During my business trips, I have had many opportunities to return to Quang Yen, a land rich in cultural sediments and also a town, economic and political center of the Northeast region at one time. Changes over time and the pace of urban life have crept into the simple corners of the countryside, but the village culture here has not been lost. The village in the city is also an easily recognizable feature of the island region of Ha Nam, Quang Yen town.
Ha Nam Island (Quang Yen Town) has long been called “Ha Nam Phong Coc”. The two words Phong Coc are the pride of Ha Nam residents and also to easily distinguish it from Ha Nam Phu Ly area.
Located between 8 wards and communes of Ha Nam island, Phong Coc was formed in the early 15th century with the name Bong Luu, then Phong Luu, then Phong Coc commune, now Phong Coc ward. In 1963, a part of the eastern part of the commune was separated to form Phong Hai commune (now Phong Hai ward).
Up to now, Phong Coc still retains many village cultural features along with ancient relics and traditional customs typical of island village culture.
Writer Duong Phuong Toai, a person who is attached to the Ha Nam Phong Coc region and also the author of the short story collection "Village Anecdotes" told us many interesting and humorous stories about the countryside where he lives, stories passed down from generation to generation that have become common sayings of the villagers, which he calls the village anecdotes. From the story of Qua cau phang, Tu tu ong Nhin, Quay ngang Ba Huan...
Reading stories that are both ancient and modern, traditional and contemporary, we see vividly appear in our minds a densely populated area that, through many generations, has preserved its traditional folk culture for hundreds of years, nurturing its vitality to endure over time, becoming a "cultural code" to identify this land.
Unable to hide his pride when talking about his hometown, writer Duong Phuong Toai said: Our hometown can be said to be a miniature Northern Delta. This land contains many good customs and practices, carries and preserves many historical relics and rich and unique festival culture. This is also the land where the First Princes from Thang Long Citadel came to build dikes to reclaim land from the sea, establish villages and hamlets. And until now, we, the people of Ha Nam Phong Coc, are still proud of our capital origin.
When mentioning Phong Coc, we must mention Phong Coc communal house - the "heart" of the island village. Coc communal house was built in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. It is the largest and most beautiful communal house among the six remaining ancient communal houses in Quang Yen town. With its sophisticated architecture and sculpture, it was recognized as a National Architectural and Artistic Monument in 1988.
Located at the Cua Dinh river wharf, Phong Coc communal house has been associated with the lives of the people of Ha Nam island for centuries and is the place where important cultural activities and festivals take place such as the rain-praying festival, the going-to-the-field festival, and the New Rice Festival.
It is also a place to connect the feelings between families, a spiritual support for the residents of Ha Nam island. Every time talking about Coc communal house, Phong Coc people are more proud of the beauty of an ancient communal house with unique architectural art in the system of Vietnamese communal houses.
In the past, in front of Coc communal house yard was Coc market space, where stalls of all kinds of cakes and local specialties were sold, from sticky rice cakes, gio cakes, honey cakes, nem chao... Now Coc market has moved to another location to make room for organizing festival activities in front of the communal house yard, but following the old tradition, people still maintain a few small stalls behind the communal house, recalling the bustling scene of Coc village and Coc market in the past.
Along with Coc communal house, 6 family temples in Phong Coc have also been recognized as national monuments. In particular, local traditional festivals such as Tien Cong Festival and Xuong Dong Festival are rare cultural features that are being inherited and developed by the ancient Phong Luu people. These are all festivals that have been recognized as national intangible cultural heritage.
The highlight of the Going to the Field Festival is the Rowing Competition held on Cua Dinh River (Phong Coc Ward), becoming a very unique cultural and folk sport activity of the Ha Nam island village with the wish to pray for favorable weather and good crops. In particular, the pole rowing event is a unique feature of Quang Yen that no other region in the country has.
Mr. Ngo Thanh Tung, a resident of Zone 2, Phong Coc Ward, said: In the past, when this land of Ha Nam was born, there was almost no road traffic system and people mainly traveled by water, on wooden boats or bamboo boats. Bamboo boats used oars to row, giving rise to the sport of rowing, while wooden boats had to use poles to push, giving rise to pole rowing. This was also a sport activity to improve the health of working people and at the same time a unique local festival.
Only by participating in the local festival can one fully experience the hustle and bustle of the village festival in town. A whole month before the festival, people have begun practicing for the rowing competition. Every afternoon, the Cua Dinh River in front of Coc communal house is bustling with laughter and the sound of festival drums. Not only young people but also middle-aged people who are still healthy are still enthusiastic about participating in the rowing competition.
The people of Ha Nam island believe that rowing a boat in the festival to the fields is a traditional folk culture, creating a spirit of solidarity and high consensus in the community to do irrigation, fight against harsh nature, protect dikes and crops. Thereby, encouraging and motivating the spirit of labor and production of the people after a bumper crop and preparing for the new crop.
The traditional cultural values of the locality are also preserved and passed on to the younger generation through the experience of rowing a boat on the river for teenagers organized by Phong Coc ward, or singing classes for students of all ages, through which they also understand more about the unique cultural features of their locality, and love the festivals and melodies of their homeland more.
The island village culture has been preserved by the people today in that way for generations, becoming a part of the breath of the countryside in the rhythm of modern urban life. The old Phong Luu village, Phong Coc ward today has been enriched with new cultural values, bearing the face of a new urban area, but there are still red-tiled roof houses, three-room wooden houses, households preserving traditional crafts, familiar places such as Coc communal house, Coc market, Mieu bridge, Cau Cho... imbued with the soul of the countryside, the nostalgia, the pride of Coc villagers today and tomorrow.
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