Wherever they live, when Vietnamese people hear the words “the South Land” they feel moved.
These worlds conjure up images of a huge bright sky and water. The silt in the Mekong Delta is so rich in nutrients that 300 years after the area was settled by Viet farmers, lush paddies and fruit orchards extend from the ancient districts of Saigon – Gia Dinh to Ca Mau.
Today, people divide “the South Land” into two parts: South – West and South – East. Ho Chi Minh City is considered the center of this area.
The cultivations of this fertile land required a great deal of our forefathers’ efforts. To understand the South Land in general and the South – West in particular, we must look back at the area’s history. Some 450 years ago, Doctoral Candidate Nguyen Binh Khiem (1491 – 1585) spoke the following words to Lord Nguyen Hoang Lord (1542 – 1613), after his brother, Nguyen Uong, had been killed by his brother-in-law Trinh Kiem:
“With a piece of Hoanh Son Mountain, a man can settle down for his entire life”.
These prophetic words shaped the nation’s destiny. A power struggle in the Trinh family had resulted in Lord Nguyen Hoang being sent to the land of Thuan Hoa in 1558. This region was then known as “the dirty and devilish land”. Trinh Kiem felt that by sending Lord Nguyen Hoang to Thuan Hoa he could stop him opposing his power.
Thanks to Lord Nguyen Hoang’s relocation, the country of Vietnam began to expand southwards, into the region that was once Champa (the former Cham kingdom) and Thuy Chan Lap (an ancient kingdom in what is now southern Vietnam and part of Cambodia).
Vietnamese settlers who could not accept the degeneration of the Le Kings and Trinh Lords moved south, armed with swords and gio nop (a type of basket). They brought with them images of Thang Long (Hanoi), pagodas, temple and villages encircled by bamboo fences. They began to cultivate wet rice.
These early settlers were willing to face untold dangers in this strange new land, where unfamiliar statues were worshiped in Cham temples and crocodiles hid in the canals. The 14th century marriage of Princess Huyen Tran and the Cham King Che Man had brought the districts of o and Ly to Dai Viet. They later learned to live with the local faith.
The process of accompanying Nguyen Hoang to the South Land happened in a differently way. In this fertile, challenging and severre land, the settlers began to adapt. For instance, they built their temples differently here. They began to trade on the rivers. Their cooking methods were based on local conditions.
In this area, people covered snake – head fish with clay and frilled it over straw. They invented Vong Co – a passionate traditional music that sprung from Ho Quang Tuong (classical drama) and Ca Hue (Hue court music). They adapted to traveling everywhere by boat. In this wild land friendships grew stronger and people more generous. Life was more exciting, the strict Confucian principle of the north were loosened to from the southern way of thinking that endures to this day.
As time went by, the process of urbanization spread from Ho Chi Minh City and Can Gio to the distant lands of the South. Urban centers like Vinh Long, Soc Trang, Tra Vinh, Bac Lieu and Ben Tre continue to grow. High rises can now be seen in the South –West Land. Nonetheless, this region has kept its river-focused way life. People still live in floating markets. Buffaloes still wallow in the canals and flocks od ducks still feed on the river banks. Some images are imprinted in my mind: Islands covered with fruit trees; drinking honey tea in Mu Tho; rows of boats and canoes on the Tien and Hau Rivers, focks of birds flying over Dong Thap…
This article written by Lanh Nguyen from Vietnam Heritage Travel
For original article, please visit:
No comments:
Post a Comment