Developing community-based tourism with Giay ethnic people in Ta Van Village

 

 

Located within the area of Muong Hoa valley, about 8 kilometers from Sa Pa Town, Lao Cai Province, Ta Van Commune is a popular destination for those who love to experience a memorable homestay in a local ethnic people’s house and share the dinner with them as a member of their family. 

Being at the altitude of 1,200 – 1,500m, annual average temperature of Ta Van is 15 – 16ºC. Ta Van is home to H’mong ethnic people (occupying nearly 45%) in Den Thang, Xeo Mi Ty and Ta Van Mong villages, Giay people (35%) in Ta Van Giay village, and Dao people (20%) in Giang Ta Chai Dao Village.

Ta Van Commune lies within a picturesque valley with ancient rock field, falls, spring and terrace fields... It is convenient for tourists to travel from here to other well-known destinations in Sa Pa as Lao Chai, Ta Phin, Cat Cat… Ta Van thus is the first choice of tourists on the way to discover Sa Pa. 

Thanks to available potential, Ta Van has become an important community-based tourism commune of Sa Pa District with the participation of 3 - 4 households in 2001, 28 ones in 2008, and now 45. Noticeably, Ta Van Giay is village of more than 20 households of Giay people, mostly taking part in community-based tourism. 

Crossing the suspension bridge over Muong Hoa spring, visitors come to Ta Van Giay. In the early morning, mist and cloud covers the spring making bridge bobbed in cloud. The two sides of the road to the village are fertile terraced fields offered by the green of young corn and rice. Upon arrival at Ta Van Giay Village, visitors are surprised at the beauty from simplicity mixed nicely, courtesy of the houses on stills in the village.

The houses are made of wood with three compartments: the middle one is use to lay altar and receive guests, the right one is bedroom, the left one is kitchen with a garret to keep food. In the middle of door, there is red amulet with yellow paper and a sentence in Chinese script in order to dispel evil spirits.

Giay people in Ta Van cultivate wet rice, forge tools of production, engrave silver and weave fabric. Coming here, visitors will have chances to witness Giay woman making sophisticated jewelry, brocade products.

Under the direction of local government, the village has built spacious houses with full bed cushions, blankets, bathroom, toilets to welcome guests who want to stay here. Besides, Giay ethnic people also learn to communicate with foreigners and do various services to serve tourists. Thanks to community-based tourism development, their lives have been improved, contributing to poverty alleviation.

Visiting Ta Van Giay village, tourists have a chance to enjoy special dishes of Giay ethnic people (Muong Hum grilled fish, Muong Khuong thang co, Bac Ha pork, Van Ban five-color sticky...), local festivals (Nao Cong ceremony, Roong Pooc ceremony), folk games (nem con, danh yen…). 

In order to diversify community-based tourism activities, the village has set up performance team with 30 artists to show special dances, songs of Giay ethnic people as: then dancing, ken dancing, giao duyen singing (dual love songs)…

The friendliness and hospitality of Giay ethnic people in Ta Van are among most memorable things which make visitors desire to go back... 

Source: VNTNews

 

Trying medicinal bathing with the Dao people

Medicinal bathing is a local feature of the indigenous Red Dao in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai . In Ta Phin Commune (Sa Pa District), tourists can spot many families drying herbs in their front yards.

                             

Legend has it that on the last day of the year the Dao boiled leaves from the forest for medicinal bathing before welcoming the new year in. As this practice proves both effective and salubrious, a majority of Kinh people have considered it a unique feature of Red Dao culture. Each barrel of water usually contains at least 10 types of herbs, even up to 120. Every bathroom has a wardrobe to keep personal belongings and visitors feel quite relaxed to bathe in the typical wooden tubs filled with hot water and the aromatic smell of different herbs.

There are two types of bathrooms: a single for one wishing to bathe alone and a double for couples to share.

Stepping out from a steam-filled bathroom, Christine Smith—an American tourist—says; "I feel so relaxed, like being full of energy". Christine is no exception. Other Western tourists also feel the same about medical bathing in Sa Pa after a long trip through north-western provinces. Ly Ta May, 30, says bathing with medicinal herbs is a traditional practice of the Red Dao.

“In our village, either in winter or summer, the whole family boils a big pot of medicinal herbs to fill wooden tubs for themselves to bathe in the hope of curing ailments such as knee, hand, and foot pain, muscle pain, headache, back pain, excess alcohol, fatigue, poor blood circulation, and skin diseases.

“If women take to bathing with these herbs after giving birth, they will recover quickly and have a better blood circulation and beautiful skin”, she says.

Getting medicinal herbs

Red Dao people in Sa Pa are famous for curing bone, joint, and muscle pains, common cold and flu symptoms. Collecting medicinal herbs is no easy task, says Chao Man May from Ta Van Village. “Medicinal herbs grow along the streams or in the forest. If you want to pick them, you’d rather go deep into the forest”, she says.

                                               

Like other Dao women, May has spent time teaching her young daughter about how to pick medicinal herbs where they often grow, and how to tell  the difference between the medicinal plants and poisonous varieties.

“This is very important because some poisonous herbs look much like medicinal ones. Only after about five or six trips to the forest, can my daughter find the right herbs”, she says.

She says the best time for picking medicinal herbs is in the early morning, as the dew preserves the essence of the sky and earth in them.

The Dao only take the branches and leaves, leaving the roots intact for growth until the next time of pruning.

The final step is to chop and dry the herbs in the sun so that they can be used for a long time. However, according to May, using fresh herbs is better than dried herbs.

The Red Dao’s treatment secrets have been passed down from generation to generation. Today, some medicinal remedies are given in Sa Pa as a special tourist service

Preparing water for medicinal bathing is time-consuming. It is boiled with both fresh and dried herbs in liquid form for people to soak up through the skin.

Dr. Tran Van On from Ha Noi University of Pharmacy says: “Each remedy of the Red Dao usually consists of between 10-120 different kinds of herbs, depending on regular or irregular medication”.

After many years of research, On has helped other Red Dao people process several kinds of herbs into pulverized substance for future use. The Red Dao’s medicinal bathing has become one of the northern mountainous province‘s attractions, even though it is still a mystery to foreign tourists who first set foot in Sapa.

Unicorn head making thrives in Nam Dinh

Gao village in Thanh Loi commune, Nam Dinh province, has preserved the age-old tradition of making unicorn heads for the annual full-moon festival which falls in the middle of the eighth lunar month.

During the subsidized economy several decades ago, the villagers decided to establish a cooperative that only made unicorn heads for the festival. 

The cooperative created intricately designed unicorn heads from materials such as used papers, inks, and bamboo supplied by the State, and delivered them to State companies to sell.

Having experienced many upheavals over the years, only three households in the village now earn a living from making unicorn heads. They still maintain the traditional manual work, from building and painting the bamboo frames to arranging and gluing decorative papers to create the final product.

The village is most well-known for making large-sized unicorn heads. Hung, a local villager, says he inherited the craft from his father who specialised in large unicorn heads. He used his own initiative to develop lighter, more durable unicorn heads using cloth instead of paper.

He says he is happy because the trade continues to grow and flourish, and his new products are selling well.

At another house in the village, the entire family is working hard around the clock to deliver products to their dealers on schedule. A small unicorn head costs just VND8,000 (38 cents).

Although the full-moon festival is celebrated only once a year, Gao villagers hope to preserve their traditional craft and make enough money to cover some of their daily expenses.

Making large-size unicorn heads

Cloth pieces are used instead of old papers

The unicorn head is made of rattan and bamboo splints

Gluing the head

The inner framed layer of the head

Unfinished products

Painting the head

Drying the products in the sun

Putting the finishing touch to the product