"Centennial Beauties" and the Secret to Longevity in the Dark Mountains

Unforgettable memories

Under the golden autumn sunlight, Mrs. Lo Thi Thieu (born in 1912), in Ke Tat village, Thach Ngan commune, Con Cuong district, brought a rattan chair to sit in the front yard. When a guest came to visit, Mrs. Thieu smiled toothlessly and replied: "The morning sun is very good, old people sitting in the sun will be less sick and ill". Looking at her still bright eyes and coherent conversation, we were surprised to know that she was about to turn 107 - an age that few people in this world have reached. Mr. Mac Van Hoc (born in 1961), the fifth child of Mrs. Thieu, said: "At that age, my mother can still eat 3 meals a day, 2 bowls of rice each meal, her ears can still hear, her eyes can still see. It's just that moving around and living are quite difficult, she needs the help of her children and grandchildren".

Ms. Lo Thi Thieu is now 107 years old. Photo: Cong Kien

When asked, Mrs. Thieu said: “I don’t remember my age, because it’s been a long time, my peers have all gone to Muong Troi. I only know that in recent years, every year I receive a gift from the Provincial Chairman on Tet, I heard that it is a gift for people who live to be over 100 years old.” Then she told about her childhood and youth, when Ke Tat village was still very primitive, with only more than 10 houses hidden in the middle of the forest, lying at night listening to the howling of gibbons and the roaring of tigers, sometimes near, sometimes far. At that time, she had a different name, but it was so long ago that I can’t remember anymore. Thai ethnic girls often know how to weave, spin silk, and make mattresses when they are just over 10 years old. When they grow up a little bit, they go to the fields to weed, harvest rice, carry corn, and go to the stream to catch fish. Before the age of 20, the beautiful girl from Ke Tat village was accepted by her parents to marry a boy from nearby, named Mac Van Thieu. From then on, the girl began to be called by her husband's name until today.
When she returned to her husband's house, Mrs. Lo Thi Thieu continued with the daily work of a Thai woman. During the day, she was busy with the fields, at night she was busy with the loom, starting work at dawn and only resting late at night. Mrs. Thieu gave birth to 6 children (3 boys, 3 girls) for her husband. Life became more difficult and arduous when the country was at war, her husband often joined the frontline labor groups, carrying food and weapons to the battlefield.

During those years, Mrs. Thieu worked alone in the fields, managed the family and took care of her young children. To date, the old man has passed away for 30 years, and her eldest son, Mac Van Oanh, has also passed away due to a serious illness. Currently, Mrs. Lo Thi Thieu lives with Mr. Mac Van Hoc's family. In addition to her sons, daughters, daughters-in-law, and sons-in-law, her extended family also has nearly 70 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. During holidays and Tet, all the grandchildren gather together, the house is quite spacious but still not enough space to sit. Mrs. Thieu shared: "It would be great to have many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I just hope that God will bless my legs so that I can move around the house, because having to lie in one place is very miserable."

A corner of Ba Ha village (Thach Ngan, Con Cuong) - where Lang Thi Quyet lives. Photo: Cong Kien

The "Five Generations Under One Roof" Family and the Secret to Longevity

Saying goodbye to Ke Tat, we continued upstream to Ba Ha stream, where there was Mrs. Lang Thi Quyet, who was about to turn 103 years old. Compared to Mrs. Thieu, Mrs. Quyet was still quite healthy and alert, able to walk by herself, without needing the help of her children and grandchildren. Her grandfather had passed away a long time ago, and Mrs. Quyet was currently living with the family of her eldest son, Vi Van Hoa.

The woman over 100 years old remembers her life clearly: “Her hometown is in Muong Ham (Quy Hop), where there is a sacred temple and a festival is often held in early spring. During the festival, young men and women often have fun around jars of rice wine, then dance and sing together. At that time, she was young, beautiful and sang well, so many men paid attention to her. But during the fierce war, she signed up to be a civilian worker delivering goods to upper Laos and met Mr. Quyet who knew how to play the reed pipe and leaf reed pipe very well, and they became husband and wife.”

Ms. Lang Thi Quyet: "The secret to longevity is to work a lot." Photo: Cong Kien

Leaving behind her youth and happy years in Muong Ham village, becoming a daughter-in-law in Thach Ngan mountain, Lang Thi Quyet's life encountered many hardships and difficulties. Because this was a remote and isolated place, the mountains and forests were still very wild, at that time the roads were only trails along the mountainside and streams, wild animals often came to harass the village. Sometimes at night, a big tiger came out to bite a small cow to death and then dragged it into the old forest to eat. The corn on the fields and the rice plants in the fields were always destroyed by wild pigs and rats, the couple had to take turns guarding it day and night. But at that time, Ba Ha stream still had a lot of fish and shrimp, going from the fields to the stream to get them was a delicious meal. In the forest, vegetables and bamboo shoots were also readily available, so they rarely had to buy them at the market. The market was very far away, because from here to the center of Thach Ngan commune was nearly 20 kilometers, to Con Cuong town was nearly 40 kilometers, the road was all wading through streams, crossing rivers and climbing passes.

Lang Thi Quyet and her husband have 2 children (1 boy, 1 girl) and 6 grandchildren. Currently, she has 6 great-grandchildren, especially 2 great-grandchildren - the 5th generation, called "five generations living together" (5 generations living together in the same house). According to Mr. Vi Van Que (Mrs. Quyet's eldest grandson), at this age, she still maintains a moderate diet with 3 meals a day, even on tiring days. Notably, up to now, Ms. Quyet has only been to the hospital once, 3 years ago, for a general check-up according to the regulations for applying for preferential allowances for the elderly, not because of illness or disease. Only a few years ago, she occasionally had coughs, but after taking medicine from the commune health station for a few days, she was cured.

Lo Thi Thieu and Lang Thi Quyet with their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Photo: Cong Kien

When asked about the secret to a long and healthy life, Lang Thi Quyet shook her head and then smiled and replied: “Eat vegetables and bamboo shoots from the forest, fish from the fields, bathe in Ba Ha stream water. And work a lot…”.
Leaving Thach Ngan, we had another experience, this land is not only a remote, isolated place, suffering from floods every year, life is still full of difficulties but also has many mysteries. And here there are many people who live long, typically Mr. Thieu, Mr. Quyet...