How to build an ancient stilt house of the Muong people
In the early days of August, a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper visited Giang Mo village, a village of the Muong people , Binh Thanh commune, Cao Phong district, Hoa Binh province. Coming here, it is not difficult to see stilt roofs looming behind the mist.
In the Muong people's poem "Give birth to land, give birth to water" there is also a passage that says: One day Lang Da Can, the first Lang to govern Muong land, went out to trap and caught a turtle. The turtle begged Lang not to kill him, but in return the turtle told him how to build a stilt house. Tortoise teaches: My four legs are four pillars/My two shells are two roofs/My spine is the roof beam/Cut ironwood trees to make pillars/Latches are tied with Giang trees/Ganh grass is used for roofing. This story is considered a classic story about the birth of ancient stilt houses of the Muong people...
According to Mr. Dinh Trong Thinh (46 years old, residing in Giang Mo village), Muong people's houses are mainly made from natural materials such as wood, bamboo, thatch, palm leaves... Wood is a material. Mainly used to make columns and rafters for important parts of the house, so it is necessary to choose good types of wood such as pine, nails, wood, and ironwood. "It sometimes takes a year to find wood, then soak it to avoid termites, and finally dry it before being able to carve it into the house frame" - Mr. Thinh said.
Also according to Mr. Thinh, to build a Muong stilt house in the traditional style, the homeowner needs at least 7-10 experienced workers to undertake important stages, for small houses it takes about 1-3 months, for big houses it takes about 1-3 months. time will be longer. After the carpenter finishes chiseling, the homeowner will slaughter the pig and cow and invite the villagers to eat, and thanks to the whole village, they can build a stilt house.
The Muong people's stilt houses often have an immutable basic rule: a traditional frame, the only differences are the decorations or adding or subtracting some details depending on the homeowner.
Mr. Bui Van Phien (50 years old, a resident of Giang Mo village) shared that the structure of ancient stilt houses of Muong people is usually one room with two wings, two rooms with two wings, three rooms with two wings (3 rooms, 5 rooms, 7 rooms). space...) divided into three planes, the top surface is the loft used to store household items.
Mr. Phien said that the windows and stairs must all be odd numbers 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 depending on the size of the house and the number of doors and steps are also different. According to the concept of the Muong ethnic people, the odd number of stairs represents the wish for the rule of in - out - in so that wealth will not go out and the family will always be peaceful and happy, if the stairs are made with even numbers. then it is unlucky and unlucky.
The stilt house of the Muong people has 2 stairs, the main staircase is located at the right gable, the secondary staircase is at the left gable. The main staircase is for guests to visit, or when the family has important events such as funerals or weddings.
Preserving cultural values through community tourism activities
Ms. Dinh Thi Quyen (45 years old, owner of a homestay) said: "Guests come here mainly to experience the culture of sleeping in stilt houses, rice mills, gongs, ethnic music and dance, campfires and rewards." Muong people's leaf feast cuisine".
According to Ms. Quyen, the whole village has 140 households living but divided into many clusters and tourism clusters with 36 households, each year there are about 2,000 visitors. Visitors come to the village mainly during Tet or summer vacation, where students will experience it for about a week, and in other months they will usually be absent.
Talking with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Luu Huy Linh - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hoa Binh province - assessed that the wooden stilt houses of the Muong ethnic people in Giang Mo village are still very intact. raw and colored by time.
According to Mr. Linh, this can be considered a strong point to develop community tourism in Giang Mo village in particular and Hoa Binh province in general. Currently, all levels and sectors have been having many policies to promote the unique cultural values of the Muong people, thereby promoting the development of community tourism.
