Duong Thai Bac incense making village is busy on the eve of Tet
TB (by Family & Society)•January 28, 2025 16:45
As Lunar New Year approaches, the atmosphere of traditional incense making in Duong Thai Bac village, Phu Thai town, Kim Thanh district (Hai Duong) becomes more bustling and busy than ever.
Duong Thai Bac traditional incense village has been famous for a long time with a history of up to a hundred years. The incense produced here has a unique character that cannot be confused with any other incense on the market, that is why the products made are always favored by customers all over the country.
Incense in Duong Thai Bac is famous for being made entirely from natural ingredients. It is known that the ingredients to create a traditional incense stick include: resin, charcoal, bamboo sticks and especially cardamom roots purchased from regions in Bac Giang, Quang Ninh... Instead of being made by machine, the production steps are done by hand. "By hand, the craftsmen can actively control the amount of cardamom caught in the incense body, that is why handmade incense is more fragrant than machine-made incense", the owner of Nhat Thuy incense production facility shared.
According to the incense producers, the general formula to create incense sticks with the characteristic scent of the craft village is to mix the resin with charcoal powder to form a candle. The craftsman will evenly apply this candle to the incense stick, then roll it on a mixture of sawdust and card, and finally dry it to shape the incense stick. Depending on the family recipe, each household will produce a product with a different scent.
Duong Thai Bac incense village produces incense all year round, but December is the peak season. Workers are mobilized to work day and night to bring the products to market on time, but there is still not enough to sell.
After the incense sticks are stripped of their candles, the craftsman will roll the incense sticks on powdered card and sawdust and then dry them. If the weather is not favorable, businesses will use a dryer to ensure the quality of the products before they reach customers.
Ms. Tran Thi Lieu, the owner of a traditional incense production facility in Duong Thai Bac village, shared: "My family has been making incense for many generations. Up to now, very few families still follow this traditional profession, but we still persevere in selling it because it is the legacy left by our ancestors. This job is not hard and also brings in money, but in return, our hands and feet are always dirty and we are busy from morning to night."
According to Ms. Lieu, the incense sticks in Duong Thai Bac are popular and famous because of their gentle fragrance. Just burning them will make you feel warm, sacred, respectful, and the atmosphere of Tet is coming. In particular, the incense sticks are made from natural ingredients, without using chemicals that are harmful to health.
The incense of Duong Thai Bac traditional craft village is diverse in types and sizes, but the most popular product among customers is still vetiver. The vetiver incense sticks are 38 cm, 43 cm, 70 cm long, in addition, there are also giant incense sticks with lengths from 1.2 - 1.6 m suitable for use in temples, pagodas...
In addition to the traditional markets of Hai Duong, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Bac Giang, Thai Binh, in recent years, incense producers have expanded their markets to some southern provinces and cities.
Each bundle of 100 incense sticks is carefully arranged and packaged before being put on the market. During Tet, many families in Hai Duong and other provinces across the country offer their ancestors fragrant incense sticks to welcome the new year.TB (by Family & Society)
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