Ancient Thai writing on tree leaves is at risk of being lost.

(Baonghean.vn) - Documents written in Thai Lai Pao script in Ky Son, Nghe An are very rare and people who know how to use it are even rarer, so the risk of loss is understandable.

Mr. Vi Thanh Tuan's family in Keo Luc 2 village, Pha Danh commune is one of the lucky owners who still preserves a set of ancient books written on tree leaves in Lai Pao script of the Thai ethnic group.

Mr. Vi Thanh Tuan is the fourth generation to preserve the ancient book written on leaves. Photo: Lu Phu

According to Mr. Tuan, this book set has been kept by his family for 4 generations. The set consists of 5 books, with wooden covers, with different drawings, about 25cm long, 5cm wide, tied together by a hemp rope running through the middle of the book. The type of letters and patterns drawn on this leaf are very rare.

An ancient book in Lai Pao Thai script. Photo: Lu Phu

Although he has been the keeper and preserver of the ancient book for nearly 40 years, Mr. Vi Thanh Tuan, like many other elders in the village, cannot read this type of writing. According to Mr. Tuan, his family kept this book because they wanted to translate it into Vietnamese to teach their descendants about the ancient writing of the Thai people in the past.

The family of Mr. Kha Ngoc Minh in Xop Tu village, My Ly commune is also keeping a similar book. For Mr. Minh, ancient books are considered treasures, because of the meticulousness, ingenuity and effort to create them and especially the content hidden inside, mainly recounting folk stories imbued with the identity of the Thai people such as the legend of establishing villages, establishing Muong, stories about the process of fighting foreign invaders...

Mr. Kha Ngoc Minh keeps the existing book. Photo: Lu Phu.

The name Lai Pao in the Thai language of the “Tay Muong” group means “the writing of the Thai people along the Pao River”. Song Pao (called Nam Pao in Thai) is the name of the Ca River (Lam River) of the Vietnamese people in Nghe An province. It is known that at the end of the 19th century, the Thai people in the Song Pao region still used this type of writing in their daily lives.

However, according to incomplete statistics from the Department of Culture and Information of Ky Son district, there are currently only more than 10 sets in the area. Accordingly, there are very few people who still know how to use Thai script, because most of them are elderly and weak, while almost no young people know how to use it.

According to Mr. Lo Van Lieu, Chairman of the People's Committee of My Ly Commune: These books are currently very rare, so if they are not kept and preserved, one day they will no longer exist. Therefore, specialized agencies need to research and take measures to preserve them for future generations, contributing to preserving the national cultural identity.

Lu Phu