QUANG NINH – Dao Thanh Phan believes that living in the high mountains and wearing colorful traditional costumes will keep wild animals away.
Binh Lieu mountainous district with undulating hills, more than 100 km from the center of Ha Long city, Quang Ninh. This is a place to challenge visitors to conquer mountain roads, “dinosaur spines” and border landmarks.
The photo is part of the series of photos “Traditional beauty of the Dao Thanh Phan people” taken by photographer Le Cao Hai (also known as Hai Le Cao), 37 years old, during a trip to Binh Lieu in November 2021. Mr. Hai said that for the convenience of traveling, tourists can visit Ha Long Bay, Quan Lan, or Co To islands, then go to Binh Lieu.
Binh Lieu has over 96% of the population are ethnic minorities such as Tay, Dao, San Chi, Kinh, Hoa… In which, the Dao Thanh Phan live mainly in 2 villages, Song Moc A, Song Mooc B, Fine Only, Slot Money.
Dao Thanh Phan women in traditional clothes, often wear a red box, wrap a scarf with a pattern on it and tie a string at the chin, showing grace. Married women often have to shave their hair, eyebrows, and teeth with gold.
Bright costumes and friendly smiles enhance the unique beauty of the Dao Thanh Phan woman. Floral motifs on the headscarf, on the hem of the shirt, and on the hem of the pants use many images reflecting cultural life such as the harrow, cowpea flower in the fields, ginseng flowers, or terraced fields.
The houses of the Dao Thanh Phan people are earthen houses with yin and yang tile roofs. The common point is that they are built in a high place, away from the wind, near the fields and water sources for convenience in daily life. Summer noon is hot, but when visitors enter the house, they will feel cool.
“Perhaps many people come to Binh Lieu because of the beauty of the mountains and forests, and the immense flowers and grass on the border landmarks. For me, the attraction lies in the impressive people and culture of the ethnic minorities, like the Dao Thanh Phan people who have lived in this land for many years,” said Mr. Hai.
Embroidery has long been associated with the life of the Dao Thanh Phan people, from old to young almost everyone knows how to embroider. Before getting married, the Dao girls embroidered their wedding dresses by hand and also made costumes to give to their mother-in-law. They have the concept of living in the high mountains, so wearing colorful clothes will make wild animals avoid.
In October-November, terraced fields are ripe and golden along the border road at Song Mooc, Dong Van commune, about 30 km from the center of Binh Lieu town. People here support and help each other to harvest, on the day of the harvest, they reap from one field to another, sometimes working in the hot afternoon sun and late at night.
Peaceful Binh Lieu. Due to the steep hilly terrain, many agricultural areas can only cultivate one rice season at the end of the year, and the local government organizes the yellow crop as a tourist product, attracting tourists to this place every day. more and more.
After the full moon of December, the Dao Thanh Phan celebrates the early New Year according to tradition, the shaman chooses a beautiful day and then the family celebrates Tet at the ancestral house, where the ancestors of each Dao family are worshiped. Follow (vnexpress)
Photo: Hai Le Cao