Faded Phu Hau sedge hammock

(Baonghean) - There was a time when Phu Hau sedge hammocks (Dien Tan commune - Dien Chau) flourished and were known everywhere, but now they are gradually fading away. One day when the old hands of the village give up, the hammock weaving profession in Phu Hau village will only be a faint memory.

On a cold winter afternoon, Nguyen Thi Tam, 87 years old, in Hamlet 3, Dien Tan Commune, is still diligently sitting spinning and weaving hammocks. Her eyes, which were originally nearsighted, are now almost completely blind, but her hands are still nimble. As one of the few people still weaving sedge hammocks in Phu Hau village, Tam does it partly to make a living, but mainly to keep the job. "I have been attached to this job for more than 70 years, it is not easy to give up, when my hands and feet are no longer strong enough to spin, then I will stop!" - said Tam.

Weaving sedge hammocks is a traditional craft of Phu Hau village. In Tam's vague memory, since childhood, he saw the whole village making hammocks. At that time, boys from neighboring villages often came to Phu Hau to sing and flirt to find their lovers, while girls sang back while weaving hammocks. It continued like that until late at night when the hammock group was dissolved. At the age of 15, Tam was able to weave the first hammocks by himself.

Mr. Tam said that he was old now and should be resting, but farming was also very hard for them, so he could not afford to sit around doing nothing. Every month, he earned a few hundred thousand to three hundred thousand dong to help his children and grandchildren, and had some extra money to buy betel leaves...

Mrs. Luu Thi Tuyen rides a hammock at the age of 84.

Phu Hau is an ancient village over 400 years old. Due to the characteristics of a low-lying, saline area, sedge grows all around the village. Hundreds of years ago, Phu Hau people knew how to use sedge to weave beautiful hammocks, which were an indispensable item in every family at that time. More recently, about 20 years ago, if men in Phu Hau worked as fish catchers, weaving hammocks was a job for women, they often gathered together in groups to weave together to both have fun and increase productivity. At that time, the fields along the Nha Le canal were green with sedge all year round, contributing to the unique charm of Phu Hau village.

To make beautiful and durable sedge hammocks not only requires the skillful hands of women, but also goes through many stages. When the craft developed strongly, to have enough materials, people had to go to pick sedge in swampy areas throughout the districts, then go all the way to Thanh Hoa, to Vinh to buy sedge. Barefoot, they walked dozens of kilometers to find sedge and then carried the sedge back to the village...

Phu Hau sedge hammocks with their durable and beautiful features, each hammock has a lifespan of 5-7 years, contributing to the "brand" of the hammock weaving profession here, sedge hammock products are quickly favored by the market inside and outside the province. Therefore, the profession has gone through very prosperous periods.

Ms. Luu Thi Tuyen, also 84 years old this year, in Hamlet 1, has a hunched back but still helps her children and grandchildren raise pigs, take care of the housework and weave hammocks every day. In the small house, bundles of sedge are stacked in the attic, she said, the materials must be prepared in advance to make hammocks for the whole year.

Ms. Tran Thi Ly, the daughter of Mr. Tuyen, married less than 500m from her mother's house, sometimes still takes the time to go along Nha Le canal to find sedge for her mother to make hammocks. Recalling the profession of weaving sedge hammocks, her eyes are full of regret: "When I was young, every day I went to school in the morning, and in the afternoon my sisters and I helped my mother weave hammocks. At that time, the whole village was doing this job. It was hard but very fun. My mother let us weave hammocks to sell as "private capital" to buy books and nice clothes, so we were very excited. Now because the demand for hammocks is low, each hammock costs only 50,000 - 100,000 VND, while the materials are very rare, so people are no longer interested in this profession. Children now go to industrial zones and earn 4 - 7 million VND/month, but when told to learn the profession, they refuse!"

Like some other traditional occupations in the countryside, the sedge hammock weaving profession in Phu Hau is now gradually declining. At its peak, there were only about 10 people left spinning and weaving hammocks, and they were still mainly elderly people.

Article and photos:Thai orchid