Go to Nghe An

Muong Qua sediments on the banks of the Giang River

Tien Dong • September 25, 2024 09:52

From the eastern slope of the majestic Truong Son range, the Giang River diligently carries water from the towering Pu Lon peak, through the vast, majestic forest of Pu Mat National Park, winding through the lush green banks and then pouring into the Ca River. Although it is only a tributary, about 150 km long, the Giang River contains within itself countless historical and cultural sediments.

Legends of migrations...

On the journey of nearly 130 km, following National Highway 7, through Yen Khe and Luc Da communes, I arrived at Mon Son commune (Con Cuong), which is considered the center of the ancient Muong Qua land. This is a place with a basin terrain, the largest and most fertile place in the upper reaches of the Giang River.

The population living in Mon Son area is mostly Thai ethnic group, followed by Dan Lai and Kinh people. Of which, Thai people make up the majority with more than 80%. Thai people in Mon Son belong to the Thai Man Thanh group, originating from the North, migrating to this land since the 15th century.

Today, Mon Son has nearly 2,400 households, with 9,600 people, in 14 villages. They live mainly around Muong Qua valley, unlike the two Dan Lai villages, who mainly live in Bung and Khang streams in the upper reaches of the Giang river.

“Muong Qua” is a Thai place name, now belonging to the communes of Mon Son and Luc Da. The formation of the place name Muong Qua is associated with the migration of the Thai community from the North to Nghe An hundreds of years ago.

According to researcher Quan Vi Mien, the place name “Muong Qua” has existed for a very long time. This place name was mentioned in the epic of the Thai people in mainland Southeast Asia around the 11th – 12th century, that is the epic Khun Chuong. In this epic, the Muong Chief of the Thai people, Khun Chuong, conquered the land of Tao Qua - the leader of the Pak Can people (of the Mon - Khmer ethnic group), the land of Lan Xang (Laos) bordering the western part of Nghe An today.

According to legend, during the Ly Dynasty, realizing that the Con Cuong land had great potential, a sparse population, and an important strategic location (bordering Ai Lao), Ly Nhat Quang recruited people and soldiers to set up stations to reclaim land and establish villages.

“

The Crow's Nest
The clam and mussel are both fragrant and delicious.
Xai mun lai xai hoai du lac
Oh my gosh, Lao ditch.

Translation:Swing your arms in the middle of the Crow Creation Field
Seeing the bamboo forest along the river (Giang), the bamboo forest is growing well.
Fine sand mixed with white sand is so beautiful!
On that side is Muong Lao.

- Epic of Trong Muong

By the mid-15th century, when Le Loi's army had to retreat to Nghe An to build and consolidate its forces, and when besieging Tra Lan citadel, responding to the spirit of Lam Son's army, people of all ethnic groups enthusiastically joined the army, supporting elephants, horses, weapons, and provisions, joining forces with the army to fight the enemy.

At the end of the Nguyen Dynasty, when the French colonialists began to invade our country, in 1885, King Ham Nghi issued the Can Vuong edict calling on the people to fight against the French. Responding to the Can Vuong edict, the Confucian scholar Le Doan Nha chose the Con Cuong and Anh Son areas as his base of operations. Here, Le Doan Nha received strong support from the Thai chief in Mon Son, Lang Van Ut - also known as Hau Bong.

With the coordination of Lang Van Ut and the Thai chieftains, Le Doan Nha's army controlled most of the French colonial supply routes from the lowlands to the mountains via Route 7. At this time, the army controlled a large area from Anh Son district to Con Cuong district and fought many battles, causing the enemy to be confused and afraid.

Later, when the Communist Party of Vietnam was born, under the direction of the Central Region Party Committee, the first Party cell of the ethnic minorities of Nghe An was established in Mon Son in April 1931 with comrade Vi Van Khang as Secretary. On the night of September 14, 1931, to protest the revolutionary terror of the French colonialists, Vi Van Khang led the people of Mon Son to organize a large-scale demonstration with 300 people at the Con Chua banyan tree, creating a great echo.

Today, both the house of Mr. Vi Van Khang and the Con Chua banyan tree in Mon Son have been recognized as historical relics, becoming red addresses in educating patriotic and revolutionary traditions in this Muong Qua land.

...to the fragrant rice grains of Muong Qua

Lying on the banks of the Giang River, Muong Qua Valley is often irrigated and bathed by fertile alluvial soil. According to the traditional stories of the Thai people in this land, the person who had the great merit of clearing the Muong Qua fields with plump rice grains was Hau Bong - revolutionary patriot Lang Van Ut, also a prestigious Thai chief at that time.

He also called on the people of Phu Quy to help dig a 3km long ditch from Met village (Luc Da) to Xieng village (Mon Son), 5m wide, 4m deep, called Phai Lo ditch or Pun ditch. Currently, this ditch is still being used by the people of Khe Lo, Cang and Xieng villages. When he passed away, the people built a temple, called Pun temple, to commemorate him.

Today, Muong Qua field is over 700 hectares wide, surrounded by towering rocky mountains, providing the famous delicious rice of Con Cuong land. Folklore still circulates the song "Muong Qua rice, Giang river fish", as a concise summary of a countryside rich in identity with rich historical and cultural sediments.

Mon Son people say that Giang River fish is delicious because it is born and wriggles from the freshwater stream, flowing through the crevices of rocks from the core of Pu Mat forest. Then, that water flows into the fields, irrigating the rice plants, helping the rice plants grow well, the grains grow plump, and the bowl of rice retains the fragrant, sticky flavor of the mountains and forests.

The folk recognition is also proof of a fertile countryside favored by nature, creating its own values ​​in the Western space of Nghe An.

Mr. Le Thanh Hai - Secretary of the Party Committee of Mon Son commune also boasted to me that, in the last spring rice crop, in Muong Qua field, people planted more than 360 hectares, the output reached 2,415.6 tons, the economic value reached tens of billions of dong.

In particular, with its available potential, Mon Son is focusing on investing in developing eco-tourism and community tourism associated with historical and cultural sites, focusing on Xieng village and Pha Lai dam area.

According to Mr. Hai, through training and support courses, local people have learned and been guided in tourism services to serve tourists. In addition, they have been linked and cooperated with tourism businesses, contributing to increasing income from tourism activities, while still preserving the cultural identity of their locality.

In particular, in recent years, the local government has also coordinated to organize many highland markets called "Muong Qua markets", attracting thousands of visitors to visit and shop with a variety of products. Contributing to spreading the cultural values ​​of this land.

However, to develop ecotourism and community tourism in this land, there is still much to do. First of all, there must be investment in facilities and infrastructure to serve not only tourism but also people's lives. Along with that is the task of preserving natural resources, respecting the environment and traditional values, building a chain of branded tourism products. It can be associated with cool fish from Giang River and Muong Qua rice bowls as the folk song still circulates.

Leaving Mon Son, leaving Muong Qua valley, when the sound of waterfalls on Giang river gradually fades away. I keep thinking, with the buffer zone of Pu Mat National Park, one of the most important biosphere reserves in Vietnam and the world, what this land needs to take off is perhaps large-scale tourism projects and truly capable investors like what Pu Luong - a nature reserve in Thanh Hoa has done in recent years...