For many generations, the Van Kieu people living under the majestic Truong Son mountain range have had the habit of smoking tobacco with pipes. Therefore, the pipes have become a familiar item in their lives and a unique cultural feature. Nowadays, with modern life, the pipes of the Van Kieu people are gradually decreasing. The number of people who know how to make pipes can be counted on the fingers. However, with a special passion, Ms. Ho Thi Ua (73 years old), in Loa village, Ba Tang commune, Huong Hoa district, Quang Tri province, still strives to maintain making pipes.
Mrs. Ua is willing to teach how to make tobacco pipes to those who are passionate about the traditional craft - Photo: ML
Since childhood, the pipe has always been a familiar image to Ua as his grandparents, parents, and people around him often used it. Ua always wondered what was so special about the pipe that made it so closely connected to people. From then on, Ua spent time learning how to make pipes from his grandparents and mother.
The process of making a pipe is not easy, and the materials are also very difficult to find. After many years of learning and practicing making pipes, by the time she was a young adult, Ua had mastered the craft and has stuck with it until now. “Making pipes is not an easy job. The most difficult part is finding and choosing the right clay material. Bending the mold, creating the pipe’s tube, and monitoring the firing temperature are also laborious and require great care,” Ms. Ua shared.
According to Ms. Ua, the main material to make a pipe is clay that is not mixed with impurities. The characteristics of this type of clay are soft, smooth, and flexible. The outermost layer is red, the next layer is gray, and then the black layer. The steps to turn clay into a pipe are not simple, requiring the artisan to have extremely skillful hands, diligence, and patience. All stages of making the pipe are done entirely by hand, prepared by the artisan herself. After being collected, the clay will be kneaded to achieve a soft, smooth texture.
Then each sample is rolled up separately, about the size of a chicken egg. Each sample will be carefully and meticulously molded according to the shape of the pipe. Another very important step is to create the pipe's vent, how to ventilate the pipe, without losing its characteristic shape, ensuring the aesthetics of the pipe while giving the user the feeling of fully enjoying the unique flavor of the tobacco grown and processed by themselves.
To do that, Mrs. Ua chooses a piece of iron wire, bends it to fit the pipe, heats it at a high temperature, then skillfully inserts it into the body of the pipe. After completing this step, the pipe will be dried in the sun. Next, it is heated by burying it completely in the ash overnight, ensuring that the temperature gradually warms up and lasts for a long time in order to harden and strengthen the product but avoid cracking.
After a night of heating, if you check and see that the pipe has completely turned from black to red, take it out and place it in a thick layer of rice bran, the purpose of which is to let this layer of bran gradually absorb the heat of the pipe.
When the product cools down and reaches the required temperature, it will turn black. For the convenience of the user, the pipe tube will be extended by Mrs. Ua with a small piece of bamboo root, about the size of a hand span, this tube is wrapped with a thin stylized copper or aluminum ring on the body to create aesthetics and at the same time prevent the tip from breaking. Due to the elaborate nature of the product, not many products are made, mainly serving the preferences and habits of some elderly people in the area.
Now over 70 years old, although her eyes are no longer sharp, her hands are no longer agile, and the income from making pipes is not much, but with the love of her father's profession, Mrs. Ua is determined to keep the profession until her health does not allow it.
Mrs. Ua pondered: “Making tobacco pipes is not simple, finding raw materials is difficult and the process of making the product is even more difficult, it takes a lot of work so very few people want to learn this profession. I am old, afraid that after my life ends, the profession of making tobacco pipes will be lost. Therefore, I am earnestly looking for people who are passionate about the traditional profession to pass on the method of making pipes, helping future generations know that in the cultural treasure of the Van Kieu people, there are still tobacco pipes that have accompanied the lives of the people in the Western region of Quang Tri”.
Minh Long
Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/nguoi-phu-nu-van-kieu-niu-giu-nghe-truyen-thong-188570.htm
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