(VOVworld) - A northern mountain-style market held at the Vietnamese Ethnic Groups Culture and Tourism Village in Dong Mo, Hanoi, was a highlight of the just-concluded Reunification Day and May Day holiday. The 5-day event provided a new experience for those who had never witnessed the daily activities of northern ethnic groups. Join VOV’s Le Phuong for a day at the market.

Mong and Dao ethnic minority women show their embroidery techniques

The northern mountain market day coincided with the country’s long holiday attracting many visitors from Hanoi and neighboring provinces like Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho, and Bac Ninh. Do Kim Oanh from Hanoi is here introducing her two children to the musical instruments of the Tay ethnic people. She shares her feeling: “I’ve known about the Vietnamese Ethnic Groups Culture and Tourism Village for a long time. But this is my first chance to bring my children to learn about the culture of Vietnam’s ethnic groups. We just visited a booth and learned how ethnic people dye cloth and use melted bee’s wax to draw patterns on the cloth. They already saw brocading.”

Visitors are inspired with brocade weaving

The children are very excited to be witnessing things they’ve only seen on television or read about in books. Nguyen Bao Chau, a 4-grade pupil at Lomonosov primary school in Hanoi, says: “I’m glad to visit the village. I’ve never been there. I see the houses of ethnic people and know more things about ethnic groups living in Vietnam. Now I know how cloth is woven and fabric is patterned. I like fabric weaving most as it looks particularly beautiful when it’s freshly completed.”

The market-day is a joint effort of the ethnic communities of six northern provinces. These are the Mong and Dao ethnic groups of Ha Giang, the Thai of Son La, the Nung of Lang Son, the Muong of Hoa Binh, the Tay of Bac Kan, and the Cao Lan of Bac Giang.

The market area of the Mong and Dao groups lured the most visitors, who wanted to see how the Mong made corn cakes, brewed wine, and cooked ‘thang co’ or horse meat, a traditional dish of Mong people. Dieter Steiche, a Canadian visitor, just tried the specialty and had this to say: “it’s very tasty. I haven’t had that before.”

A corner showing Vietnamese traditional musical instruments

Ho Viet Son, Director of Ha Giang’s Culture Center and head of the Ha Giang delegation, comments on this year’s market day “is being held on a bigger scale with more diverse produce on display.  It’s very busy and features the exact market-days of ethnic groups in the northern region. At this event, our ethnic groups have introduced honey, cardamom tea, and fine arts and handicraft items including pan-pipes and hand-made wood products.”

Sample roasted pork

In the Son La area, Thai girls in colorful traditional costumes are showing visitors the ball which is used in a game called ‘Nem con’, which involves throwing a ball through a ring. The game is often played at Spring festivals. Muong ethnic people have attracted younger visitors with their hand-made dolls, bags, and brocade wallets. Cao Lan people from Bac Giang who are participating in this year’s market-day for the first time have traditionally patterned brocade products to show to visitors. Duong Van Quang, a Cao Lan man from Luc Nam district, Bac Giang, says: “the Vietnam Ethnic Groups Cultural Day has helped us introduce our traditional products to other ethnic groups in the country. This also offers us a chance to restore our traditional textile industry and the craft of ’Giay do’, handmade paper.”

Le Phuong