THANH HOA – The Mong people in western Thanh Hoa replaced the trial of the ca (altar) on the last day of the year. The procession is a piece of paper handcrafted by women in the house.
In mid-December, Mrs. Thao Thi Cho, 56 years old, from Pu Nhi commune, Muong Lat district, and her daughter put binders in the forest flap to look for a tree. In about a week, Ms. Cho will take a break from most of her fields to cut trees and make paperwork to prepare for the new year.
“This is a sacred work indispensable in the cultural life of the Mong. Any family in the village must have a paper for Tet and important holidays in the year …”, Ms. Cho said.
On the last occasion of the year, Ms. Cho and married Mong women in the border district of Muong Lat and Quan Son had to wake up early to make paperwork early. They do not know where this custom comes from and from when, only know it is passed down from generation to generation.
The paper handmade by the Mong people has many names depending on the region. The Mong people in western Thanh Hoa called the village paper. Ms. Cho said, making paper copies does not have a general recipe, but to be beautiful, each family will keep its own secret. Although slightly different, the main raw materials are obtained from the trunk of the tree or the bamboo trees scattered on the hillside. In addition, an indispensable component to form binders is the bark of the viscous plants.
Making paper paper requires dexterity and quite hard work, but men do not participate. Mrs. Cho got married nearly 40 years ago and has been making paperwork for the family for so many years. She was given the job of making paper by her mother when she was a teenager.
After about an hour of walking across several streams, Mrs. Cho also found a satisfactory bush. She started to cut down trees when the bread was flat, beautiful, and not deep. “Need to cut off the eyes, just take the slang part about two gloves long …”, the woman explained.
It took more than half a day, Mrs. Cho’s mother and daughter gathered up two jing-sticks weighing about 40 kg. Near noon, they struggled to return to the village. After eating a handful of sticky rice from sticky rice, the group of Mong women rushed back to the forest to get enough plants to use. It took two or three trips in and out of the forest, for Mrs. Cho to finish searching for materials.
After taking the giang, they continue to look for types of forest trees that contain a lot of mucus, get the bark enough for 70% of the palms or the vines and 30% of the bark is viscous.
In the afternoon, Mrs. Cho and the women in the house gathered together carefully to remove the green pulp (shell), split it into a small stick like a chopstick, and then washed it. In the next step, they put in turn into a large pan to cook together with the bark. Usually, the cooking time takes 12-15 hours. When the bars crack, put out the fire.
The ingredients are then picked out, soaked for 2-3 days and then crushed. They carefully filter the screen cloth to remove the residue and make a paper mixture. “From a young age, I have seen my mother make paper every occasion near the Lunar New Year”, said Ms. Cho, said the process of making paper sounds simple, but when doing it, it feels complicated and difficult.
Material selection determines 80% of paper quality. Giang, neohouzeaua or zucchini must find trees that are green, not deep. When cooking with slime bark, be careful not to let the water dry, if it is burned, it is considered to be discarded. The grinding and filtering time to get the mixture to make the paper must be very even, if the filter is sketchy, the quality of the paper is not smooth, and filter too carefully, the adhesion will decrease, affecting the durability of the paper.
The last step of making paper is to spread the mixture evenly over the mold, let it dry and then dry it. “This stage depends a lot on the weather. If the family does it correctly on a dry day, the paper will be white and smooth, not tarnish. If it rains or has a damp meal, the paper will not meet the requirements. “, Ms. Va Ca Dua from Pu Toong village, Pu Nhi commune, revealed.
H’mong paper sheets are usually 1.2mx 1.5m in size, each family will make 3-5 sheets at the end of the year. External paper is used as a new ceremony (altar) on the 30th of New Year and is also used in many important rituals such as sacrifices, funerals, weddings … It is a meaningful sacrifice between living people and ancestors. The H’Mong’s processing is simply a piece of paper about 30 cm long and 20 cm wide, hanging on the house wall opposite from the main entrance.
Mr. Lau Van Ly, an expert in the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Muong Lat district, is a Hmong person in Pu Nhi commune, so he is very knowledgeable about his father’s paper-making customs. The concept of replacing the ancestral altar paper every year after Tet comes is a ritual to show respect and remembrance of the ancestors and roots of the Mong people.
According to Mr. Ly, the custom of making paper copies of the Mong people has a long time ago. When the girls grow up, before going to their husband’s house, in addition to sewing and embroidery, they also have to know how to make paper copies. They will be taught how to do by the mother.
The Mong people in Muong Lat and Quan Son think that only village paper made by women from forest trees is sacred and used for important work of each family. Today’s market has many types of paper, but nothing can replace handmade paper. “The new year comes, no matter if the family is rich or difficult, they must have a new paper to replace the case …”, Mr. Ly said.
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