‘Super-talented’ antiques of the Khua people

It was only late March that the Lao wind blew. I just went against those hot winds to go to the house of Ho Thoong, son of the Hero of the People’s Armed Forces (SPV), captain of the armed police of Ho Phom in Ha Vi village, Dan Hoa commune, Minh Hoa district. , Quang Binh.
In the middle of the morning, he fell into a drunken stupor, squatting with his silver head on the threshold. The eyes were fluttering wildly. Seemingly familiar with uninvited guests who came to see us, he waved his hand and said, “Come on!” seems very contemptuous. I told him I wanted to find an ancient book. Just listening, Ho Thoong jumped up like a compressed spring, gave an honest smile.

I laugh, looking back at my sweating, red-dusted body. Perhaps Ho Thoong is right. Not because of money, there is no excuse for groping to this place in the midst of a hot and windy day. Instead of a greeting, he handed me a sarcastic cup of wine, perhaps poured from last night, then quietly turned to the corner of the house, his head so low that his white hair fell down on the wooden floor, his hands respectfully. clasped his chest and began to murmur in vows … Occasionally, Ho Thoong let out a very long voice through his teeth … Not sure what Ho Thoong was praying for, but he dragged us into the sacred space isolated in the house on stilts by the mountainside. Suddenly, a cold wind blew into the small door frame. Ho Thoong shivered. We all shivered. Apparently, Ho Thoong’s ritual to ask the gods to open treasures was fulfilled. Respectfully he took down a glossy brown bamboo tube from the roof, lifted it above his head, and said loudly: Mr. Ho Thoong and leaf book. – Excessive energy! Book of leaves! The book, which each page is a long leaf, was linked together by punching two round holes at the ends and threaded together with small, durable wood ropes. On each page of the book are strange, zigzag words. Due to a very long time ago, the leaf color is yellowish but absolutely no signs of termite, rot. The inscriptions on it are still in color and sharp. Those are the unique antiques I’m looking for. * Khua is a ethnic group belonging to the Bru Van Kieu group. In Quang Binh, Khua people are concentrated mainly in the highland communes Trong Hoa, Dan Hoa, Minh Hoa district. Indeed, at the top of the mountain touching clouds, the Khua people ‘s lifestyle and lifestyle have been defined by default. It is a mysterious life that is free, wild but delicately faithful. The Turtle relied on the power of the mountains to survive. Incidentally, their homes never went beyond the shade of the mountain. Like never, the Khua people have never made a living beyond the mountain. The mountains give them their soul, take care of them the house rules, take care of them the source of life. The leaf book of the Khua people is a delicate combination of Heaven and Earth. The leaves are above the forest. The squid is obtained from the bile of the fish in the stream. And the wisdom of the Khua people. All blended together to form a tangible cultural product – intangible for centuries. Leaves are intact, soft and smooth. The ink is still fresh in color, black and sharp. Here all concepts of “modern” and “industry”, “space” and “time” are subdued. The source of books gives me doubts, what leaves can turn into pages ?! What fish can secrete bitter honey to make text color ?! What kind of durable forest rope is used to connect the small leaves ?! Who has the great brain that invented this totally organic book ?! Folklore researcher Dinh Thanh Du told me: The leaf book was born more than 200 years ago, written in ancient Lao by the Khua people originally from Laos. After settling in Vietnam for a while, the Khua used to use Vietnamese and gradually forgot the Lao language. The number of people who can read ancient Lao is less and less. The leaf book becomes unknown. However, with the traditional method of oral tradition, the legends recorded in the Book of Leaves are still preserved in the Khua Minh Hoa community. Mainly concentrating on three main groups of topics, including: Books and poems with stories of love between couples, love of life; genealogy book copy history, customs and practices and commandments of filial piety – ceremony – meaning …; Martial arts books copy the skills of training and protecting health from nature, how to deal with wild animals … Book of leaves of Khua people. The birthplace and the interesting stories of “High Performance” fascinated me. Overcoming the initial shyness, I squat down to sit by Ho Thoong so I can see more clearly the antiques. Border guard Truong Vy Le gently held me back with a very small reminder, “Can’t I sit there?”. Ho Thoong nodded unanimously. It turned out that I forgot my female identity. In the Khua house, women are not allowed to hang around in the main hall. Because that is where the spirit dwells. Ho Thoong still sits cross-legged on an old and dirty mat. His dry fingers stroked very gently over the zigzag lines that curled across the long, narrow blade. It is said that once upon a time, Lao monks came to build a temple to open a monkhood in Minh Hoa with these special books. I suddenly caught a glimpse of the curving words, elongated fingers, slender bare calves, arched waistlines, curled buttocks, full breasts of young Lao girls, then fell in love with the Lama dance. Vong. Ho Thoong’s face, Ho Thoong’s eyes shone ghostly and he said like entering the book. Specific but full of education. Simple and unconditional. The Khua people are proud to have “Super high performance”. Hundreds of years or even longer, whether read or not, the oral stories from “High performance” has become the light that illuminates every bare footstep groping on each mountain of a person. Enchantment. The children of Ho Thoong family have just been exposed to sunlight from the stream. All naked and glossy black. Seeing that there were strangers at home, they all closed the door, shady discussing what was going on in Bru language. After a while, there is silence. Perhaps they were drawn to Ho Thoong’s story. Curled eyelashes, dark, round eyebrows widened. Small mouths opened up despite the drooling. Green nose brushed horizontally, brushed vertically. But it does not matter because they are growing up in the shadow of the mountain, like the Khua people hiding in the armpit of the mountain for a long time to survive. Ho Thoong’s story is not beginning, not ending. There is a story in the “Pho Ngu Pho”. And there are stories outside folklore. From the legendary god Ku Loong walking the clouds about the wind, the sky, kicking the ground to protect the Khua people’s lives to the story of his father, Hero of the People’s Army of Vietnam Ho Phom – a brave spy on two roofs of Truong Son and Khua participated. fight the enemy to save the country during the anti-American era. Ho Thoong said that this special book belongs to his grandfather, he will give it to his father, and he will give it to his son tomorrow. It all seemed like one word: “Try to keep it. That is the spiritual treasure of the Khua people ”. “Brutalized!”. In the world of the Khua people is a sacred treasure. Therefore, even though it is over the age of a hundred years, “Pho Phoc skillful” still does not have old moss. “Pho strong and talented” still lives shimmering in the minds of Khua people, purifying the Khua people’s way with an invisible but powerful culture, divine culture. Suddenly, “Pho Nguoi is very talented” expresses the cultural identity of Khua, the philosophy of Khua’s human life. Ho Thoong is still handing the pages of the book, staring far to the top of the mountain … Perhaps that is when Ho Thoong added the spirit of Khua from the word “Phoc skillful”. The book is slender and pure like body, like the soul of a new maiden Khua in the morning.