With skillful hands and a deep understanding of national culture, teacher Son Cao Thang - Deputy Head of the Department of Arts, Tra Vinh University - and his students have crafted hundreds of Khmer pagoda models, traditional miniature hats and masks, contributing to preserving and spreading the unique cultural values of the Khmer people of Southern Vietnam.
Starting from the need to serve teaching, in 2011, teacher Son Cao Thang started building the first Khmer pagoda model. In 2016, he and his student, Mr. Thach Huynh Thuon (Tra Vinh ward, Vinh Long province) opened a facility specializing in crafting traditional hats, masks and miniature Khmer cultural models, among which Khmer pagodas stand out.
In the early days, the facility mainly implemented pagoda complexes including salas, main halls and auxiliary items. In recent years, before the demand for display and teaching of universities and cultural institutions, teacher Thang focused on crafting the main hall model - the architectural soul of Khmer pagodas.
According to Mr. Thang, making Khmer pagoda models is a very difficult task, because the performer not only needs skills but also needs to deeply understand the culture, beliefs and national architecture. The main materials used are cardboard, cardboard, bamboo toothpicks and wood. The stages are meticulously implemented, from sketching the structure of the ribs, building columns and roofs, to decorating patterns, the statue of the goddess Kaynor, the Krud bird, the dragon's head and scales, then lining and coloring.
To date, teacher Thang and Mr. Thuonne have crafted more than 100 miniature pagoda models, recreating many famous pagodas in Tra Vinh such as: Ang Pagoda, Hang Pagoda... The largest model is Hang Pagoda, nearly 2m long, more than 1m high.
“This is the old main hall model of Hang Pagoda, because during the war, the main hall was destroyed by bombs and had to be rebuilt. To restore the original model, I visited the senior monk many times, learned about documents and images of the pagoda from 1968. This process took a lot of time and effort,” shared Mr. Thang.
Besides the miniature Khmer pagoda, traditional hats and masks are also researched and created by teachers and students with many eye-catching designs and colors. Although the size is only within the palm of the hand, the products still retain the three-layer layout characteristic of Khmer hats including the earlobe, body and top, strictly following the mold from their ancestors.
Mr. Thuon said that to suit tastes and improve quality, the group boldly changed materials from paper, fabric, and latex to composite - a durable, lightweight and fast-drying material. Thanks to that, the product has a more sophisticated design, is gold-plated, studded with sequins and beads, creating aesthetic highlights that traditional hats previously did not have.
The process of crafting hats and masks goes through 9 complex manual stages. The most difficult is "soaring soul" for the character's face, requiring the creator to clearly understand the personality and role of each image in Khmer culture.
Currently, teacher Thang's facility has crafted thousands of miniature Khmer cultural models such as pagodas, orchestras, ghe ngo, agricultural tools, fishing gear, hats and masks. Products are priced from 150,000 to 500,000 VND, especially pagoda models are priced from several hundred thousand to tens of millions of VND, depending on size.
Many students and tourists assess that these are unique souvenir products, bearing the strong cultural imprint of Tra Vinh, contributing to preserving and spreading Khmer cultural values in contemporary life.
