghe An calls the water wheel "pat nam", which means watering. The system consists of a wheel with tubes attached to it that rotate around a wooden shaft. When dropped into a stream, the wheel rotates and the tubes scoop water into a trough. From the trough, water flows through pipes or gutters into the rice fields, creating an automatic irrigation system. The water wheel is considered a unique creation of the rice-growing people of Southeast Asia. According to some documents, hundreds of years ago, people in the lowlands also used this irrigation system in agricultural production. Photo: Huu Vi

In late 2023 and early 2024, coming to Hoa Tien 1, Hoa Tien 2, Ban village, Chau Tien commune, you will see the bustling atmosphere of people making water wheels. Water wheels are really necessary for households whose fields are higher than rivers and streams. According to farmers in Chau Tien commune, water wheels often decide the success or failure of a rice crop. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

Because of its importance, many households have to prepare materials to make water wheels months in advance. Bamboo, wood, and strips are all taken from old forests that are hours away on foot. After that, it takes farmers about half a month to complete a water wheel. Photo: Huu Vi

A completed water wheel like this weighs 1.5 - 2 quintals, so it takes 4 - 5 strong people to carry it down to the stream for installation. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

Once the wheel is firmly placed on the stand, the workers must install a drip tray and a guide tray for the system to be complete and operational. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

Thai people's water wheels in Quy Chau are highly aesthetic and require skilled craftsmen. In Hoa Tien village, Chau Tien commune, most farmers have the skills to make water wheels. Photo: Huu Vi

However, each rice wheel is usually only used for two rice crops. Floods that often occur in the 8th and 9th lunar months will wash away most of the rice wheels on rivers and streams. Those that remain will rot after a period of use. After the harvest, people often have to make another rice wheel to replace it. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

And the farmers start a new cycle, making water wheels before the new crop season. This is quite a hard job, but for the farmers of Chau Tien, it is almost a natural thing, a must-do to "keep the stomach from going hungry". Photo: Huu Vi

Thanks to this hard work and effort, the rice fields of Muong Chieng Ngam, the old name of Chau Tien land, become more poetic for those who visit the simple villages here. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

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Thai Quy Chau people in the 'season' of making water wheels

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