The last weaving looms of Tien Kieu sedge mat village

"I weave a pair of flower mats for you to spread in the middle of the house"

There are few traditional crafts that are as prevalent in poetry, music and painting as mat weaving.

I weave a pair of flowered mats/ For you to spread in the middle of the house/ To invite your parents over/ So you can tell them/ So you can tell them(Warm sunshine of the homeland by musician Vinh An). GoodHelp me with the mat I lie on/ The blanket I cover myself with, the scarf I wear... (folk song)

Historically, Hai Duong had many mat weaving villages, such as Uong Thuong, Uong Ha, Chu Dau, Mac Xa of Thanh Lam district (present-day Nam Sach); Quang Uyen, Chu Uyen (Tu Ky), or Nga Hoang (now Phuong Hoang, Cam Hoang commune of Cam Giang district). However, perhaps, Tien Kieu sedge mat craft village has the most enduring vitality and has been deeply ingrained in the memories of many generations of people here.

Unfortunately, in Thanh Hong commune, there is no record of the birth of this craft village or who is the founder of the craft, who brought the mat weaving craft here. It is only known that the sedge weaving craft in Tien Kieu has existed for hundreds of years. In the past, 6-7 year old children already knew how to weave sedge, color, roll the edges, make jute, and spin the thread. At that time, specialty crops such as lychee and grapefruit had not yet developed in Thanh Hong, but the whole Tien Kieu village was covered with sedge fields. The sedge was green from inside the houses to the riverbank.

According to the experience of mat weavers, Thanh Hong's raw material is sedge grown in freshwater areas, so it is soft, has a characteristic aroma and makes very durable mats, unlike sedge grown in saltwater areas. Tien Kieu villagers choose round sedge plants with flexible, shiny fibers to make mats. This is also called "rice sedge". When the sedge fields gradually change from green to yellow, the sedge is ripe. Now, instead of the endless sedge fields of the past, there are areas growing lychees and grapefruit from houses to alleys, all the way to the Hanoi - Hai Phong highway running through the village.

During the golden age of mat weaving, the whole Tien Kieu village had dozens of hectares of sedge. Now the area has shrunk, the whole village has only a few sao left intercropped with lychee gardens. Lychee and grapefruit are Thanh Hong’s specialties, bringing in large income for the people. Therefore, the sedge fields are shrinking, just as the mat weaving profession is fading away.

Sedge in Tien Kieu is harvested twice a year. The main crop is harvested in the 6th lunar month. The sedge in this crop is more beautiful and even than the "elastic crop". The "elastic crop" is harvested in the 10th lunar month, and is sedge that grows by itself after people cut the roots in the crop in June. Now there is less sedge but this type of plant is more susceptible to pests and diseases than before, so people have to spray more pesticides and disease control. There is not much raw material left, so every time there is an order, people have to go to Thai Binh, Hai Phong to buy sedge, or some traders buy a whole container truck to the village to gradually sell to mat weavers for 25,000 - 30,000 VND per kg of finished sedge.

Fresh sedge is split in half, dried in the sun for 5 days and stored for later use. Each kilogram of fresh sedge when dried weighs only about 2.5 ounces. When weaving mats, the dried sedge is soaked in water to soften it so that it does not break when woven.

Mr. Pham Van Thieu is 65 years old this year. Born and raised in the village surrounded by the creaking sound of the mat weaving looms day and night, he has been in the profession for more than 50 years. Mat weaving has been maintained by his family for hundreds of years, since his great-grandfather. Today, Mr. Thieu's family still has one loom, but only makes mats when customers call to order. Mr. Thieu's wife - Mrs. Nguyen Thi Khuyen was also born here and has been weaving mats for the same number of years.

In Tien Kieu now, only the elderly still do the job during the off-season. There is absolutely no image of young people weaving mats. Although it is a profession that has been with them since their great-grandfathers' time, and has supported them through difficult times of the country, few people are interested in it. Because the income from weaving mats cannot be compared to the salary when they work as workers for businesses around the area.

Mat weaving has been featured in poetry, music and painting, and mats are closely associated with people from birth to death. From birth, children are placed on mats and crawl on the floor. In times of hardship, the dead are buried with only a piece of mat wrapped in a bundle.

Mats are also present in every important event of life. In the past, guests coming to weddings often brought a pair of flower mats as gifts for the bride and groom. Then, before the wedding night, the host also had to choose someone to spread the mat. The person who has the honor of spreading the mat on the wedding bed must be a person of peace, with a happy and harmonious family life. Mats are also present in every important event of the village and the country. Village festivals cannot lack flower mats spread in the middle of the communal house yard for the old ladies to sit and chew betel, the old men to play Tam Cuc, To Tom...

Tien Kieu sedge mats once played such an important role!

Thieu village weaves mats...

Tien Kieu village is also known as Thieu village. Although the mat weaving profession is not exposed to the sun and rain, it requires patience and diligence day and night at home. In the village, there is also a funny verse "Thieu village weaves mats with deep holes", talking about the hardships of mat weavers.

"I weave a pair of flowered mats/ For you to spread in the middle of the house". Weaving mats always comes in pairs. No one weaves one mat, but usually a pair. No one can weave a mat alone, there must be two people.

Chao, go, ngua, lui, are ancient words that the Tien Kieu people have used for hundreds of years to describe actions or parts of the loom. Chao is the action of using a bamboo stick to thread the sedge into the loom through a series of jute strings. The wife "chao" while the husband weaves. Just like that, it takes a whole morning to get a pair of mats.

Tien Kieu mats come in many sizes, but mainly 1.3 m x 1.9 m; 1.5 m x 1.9 m and 1.6 m x 1.9 m. Each pair is sold for 450,000 - 500,000 VND. It's simple to say, but to get a pair of finished mats requires many steps. After weaving, Tien Kieu mats are brought to the village workshop to be printed with flowers, steamed and then dried in 3 dews, 3 suns or 5 dews, 5 suns. Only then can a finished mat be produced, which can be used for 3-5 years before breaking.

There are many types of Tien Kieu mats. The mats used for eating and drinking are made of large, hard sedge fibers, while the small, soft sedge is used for sleeping. The most productive time of the craft village is when eating, Tien Kieu sedge mats are bright red in He market on the 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th and 30th of the lunar month. Nowadays, Tien Kieu people no longer bring their mats to the market, but there is usually a small trader who collects them to sell. Although they are no longer crowded, Tien Kieu mats are still famous far and wide. Children who live far away buy mats as gifts every time they return. Some people who go abroad also bring mats with them to ease their homesickness.

Thanh Hong commune currently has only 11 households specializing in mat weaving. Although the income is not high, many people still stick with the profession with the hope that the craft village will last forever. The elderly in Tien Kieu are always worried that when they are no longer around, who will be left to weave mats. Children nowadays, instead of sitting next to the loom to help their parents weave mats and listen to their grandparents tell stories, are busy studying all day and none of them are interested in the traditional craft. Like the family of Mr. Pham Van Thieu mentioned above, although his grandparents have been in the traditional craft for half a century, none of their children know how to weave.

To preserve the traditional craft, in 2020, Thanh Hong commune received support from the Provincial People's Committee of 4 billion VND to invest in building a 3.7 km road to the traditional craft villages of Tien Kieu and Nhan Bau. The Commune People's Committee organized land clearance. Villagers donated land to widen the road and build a drainage system. That road is now called Lang Nghe Road.

Not born in Tien Kieu, just came here to be a daughter-in-law, but Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha, Vice President of the Farmers' Association, Head of Thanh Hong Commune Radio Station as well as the elders in the village always want to maintain the traditional profession. Even though it is not as prosperous as it was in its most prosperous period, Tien Kieu mat weaving should not be lost, should not be just memories and stories!