Teacher Nguyen Thanh Tung and nostalgia for Lang Coconut culture

(Baonghean) -When I heard that the work “Folklore of Lang Coconut” by Meritorious Teacher Nguyen Thanh Tung had just won the Nghe An Science and Technology Innovation Award in 2012, I immediately went to his house to congratulate him. It was not like “seeing someone rich and trying to be related to them”, and there was a big age gap, but after all, we were born in the same countryside. Moreover, his award-winning work was about his hometown Lang Coconut…

His family's small house is nestled among high-rise buildings, with the garden mostly planted with wild plants, associated with the countryside: apple, custard apple, mango, grapefruit. After 60 years of moving to the city, he still retains his rural character, from his speech to his lifestyle. He briefly introduced himself: "I was born in 1935 in Dua, now Tuong Son commune - Anh Son. At the age of 18, I left my family and hometown to pursue my studies, then became a lecturer in the Literature Department at Nghe An College of Education until my retirement. The work "Lang Coconut Folk Culture" is the result of collecting almost my entire life, from childhood memories to approaching and exploiting people of the previous generation".



Teacher Nguyen Thanh Tung.

Reading “Folklore of Dua Lang”, anyone can easily see the author’s passionate love for the traditional culture of his homeland. Dua Lang is an ancient land blessed by nature with beautiful and rich landscapes, with a long tradition of culture crystallized from many generations. However, through many historical events, many times of changing stars, many beautiful features of the past have disappeared and never returned. The flow of traditional culture has been interrupted, and the young generation today hardly grasps the source of their homeland. “Every time I return to my hometown, I am shocked, sometimes really startled by the changes in the landscape. The change in the structure and space of the village will inevitably lead to a break in the cultural flow. Therefore, I think it is necessary to promptly record the old marks and meet with the elders to collect and preserve valuable documents about my hometown with the hope that later on, my descendants will have an idea of ​​the flow of history. Collecting and cherishing them until retirement will be able to complete them” - teacher Nguyen Thanh Tung shared.

With a total of more than 300 pages, the work “Folklore of Dua Lang” has outlined the basic features of the folk culture of this land. At the same time, the author has devoted a large amount of space (about 150 pages) to publishing poetic and literary works circulating in each village. Accordingly, Dua Lang is the land including the communes of Tuong Son, Hung Son, Duc Son and Hoa Son (Anh Son district) today. This used to be the cultural land of Nghe An, and to this day, the song “First is the Capital, second is Dua Lang” is still circulating.

In the past, at the communal house of Thuong village, Phuc Dien hamlet, Quan Lang commune (now Tuong Son commune), there was a parallel sentence: "Dia uat ky quan danh Nghe Tinh/ Thien pho quang canh doi kinh ky" (The land contains the famous wonders of Nghe Tinh/ Heaven shows off a landscape comparable to the capital). This land has a diverse terrain, with mountains and forests, rivers and streams, plains and banks. Therefore, transportation is very convenient, easy to do business and creates a charming landscape, bustling with boats on the wharf and under the boat. Here, each mountain, river bend, field and village contains a legend or conveys the pride or aspiration of the people. We can mention the But (But Nhac) and Sen (Lien Tri) complexes as a cultural symbol and aspiration for learning of the people of the Coconut land: "Lien Tri, But Nhac clearly/ Lam Giang reflects the golden corn beautifully". Being a land with easy living and business opportunities, people from everywhere came to settle down, creating a prosperous and green village landscape. At that time, Dua market ranked 3rd in Nghe An in terms of the level of bustle (only after Vinh market and Luong market), so there was a song: "Under the ferry, above the bustling market/ Western and Guest streets built on both sides".

The richness of terrain and topography leads to the richness of cultural nuances. People from all regions come here to live with the indigenous people, bringing with them the quintessence of their homeland and contributing to the diversity of cultural life in the land of Dua Lang. First of all, due to the favorable natural conditions, this land is easy to find a livelihood, so it is very rich in occupations. Besides the exploitation of forest products, farming, raising cattle and buffaloes, cooking animal bone glue of the indigenous people, there are also some occupations imported from other regions such as boat building, fishing, blacksmithing, weaving and trading. Due to the variety of products and raw materials available, the people of Dua Lang also know how to have fun. Compared to other regions, this place has quite a lot of dishes and the most typical dishes are those made from corn, wild bamboo shoots and molasses.

Lying in the flow of Nghe culture, the people of Dua Lang have a strong and determined character. As early as the 15th century, the people here gathered to follow Le Loi's army and contributed to the victory of Bo Ai and Kha Luu, opening the way to march down to Lam Thanh to defeat Nghe An Citadel, occupied by the Ming army. During the Tay Son period, the Le Quoc Cau brothers gathered troops and provisions to support King Quang Trung to establish glorious feats of arms, and were awarded the title "Anh liet Tuong Quan Chi Huy Su Cau Vo Ba". During the Can Vuong period, the people of Dua Lang became a trusted force to help Le Doan Nha build Son Phong citadel and defeat Dua fort occupied by French soldiers. Under the leadership of the Party, the people of Dua Lang rose up to break the grip of feudalism, colonialism and imperialism through historical stages, from the high tide of Nghe Tinh Soviet (1930 - 1931) to the August Revolution (1945) and two long-term resistance wars against the French and the Americans. The patriotism and bravery of the people here were recognized when the State decided to confer the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces on Tuong Son commune (in 1999).

It can be said that Chapter III (Manifestations of the folk culture of Dua Lang) is the central content of the work. Based on the rich and thorough collected and researched materials, Meritorious Teacher Nguyen Thanh Tung has systematized the cultural features that are characteristic of the land of Dua Lang in both tangible and intangible aspects. From residential architecture to production tools, costumes, communal houses, temples, ancestral halls, customs and practices, the people here are conscious of creating a difference. In particular, the presence of the system of communal houses, temples, ancestral halls is a vivid demonstration of the depth of cultural traditions, contributing to the painting of the ancient and cultural features of the homeland of Dua Lang. Like all over the countryside of Vietnam, the people of Dua Lang all entrust their spiritual life through religious activities, thereby expressing their gratitude to the gods and ancestors, expressing their wishes for favorable weather, prosperity and good health. In particular, in Dua Lang there is a significant number of Catholics. The Catholic and non-Catholic people here always live together in harmony. Therefore, there are touching songs: "We are both Catholic and non-Catholic, regardless of religion/ We share the same Fatherland, the same sorrow for the country", and: "Love each other regardless of religion or religion/ Amen, I don't care, the incense doesn't care". In addition, this land also has the presence of the Thai ethnic group, but for generations, the Kinh and Thai people have worked together to build their homeland.

The introduction and selection of poetic works at the end of the work helped readers visualize the beauty of the natural landscape, the countryside as well as the soul of the people of Dua Lang. Most of what Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung gathered in "Dua Lang Folk Culture" has now been brought into "memory" by the flow of time and the changes of history (war, floods, relocation of villages). The cultural features of the past have now become sediments and become nostalgia in the minds of the older generations. As for most of us, the 8X generation, those old features have become strange, not because of accident but because they no longer exist. Perhaps realizing this, in the Conclusion, the author made 3 important recommendations to local officials and people: Correctly identifying the quality and quantity of traditional cultural values ​​of the homeland; Fighting against complacency and self-satisfaction; and Building a social and humane environment.

When reading “Folklore of Dua Lang”, I felt like I was immersed in a cool stream and was truly happy to encounter the cultural layers of my homeland. In addition to this book, Meritorious Teacher Nguyen Thanh Tung has completed the book “Traditional Culture in Anh Son District” and is planning to embark on the project “Ancient Village in Anh Son”. The people of Dua Lang and Anh Son are grateful to him, because of him many traditional cultural values ​​of the homeland have not fallen into oblivion!

Cong Kien