The 'power' of the village covenant of Boong village

(Baonghean) - For the Thai people in Boong village (Lang Khe commune, Con Cuong), the village covenant is a way of behaving in the community, a strong bond in the face of life's changes.

From Lang Khe commune headquarters to Boong village, it only takes about five to seven minutes by motorbike along National Highway 7A. On the way, Kha Van Kien, the Standing Deputy Secretary of the Commune Party Committee, managed to contact the village management board. “Everyone is at home today. It seems like the village is having some work to do,” he told me after a short phone call.

A corner of Boong village, Lang Khe commune (Con Cuong). Photo: Dao Tuan

"Something" as Mr. Kien announced is that at this time, members of the Boong Village Management Board are gathered at the cultural house to guide people to supplement and edit information to reissue health insurance cards.

When we entered, after the warm greetings, everyone made way for us. We wandered around to look at the series of certificates of merit hanging on the walls of the village cultural house.

There are two things that caught my attention among the many achievements that Ban Boong has been recognized and honored for, which are the Certificate of Recognition as a Cultural Village in 2001 and the Certificate of Merit for outstanding achievements in preventing domestic violence.

The title of cultural village is not worth mentioning, but the commendation for preventing domestic violence is a bit strange. At this time, a young man with a strong, sturdy build, about 26 or 27 years old, approached, shook hands, smiled brightly and said: "Everyone in Boong village is united and happy, so we were awarded this certificate of merit by our superiors." Deputy Secretary Kien introduced: "This is Lo Van Hung - Deputy Secretary of the Party Cell, Head of Boong village".

Chatting, we learned that the village chief just turned 27 this year. Lo Van Hung led us along the wide concrete road running around the village, clearly and precisely listing every number, even every bamboo bush and tree stump in the community.

Boong village management board helps people edit information to issue health insurance cards. Photo: Nhat Lan

Boong village has 101 households and 445 people. The elders say that the villagers have lived along Boong stream for generations. Perhaps that is why the village took the stream's name to name its community. In the past, the villagers lived behind the mountain range, about 2 kilometers from the current location.

“Our village has never been too rich, nor too poor, just right. The good thing is that it still maintains its discipline,” said Mr. Vi Van Hoai, 75 years old, a retired primary school teacher. The most “famous” thing about Boong village is that there have never been any drug addicts or smokers in the village. Even cigarettes and tobacco are rarely used. This can be considered quite special for a highland village located close to National Highway 7.

With a natural area of ​​593 hectares, Boong villagers plow and harrow all year round, farming on 37 hectares of rice, 16 hectares of sugarcane and 9 hectares of cassava. In addition to food production, villagers also grow 16 hectares of acacia and on average each family has 5 hectares of forest to plant to increase income.

Village chief Lo Van Hung added that since the beginning of 2017, the villagers have reclaimed 12 hectares of land for production and farming. And the exciting thing for the people of Boong village is not that each household has a few hundred or a few thousand trees that can be sold for a few tens of thousands of dong each in the season. Drugs and bad habits have not crept into the community's life, that is the good news. Moreover, the villagers are also assured because the village covenant established nearly thirty years ago is still preserved and promoted by today's young generation.

Village covenant of Boong village. Photo: NL

“...With a long-standing tradition, the people in the village have always lived in harmony, solidarity, and have always been diligent and hard-working. Currently, Boong village is increasingly becoming more prosperous and beautiful…”. Those are the opening words of the village covenant.

We already know a lot about the village customs and traditions of the highlands, and have read the written village covenant, but this is the first time we have read the village covenant with 8 chapters and 27 articles, the content is very close and realistic.

There are details that seem simple to people in the lowlands but are very practical for people in the mountains. For example, the content of care and education for mothers and children is stipulated in Article 8, Chapter III: "Pregnant mothers need to have at least 3 prenatal check-ups, must be vaccinated against tetanus and take iron tablets. When giving birth, they should go to a medical facility. In case of giving birth at home, they must invite a trained midwife or village health worker to ensure the safety of both mother and child...".

Similarly, domestic violence: first time warning in front of the whole village, repeat offender fined 100,000 VND, if not corrected will be reported to superiors for handling. The act of stealing bamboo shoots is fined 50,000 VND/bud; stealing sugarcane is fined 20,000 VND/tree. If anyone uses explosives to fish, the fine is 500,000 VND/person/case; using electric shock is fined 200,000 VND/person/case... Anyone who lets buffalo or cow eat bamboo shoots must pay the fine: 15,000 VND/bud; sugarcane is 5,000 VND/tree. With food crops such as corn, rice and other crops, depending on the growth cycle of the plant, the owner whose livestock causes damage will be fined from 1,000 - 4,000 VND/tree...

We brought up the regulations in the village charter and asked the villagers. They all confirmed that doing so was the right thing to do! Ms. Luong Thi Niem (born in 1978) firmly stated, "We must do this so that the village can be peaceful." She said that on the day the women in the village organized Vietnamese Women's Day on October 20, everyone was singing happily when the "curfew" gong rang. Everyone was having a good time but had to turn off the music and put away the "mics".

In Boong village, the curfew is set at 10:30 pm in summer and 10 pm in winter. After that time, if anyone makes noise or causes disorder, the security team will come to their house to warn them. At this time, if anyone comes home late by motorbike, they must get off the motorbike and walk at the village entrance. If they intentionally violate the rules, they will be fined 50,000 VND/time. All fines will be added to the scholarship fund and community service.

All activities and activities in the village must comply with the village covenant (In photo: Mr. Vi Van Vinh upgraded his house after the village covenant was approved). Photo: Dao Tuan

But what we were most excited about was that the youth of Boong village were not allowed to dye their hair blue or red. Ms. Lo Thi Huong, a woman in the village, said: “Before, there were two young men who went to work outside and returned to the village with unsightly hair. The villagers did not allow them in. Then the two of them had to go and dye their hair black before they could go home.” The villagers also said that if the youth of the village dyed their hair, everyone would not play with them or let them go with them. So now no one dares to dye their hair anymore…

Are the village rules of Boong village too strict? We still feel a little uneasy about this as we walk and observe the lives of the villagers.

“All the villagers agree with this village covenant. Every few years, we will add to it to make it suitable. Everyone is the same. If you want the bamboo shoots and the bamboo trees to grow well, you have to keep the buffalo. If you keep the buffalo well, it will also be less sick and ill. If you have bamboo shoots, you don’t have to worry, but if you raise buffalo, you have to take care of it to make it fat,” said Ms. Lo Thi Huong.

Solidarity and unity are what we see and feel in Ban Boong. For the Thai people here, the village covenant is not about the fear of fines. Above all, it is about community behavior, a strong bond in the face of life's changes.

Before parting, Lo Van Hung told us that he was studying Law, under the distance learning system of Vinh University. Hung thought he was studying to prepare for a career change, but according to him, he was "studying to become a village chief" because Boong village currently has 27 party members, all of whom are qualified, and in the village there are more than 10 people who have studied and are studying at colleges and universities.

Dao Tuan - Nhat Lan