House on stilts handed down for 4 generations
There are four generations of people living in Hoa Van Ba’s stilt house, nestled at the foot of a rocky mountain in Na Tong village, Thuong Lam commune, Lam Binh district, Tuyen Quang province. The house has pillars made in iron wood, so big that a person can’t hug. In 2021, he borrowed an investment bank loan to remodel it into the largest house-on-stilts in the village with a campus of thousands of square meters and orchard.
Mr. Ba said that, since childhood, Tay girls and boys have been educated that when there are visitors at home, they must spread blankets, sheets, pillows, and drapes for guests to sleep. After eating, taking a toothpick and a towel and a basin of warm water for guests to wash their hands. When the guests come, the owner will prepare a meal with the best things that the host can have… Those rustic cultural lifestyles are still maintained by him when he welcomes each group of guests to his homestay.
He considers guests as his relatives, so that guests can feel the warm and friendly affection of the Tay people. Thanks to that, in the tourist season, Hoa Van Ba’s house-on-stilts is full of guests. The torches were lit, the flickering fire lit up the darkness, blackening the mountains and the forests. Then the sound of then resounded to the top of the 99 legendary mountains…
Stay in the homestay village to listen to old stories and watch brocade weaving
Lam Binh District has many ancient houses-on-stilts of Tay people, nestled at the foot of majestic and poetic mountains. Mr. Hoa Van Phu is the leader of the group of Homestay 99 Mountains in Thuong Lam commune with 4 homestays.
I asked: Why is the group named Homestay 99 Mountains?
Mr. Phu replied: According to an ancient story, the ancient land of Thuong Lam had 99 phoenixes that came to rest and then flew away. If there were 100 mountains, this place would become the capital. Today, the land of Thuong Lam still has 99 mountains, reflecting in the vast ecological lake. Because of their passion and want to tell the old stories, Phu and his members named their group as Homestay 99 Mountains.
In Lam Binh, many families also choose names associated with the old stories that raise the childhood memories of the Tay people for generations to set for their family’s homestay.
Because of his love of old stories and folklore, from a young age, Mr.Phu went to the forest with the elderly to find folk medicinal plants to cure diseases for the villagers. Therefore, when working as a homestay, he also introduces to tourists the medicines that he has learned.
Guests will be invited to drink the leaf juice that is boiled from the leaves of May An Mot, Cau Doi Mang and May Tung To (Tay language) … This water has been drinking for many years by the Tay people to have a strong stomach and hard legs to climb hills. Guests can also soak in wooden tubs made of medicinal leaves in the forest.
In 2021, officials said that they need women who know how to weave brocade to restore the traditional profession, because Lang Can was previously a large cotton and brocade growing area. Ms. Hoa Thi Nguyet in Lang Can Town have accepted. Because she is a Tay person, since childhood, her soul has been nurtured with national culture, so she does not want meaningful stories and delicate patterns in brocade sheets to remain in story of the elderly.
From the day she accepted the invitation to restore the brocade weaving, when the evening light fell, Nguyet’s house was still lit with electricity. After the creaking of the loom resounds with each woman’s hand rhythm, there is a brocade product with delicate patterns. Products are made to be displayed on the occasion of the festival or delivered to customers who have ordered.
Thanks to Ms. Nguyet, brocade weaving gradually revived in the villages of the Tay people in Lam Binh. Tourists come to visit more. Now in Lang Can town, there are dozens of brocade weavers with nearly 100 women participating.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hien, Vice Chairman of Lam Binh District People’s Committee said that Lam Binh has beautiful landscapes, mountains, rivers, lakes, primeval forests and fields surrounded by mountains.
In recent years, the district has been developing rural tourism in a sustainable way. Visitors to Lam Binh can experience activities such as transplanting, ploughing, fishing, herding buffaloes, pigs, chickens and goats along with ethnic minorities in Lam Binh district.
Through the development of agricultural tourism, the local people are more aware of organic agricultural production. In coming time, the district will continue to have training courses to improve their qualifications and skills in agricultural and rural tourism to ensure sustainability.
Tourism Information Technology Center
