Cultural values ​​created from the colors of mountains and forests

Cao Bang is not only famous for its beautiful natural landscape, but visitors to Cao Bang can also enjoy the colorful culinary culture created by the skillful hands of the highlanders; discover and admire the costumes and small bags made of brightly colored brocade. All are processed and produced from grass, trees, flowers and leaves from the natural mountains and forests.

Unique and colorful cuisine

Cao Bang cuisine is a colorful picture, expressing the unique beliefs, customs and practices of the highland people with products closely related to the natural conditions, life and production seasons of this place. The rustic, simple but extremely attractive dishes are prepared from locally grown ingredients, ensuring freshness, rich nutrition and retaining the natural flavor.

First of all, we have to mention the five-color sticky rice dish. Sticky rice is a traditional dish of the ethnic groups in Cao Bang, often made during holidays, weddings, funerals or important days of the community. However, on special wedding occasions, especially Thanh Minh festival, Cao Bang people make five-color sticky rice from grass, flowers and leaves of the mountains and forests such as: purple leaves, sau sau leaves, pandan leaves, boroc phon flowers, gac fruit...

Ms. Long Thi Thao, Phuc Sen commune (Quang Hoa) said: To create vibrant colors for sticky rice, highland women have cleverly used leaves and fruits available in nature, such as red color made from ripe gac fruit, red purple leaves; green color from ginger leaves, pandan leaves; yellow color from booc phon flowers; purple color from purple purple leaves; black color from sau sau leaves... After being washed, the sticky rice is soaked in water from leaves (boiled or squeezed, filtered to get the water). Each color of leaf will be soaked separately for about 1 - 3 hours, then scooped up to drain the rice, then steamed. When steaming, you must also pay attention to put each color in a separate corner of the steamer and not mix them. When the sticky rice is cooked, depending on the family, some families will put it in separate bowls, plates or hold each type in a separate handful. Some families, after pouring the cooked sticky rice out, will mix all the colors together to create a beautiful "rainbow picture", then take it out into bowls and plates to display or worship.

Five-color sticky rice is made from natural flowers and leaves, creating a unique culinary culture of Cao Bang people.

Five-color sticky rice is a testament to the creativity and ingenuity of women of the Cao Bang ethnic groups in using natural ingredients to create unique and meaningful dishes. Visitors to Non Nuoc Cao Bang on the occasion of Thanh Minh festival will enjoy the appeal of this culinary culture. Ms. Ha Minh Hao, from Hai Phong city, excitedly said: I came to Cao Bang right on the occasion of the festival in Quang Hoa district and was attracted by the five-color sticky rice sold by the locals, I bought it to enjoy. What I felt was that each grain of sticky rice was not only attractive because of its eye-catching color but also because of its delicious, soft flavor. The sweet taste of upland sticky rice combined with the gentle aroma of forest leaves creates a unique, unforgettable flavor.

Along with the five-color sticky rice dish, today, skillful and delicate highland women also make five-color sticky rice cakes and floating cakes from the same natural flowers, leaves and fruits. Or the refreshing black jelly made from the primrose or grass jelly plant; white jelly, also known as mac pup jelly, is made from mac pup seeds (in Tay language), a fruit that grows naturally in the forest... All create strange dishes, expressing the unique culinary quintessence of the highland people.

Brilliant brocade of mountainous region

Coming to Non Nuoc Cao Bang in the spring, visitors from near and far will be immersed in the colors of the colorful brocade costumes of ethnic women going to spring festivals. The indigo shirts of the Tay and Nung ethnic groups; the colorful floral dresses of the Mong, Dao, and Lo Lo ethnic groups... Along with that, visitors can freely choose for themselves meaningful and unique gifts imbued with local colors from handmade souvenirs.

The brocade of the Tay people in Cao Bang is famous for its bright, beautiful and durable colors, especially the brocade pattern creation technique created from the reverse side of the product. The main materials for weaving brocade are cotton and silk. Traditional brocade weaving tools include: loom, threading frame, spinning wheel (gon lin), spinning wheel (sloa), go set (khau thuc), comb or cover (vum), shuttle, pattern making card and "pan" used to separate the thread according to the card.

Brocade patterns are a unique cultural feature of the ethnic communities in the highlands. To make brocade costumes, highland women must grow cotton, weave fabric, then dye indigo or embroider patterns, all of which are meticulously done by the skillful hands of the women.

Ms. Nong Thi Thuoc, Luong Noi hamlet, Ngoc Dao commune (Ha Quang) said: Weaving brocade places great importance on technical factors, requiring the craftsman to have skillful hands, creativity and patience. On the brocade of the Tay people, there are usually 5 main colors: blue, red, purple, yellow, white. The patterns on the brocade of the Tay people in Cao Bang are also very rich and diverse: These are geometric patterns (squares, diamonds...), letter-shaped patterns (the letter Hi, the letter Van...), flowers and animals close to life such as: peach blossoms, star anise (asterisk), pear blossoms, horses, birds, crabs, centipedes...

Nowadays, due to the demand for tourism services, brocade products are made into tablecloths, handbags, etc.

Colored yarns are often dyed by women with completely natural ingredients. The colors are extracted from tree bark, roots, leaves, flowers and fruits, helping the product achieve natural color fastness and be environmentally friendly, such as: Indigo leaves create blue color, tree bark, brown roots create earthy yellow or reddish brown, flowers and fruits create bright red, orange, purple colors... The dyeing process is not simply soaking the yarn in the color solution, but also carried out through many repeated steps so that the color is evenly absorbed and long lasting. Artisans must control the temperature, time and color intensity accurately, ensuring that each batch of yarn is of the best quality.

Each ethnic group will have its own unique way of creating patterns suitable for their national costumes. However, embroidery is a popular technique among ethnic groups. With embroidery, people can create natural curves. Women can carry things with them and embroider anywhere at home, in the fields, when going to the market, or going out. Girls learn embroidery very early and by the age of 12 - 13 they have mastered embroidery. In addition, some ethnic groups such as Dao, Mong, Lo Lo... also have a way of creating patterns from beeswax printing.

In addition to being used to make costumes, blankets, curtains, slings, and bags, brocade fabrics are now becoming more diverse due to the demand for traditional handicraft products for tourism, such as bed sheets, mattresses, curtains, vase liners, purses, backpacks, etc.

Ms. Ngo Huong Tham, from Ho Chi Minh City, shared: Every place I travel to, I choose a souvenir such as a scarf, a bag or a phone strap... When I came to Cao Bang, I was attracted by the brocade bags and wallets, so I bought them as souvenirs.

Unique dishes, each product made from brocade carries the breath of nature and preserves long-standing cultural values, passed down through many generations of the people of Non Nuoc Cao Bang. All create a colorful cultural picture of the Northeast region.

Thanh Thuy

Source: https://baocaobang.vn/nhung-gia-tri-van-hoa-duoc-tao-tu-huong-sac-nui-rung-3176068.html