Visiting Nho Lam ancient village

(Baonghean)-“Nho Lam coals heavily/ If you are having a good time, come back to Nho Lam”. This familiar folk song of the Nho Lam people not only records the iron ore mining and the once famous blacksmithing industry of the locality, but also depicts the hard, difficult life of the ancient Nho Lam people…

Ancient village vestiges…

Nearly 40km north of Vinh city, Nho Lam village in Dien Tho commune (Dien Chau district, Nghe An) is a typical ancient village of Nghe An. Up to now, through many historical documents and many research works on Nho Lam, people have discovered here many vestiges that converge fully in the periods of human evolution.

Mr. Dang Quang Lien - a person who has done many research works on Nho Lam led us to visit the Ru Ta - Dong Mom relic site on Dai Vac mountain range. Here, there are still many traces of the New Stone Age about 6 thousand years ago. Mr. Lien added: In Nho Lam, a coffin surrounded by ceramics dating back about 2,400 years ago was also discovered, and a series of bronze and iron casting furnaces dating back about 2 thousand years ago. Traces of terraced fields here also show that Nho Lam was once the residence of the ancestors of the Thanh ethnic group about 300 years ago. In particular, Nho Lam still has many traces of the battlefield of the Nguyen Huu Cau peasant uprising and the Le - Trinh war...

Nho Lam communal house has deteriorated and become a market place.

Nho Lam has a traditional iron ore mining profession, so this place is also the cradle of the ancient foundry guild. At its peak, Nho Lam had up to 400 furnaces burning red hot day and night. Before the August Revolution, people still saw the banks surrounding Nho Lam village built with iron slag. Currently, underground in Nho Lam village, there is still a lot of iron slag, traces of the ancient iron ore mining profession left behind...

Many archaeological vestiges have proven the long-standing existence of the ancient village of Nho Lam. However, through many historical events, there were times when the people of Nho Lam had to leave the village to go elsewhere. Legend of Nho Lam village tells that: Once upon a time, the king rode an elephant on a patrol, but the elephant escaped and ran to Nho Lam village to cause trouble. The people of Nho Lam beat the king's elephant to death, so they had to bear a serious crime. The whole village of Nho Lam had to weave a bamboo elephant as big as a real elephant and fill it with copper coins, otherwise the whole village would be killed. The people of Nho Lam worked hard all year round in the fields and kilns, but poverty still followed them. Without money to fill the bamboo elephant, the whole village moved to Non Lieu commune (Nam Dan) to take refuge. Later, when the elephant case was overturned, they returned to Nho Lam to live together. Later, Nho Lam village was burned down by the French colonialists once more because someone joined the army for Mr. Nguyen Xuan On, but the people of Nho Lam still steadfastly defended the village. That strong vitality is passed on to future generations...

Confucian Culture

In the cultural flow deeply imprinted in the thinking and lifestyle of Nghe An people, we recognize a unique cultural feature of Nho Lam village people.

First of all, Nho Lam is the birthplace of many famous families with a tradition of hard work. Nho Lam is a poor village, but in terms of mandarin examinations in Nghe An, it is second only to Quynh village with 318 people passing the imperial examinations, including one person who passed the Dinh Nguyen examination, 19 Han scholars, 4 Pho Bang and Xuan Thi Tam Truong. The hard work tradition of the ancient Nho Lam people contributed to forming the character and culture of the Confucian scholars in Nghe An.

Up to now, in the life of Nho Lam people, there are still many legends, stories, and anecdotes about people's names, land names, and village names associated with the occupations, lives, and personalities of the gentle, honest, and sincere Nho Lam people. Dialects bearing the strong imprint of an ancient village are still used by people in their daily lives. In particular, folk songs, folk songs, folk songs, folk songs, and love duet songs have penetrated deeply into the subconscious of the people, contributing to the formation of the personality and soul of Nho Lam people...

As an ancient village formed a long time ago with the existence of many legends, stories, and anecdotes associated with the system of temples, pagodas, and shrines here, it reflects the spiritual life of the Nho Lam people... However, in Nho Lam today, many cultural features are gradually being lost.

Talking about Nho Lam culture, Mr. Cao Thanh - Chairman of Dien Tho Commune People's Committee expressed regret: "Nho Lam is an ancient village with many unique cultural features, it used to become a beauty in the life of the people in the past. But now, the rapid industrialization and modernization process is putting the cultural space of Nho Lam village at risk of being destroyed. The ancient relics are no longer preserved. We are planning to build a cultural house to preserve the relics as well as the unique cultural features of Nho Lam people, while maintaining the status quo of the relic site and restoring the traditional blacksmithing profession...".

Mr. Dang Quang Lien expressed his concern: “The rapid urbanization without the preservation of cultural relics makes it inevitable that the ancient village will be “deformed”. Nho Lam really needs the attention of all levels of government and people in preserving its cultural identity…”.

Bien Luan