Lesson 3: Where will the weaving profession go?

(Baonghean) - Weaving is one of the traditional occupations of ethnic minorities. The daily life of the people is closely linked to the mountains and forests, which not only provide food and clothing but also household items. From baskets, trays, chairs to sticky rice presses, all are made from rattan, bamboo, and reed. However, this traditional occupation is currently facing many difficulties stemming from both subjective and objective causes...

Coming to Noong village, Ngoc Lam commune (Thanh Chuong), we visited Mr. Luong Xuan Tho - a bamboo weaving artisan in this resettlement area. Over 80 years old, small in stature, having difficulty walking, and hard of hearing, Mr. Tho is still absorbed in his profession. Holding a sharp knife in one hand and a rattan fiber in the other, he puts all his heart into his work. His wrinkled hands, which seem to be "hard" in old age, look very skillful when holding the knife to whet bamboo. Perhaps this has been his job for decades, and has become a skill, a technique? On the floor are bundles of rattan fibers, neatly arranged, as if they had just been whet by a machine. Seeing guests entering, Mr. Luong Van Tho looked up and nodded, then continued his work.

Artisan Xen Van Quan weaves rattan trays.

When asked, Mr. Tho answered, his hands still nimbly handling the knife and rattan strips. Through the story, we learned that Mr. Tho was whittling rattan strips to weave a fishing basket "ordered" by his son-in-law. When he was young, when Noong village was still located next to the Nam Non river, there were many streams around, with countless fish. At that time, just by bringing the net to the river, the trap, the basket to the stream, there would be a delicious fish meal, sometimes with leftovers to sell or give to other families. Before he was 10 years old, Luong Van Tho already knew how to weave all kinds of fishing utensils. A few years later, he learned from adults how to weave baskets, trays, presses, and chairs. With perseverance and skillful hands, Mr. Tho soon became the best weaver in the area, and many people came to him to weave household items. At that time, the weaving was mainly for help, without any payment. Many people came to him to ask him to teach them how to sharpen bamboo strips evenly, install bamboo strips firmly, and create beautiful patterns. He enthusiastically and happily instructed them. The reputation of Mr. Tho's beautiful weaving spread far and wide throughout the region. People from other villages rowed boats to Noong village to watch and learn how to do it.

Traditional wicker products at the fair.

The Nam Non River was blocked to build the Ban Ve Hydropower Plant, Noong Village and the entire Kim Tien Commune moved to the resettlement area of ​​Ngoc Lam Commune, the production and living space has changed a lot. Faced with that reality, the elders are concerned that the traditional cultural identity of the Thai ethnic group will be at risk of being lost, so they try to find ways to preserve it. In addition to language, costumes, customs and practices, everyday objects also need to be paid attention to for preservation. So, despite his old age and not being as strong as before, Mr. Tho is still busy with weaving. Some people ask him to weave rattan trays, some to weave presses, some to make chairs, some to weave fishing nets to dispel their nostalgia for the Nam Non River. Now, weaving has become Mr. Tho's daily work, the raw materials of rattan, bamboo and reed are collected by his descendants from the forest. The products are sent everywhere for consumption by his descendants. The weaving job has helped her earn a source of income, although not much, but it can help cover the needs of old age. And more importantly, having a suitable job to do has helped Mrs. Tho reduce her sadness and nostalgia for her homeland.

When asked about passing on the craft, Mr. Luong Van Tho shook his head, a look of sadness flashed across his face: “I have told you many times, but none of my children and grandchildren want to learn. Young people today do not have the perseverance and patience. This craft takes about 5 days to make and sells for 120,000 VND, while cutting acacia trees earns nearly 200,000 VND per day. Therefore, no one is interested in the weaving profession anymore.”

Leaving the resettlement area of ​​Ngoc Lam commune, we went up the road to Thach Giam commune (Tuong Duong) to visit Mr. Xen Van Quan, in Phong village. Mr. Quan is 85 years old this year, one of the famous weaving artisans in Thach Giam commune. When we arrived, he was diligently weaving a rattan tray with very skillful movements. Around the porch of the stilt house were hung many pre-woven sticky rice presses of different sizes. Seeing visitors, Mr. Quan paused his weaving to chat. Like the men of the Thai ethnic village in the past, Mr. Quan learned to weave very early, before he was even a teenager. Starting with simple items such as fishing baskets, rattan chairs, to items requiring high techniques such as sticky rice presses, rattan trays and trays. At present, very few people follow the weaving profession, in the whole Phong village there are only a few people still practicing it. Mr. Xen Van Quan used to be in the army, then returned to become the head of the cooperative, vice chairman of the commune People's Committee, and an officer of the Elderly Association. When he retired from social work, he returned to weaving because, according to him, there was nothing to do, and his hands felt restless and uncomfortable. Spending time on weaving also contributes to preserving the traditional craft passed down from his ancestors.

However, when talking about the weaving profession, Mr. Xen Van Quan's face showed that he was not happy. This profession is facing certain difficulties, if there is no timely solution, it will face the risk of extinction. First of all, the source of raw materials, rattan is becoming increasingly rare. Because the forest is increasingly narrowing, rattan is also gradually decreasing. This type of tree brought from the forest to grow at home is very difficult to survive, to grow it must go through a complex hybridization process, requiring high technical skills.

Next is the problem of product output. With the development of science and technology, many items are made from many different materials, which are both convenient and suitable in terms of price. That makes traditional woven products face fierce competition, sometimes having to "lose ground". Not to mention that when life changes, some items have their role reduced. For example, many families eat rice instead of sticky rice, so the role of the sticky rice press has decreased. Or streams now have few fish and shrimp, so fishing tools (traps, nets) are rarely used... Recently, hearing that Tuong Duong district is organizing a local goods fair, Mr. Quan wove a series of sticky rice presses, then asked his children and grandchildren to come and sell them at the fair. After 2 days of the fair, his children and grandchildren could not sell any. During the days of the fair in Tuong Duong, we were present and realized that in reality, woven products are very difficult to sell, "choosy" about buyers, most customers just stand to look at the products, few people buy them for use. Similarly, this also happens at the rattan and bamboo stalls displayed at the annual Mon Son - Luc Da (Con Cuong) Festival.

Like Mr. Luong Van Tho and other bamboo weaving artisans, Mr. Xen Van Quan cannot help but worry. This stems from the above-mentioned difficulties, making the young generation not interested in sitting down to shave and install bamboo strips. Mr. Quan shared: “None of my children and grandchildren want to learn the weaving profession, because it takes a lot of effort, the income is low, and there is no outlet for the products...”.

Thus, raw materials, product output and craft transmission are the problems in preserving and developing the traditional weaving profession of ethnic minorities. To solve these problems, it is required that all levels and sectors should soon develop a long-term strategy and at the same time propose specific steps?!

Article and photos:Cong Kien