Mai Chau
Trip Start
Feb 17, 2007
1
20
53
Trip End
Sep 06, 2008
Mai Chau,
Vietnam
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Mai Chau is located in the mountains of northwest Vietnam. A trip here is primarily to visit the hilltribe people. It's a traditional culture that goes back generations.
The patriarch of this village is Mr. Nham. His native tongue is not Vietnamese, but Thai. That's two countries away! His ancestors moved to the location quite a while ago. The political borders have since changed but the culture remains.
So how does traditional hilltribe culture work in Mai Chau? If a girl is interested in a boy, she goes to his house to see how many fish tails are on doorpost. That's the sign of a man that can provide for his family. When newlyweds need a house, the whole community comes out to help build it. And when there's a dispute between neighbors, they seek the wisdom of the patriarch to settle it.
That night I saw a hilltribe performance. Colorful costumes and choreographed dancing, of course. Then the bamboo poles came out. Timing is important here. It's a three count beat, like a waltz. A pair of poles are slapped: once on the ground, twice on the ground, then together. So the dancers step in-in-OUT, before the poles catch their ankles.
What makes a performance even more entertaining? Westerners. The whole group was invited to dance through the clacking poles. Good fun. A few bruised ankles in the end. But a new appreciation for hilltribe life. And a healthy thirst afterwards. We all sipped rice wine that had been fermenting in a large coconut. It's a communal event where everybody drinks from a two foot straw placed in the same coconut.
Some performers like to quit their day job. Not in Mai Chau. The next morning we went for a walk around the village. Voila! Some of last night's performers were working in a field and others in a river. It's refreshing to see a traditional culture still practiced in a country that's changing so rapidly.
Next, a wedding in HaNoi
Eric
