Those who hold national soul in Dalat
In the traditional cultural life of K’ho people for centuries, brocade – weaving has been associated with ethnic women
Forging, long-handled axe making are closely attached to men and become the indispensable items when people go to their fields. Facing the acculturation of modern life, many cultural tradition of the K’ho are at risk of falling into oblivion. In spite of that, in Ta Nung village, Dalat, there are people who are still meticulously teaching brocade -weaving and axe making to preserve the valuable cultural traditions for future generations.
Brocade Weaving
Recommended by officials of Ta Nung village, Da Lat city, we call at Mrs. Co Lieng K’Tieng’s home, at Hamlet 6, Ta Nung village looking at the old woman sitting at the weaving loom with colored threads to make colorful brocades, few people think Co Lieng K’ Tieng is now 105 years old Sticking to the profession since she was 25 years old, when she got married, she has kept the brocade weaving craft for more than 80 years. Old Lieng K”Tieng Hamlet 2, Ta Nung village Da Lat shares “I practised this job for a long time, since l was young although I am old, I still like to do it, because this is my mother’s profession, my grandmother advised us not to abandon the traditional trade, so I want to teach my offsprings so they know about the traditional culture of our people”.
Cherishing ancestors’ values, and endeavoring to retain, preserve, and promote these precious heritages
That is what Lieng K Tieng Ro Je Ha Sung are doing to contribute to the diversity and enrichment of the forms of traditional cultures of the ethnic communities in Viet Nam.
Not only Mrs. Co Lieng K’ Tieng, but her husband as well Mr. Ro Je Ha Sung, 100 years old with their love of traditional crafts, and more important, they don’t want to lose their”father’s profession” that urges him to cling himself to the embers with very simple objects, namely, the hammer, a piece of iron the forging has attached him to the work from the young to the old age to make axes, while imparting the craft to his children and grandchildren, and serving people in farming. Mr. Ro Je Ha Sung says” I learned this profession from my parents and ancestors, now that am getting old and weak, I am rather tired when I work, I still do it, I know if I do not practice this, our children and grandchildren will ignore it, when l practice l want them to learn then start practicing we make tools for people to work at the fields, I know they can buy these tools at market, but the quality of the products is not as good as those i make.
Having a deep understanding of their grandparents’ fear of how to preserve the traditional crafts, after hours of labor, the children and grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Lieng K’Tieng Ro Je Ha Sung gather together to succeed their ascending relatives’ crafts”. The happiest thing now is that all their children and grandchildren know how to weave, and make axes for farming traditional cultural.
By Tuyet Ngoc
