Preserving traditional crafts

In the past, the Stieng and M'nong people in Binh Phuoc used to pound rice by hand regularly to process rice as a food source for daily use. Nowadays, with the development of society, the practice of pounding rice by hand by these ethnic groups is very rare. They mainly keep the profession to serve tourism and preserve the unique features of their ethnic culture.

Looking for the sound of pounding rice

When mentioning the sound of rice pounding in Binh Phuoc, everyone will immediately think of the place Bom Bo, Binh Minh commune, Bu Dang district. However, nowadays, rice pounding is only for the purpose of serving the needs of sightseeing and experience of tourists when coming to the S'tieng ethnic cultural reserve in Bom Bo.

What is special is that in addition to Bom Bo hamlet, in village 7, Doan Ket commune, Bu Dang district, the sound of rice pounding "cắc khúc cừm" still resounds regularly, still existing in the daily life of the Stieng people.

People in village 7, Doan Ket commune, Bu Dang district still maintain pounding rice, a beautiful part of labor.

After the first pounding, people pour it out onto a tray to sift and separate the husks and rice.

We visited Thi Khe's house, where the elderly in village 7, Doan Ket commune often gather to drink tea, chat and take turns pounding rice. Thi Khe took the opportunity to sift and winnow the rice she had just pounded while chatting with us. Although tired, she was very happy when someone asked about her people's rice pounding profession. She shared: "I have known how to pound rice since I was 12 years old. At that time, my parents often went to the fields, I stayed home to take care of my younger siblings, and then pounded rice to cook for them. Now, sometimes when I have free time at home, I still bring out my pestle and mortar to pound rice for fun."

The results of the inventory of 67 locations where the hand-pounding rice profession of the Stieng and M'nong people in Binh Phuoc province exists by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2024 showed that currently, only one location in village 7, Doan Ket commune still maintains the profession. Village 7 has 90 Stieng households living, of which more than 60 households still maintain the traditional craft of pounding rice with a hand-pounding pestle. Mr. Dieu An (61 years old), a resident of village 7, said that all the elderly in the village know how to pound rice. People here mainly grow rice in the fields, 2 crops a year. When the rice is ripe, people harvest it, in addition to selling it to traders, they also store it in warehouses to eat gradually.

Let the beat of the pestle resonate forever

Nowadays, pounding rice is not done to have rice to cook, but as a way for people to preserve the traditional cultural beauty of their people. Currently, every family here, whether rich or poor, still retains a set of tools including 1 mortar, 2 wooden pestles, 2 winnowing baskets, baskets, pots, jars, bamboo tubes, etc. used to hold rice, pound rice and winnow rice. All family members can do this job and they are encouraging young people to join in. Mr. Dieu Khang, Party Secretary of Village 7, Doan Ket Commune, said: We encourage people to educate their children about traditional ethnic crafts to preserve them. When they have free time, they should try to practice doing it, usually the children will do it with adults.

Young people are also encouraged to do the stages of rice pounding.

Rice that has been winnowed many times is ready to use.

Determining that this traditional craft is at high risk of being lost, the completion of procedures to recognize the hand-pounding rice-pounding craft as a national intangible cultural heritage is being urgently carried out by all levels and cultural sectors. Mr. Pham Anh Tuan, Director of the Stieng Ethnic Cultural Conservation Area in Bom Bo, said that in addition to preserving the cultural features of the Stieng people, Village 7, Doan Ket Commune is also one of the addresses supporting the cultural sector of Bu Dang district and the Provincial Museum, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in conducting research steps to prepare a dossier to submit to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to recognize the hand-pounding rice-pounding craft of the Stieng and M'nong ethnic groups as a national intangible cultural heritage.

In the past, on this land, generations of ancestors pounded rice day and night to the rhythm of the pestle, contributing food to feed the army. Today, that image is still a source of pride not only for the Stieng and M'nong people but also for the people of Binh Phuoc. The fact that the people preserve their profession affirms the simplicity of their daily life and activities, but also contains many cultural and historical values of the nation. And they are making efforts to pass on the sound of the pestle pounding rice in their homeland to future generations.

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