Traditional Mid-Autumn Festival colors in Ong Hao village

Ong Hao village (Lieu Xa commune, Yen My district) during the Mid-Autumn Festival is bustling with the sound of drum making and colorful papier-mâché masks...

Workers take care of each of their products. Photo: Thanh Binh

Ong Hao village during the Mid-Autumn Festival is colorful with green, red, and bright yellow of the masks of the local god, Mr. Teu, and lion dance heads... Along with that is the sizzling sound of the lathe, the clattering sound of the hammer, and the characteristic smell of lacquer.

Crafts like taking care of children

To learn about the drum making profession in Ong Hao village, visitors can visit the house of Mr. Vu Van Hoi, who grew up with the sound of drums since the age of 13. Currently, the artisan at the age of seventy continues his family's traditional profession.

The drums in Ong Hao village are entirely handcrafted from bodhi wood - a durable material that is easy to carve, easy to shape and has good resonance. The drum making process today involves machines, which has greatly shortened the time. However, the health, meticulousness, dexterity and diligence of the craftsmen are still the decisive factors.

“Making drums by hand is like taking care of a baby. In years when it rains a lot, the drum body will be damp and the drum will almost lose its resonance. At that time, hitting the drum with a stick will only produce a flat sound.

If the weather is dry, the drum must be dried in the sun for up to ten days before it turns a golden yellow color, and the sound will be crisp and clear, meeting the standards. In this profession, every midday, the whole family will gather together to dry the drums," said Mr. Hoi.

Layer upon layer of drums are being “sunbathed”. Photo: Khanh Linh.

Layer after layer of drums are being "sunbathed". Photo: Khanh Linh

Mr. Hung, Mr. Hoi's son, is the successor of his father's profession. He confided: "Every profession has its own hardships, so we try to promote and preserve the traditional profession our ancestors left us" - Mr. Hung shared.

Mr. Hung is responsible for turning the drum on the machine. Depending on the size of the drum, he will combine the machine and the sharp knife to make the correct number of turns for the drum (drum body).

The participation of machines has helped lathe workers turn more drums and roll more shipments. Photo: Thanh Binh

Next comes the drum-face stretching. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lanh, Mr. Hoi’s wife, has accompanied her husband in maintaining the profession for many years, taking on the task of stretching the drum-face. The petite woman quickly rotates each circle of the drum to stretch and secure the skin.

Nowadays, villagers have switched from using bamboo nails to using staples. The process of stretching the drum surface is faster but the cost has also increased significantly - Ms. Lanh said.

The skin of the drum must be stretched very tightly so that the sound will be clear and resonant - Ms. Lanh said. Photo: Khanh Linh.

The drum skin must be stretched very tightly for the sound to be clear and resonant - Ms. Lanh said. Photo: Khanh Linh

The final step is to apply layers of red paint to the drums and then continue to dry them. Under the harsh sunlight, the completed drums shine brightly. The boxes filled with drums will continue to reach the children in many provinces and cities such as: Hanoi, Nam Dinh, Thai Binh, Hai Phong, down to Nghe An, Hue, Da Nang.

Creativity in every traditional stroke

Ong Hao village has another traditional craft associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is making papier-mâché masks. The address that visitors can visit is the house of artisan Vu Huy Dong.

For a papier-mâché mask to be brought to market, it must go through three basic manual steps: Molding, dry-mâché, and painting. After choosing a mold corresponding to a specific character, the craftsman will continue to create the shape by pasting cardboard and recycled paper onto each available mold.

Once dry, the masks will be dried in the sun to transform into graceful, humorous shapes imbued with Vietnamese character. The entire process of making papier-mâché masks uses completely natural materials, recycled from old sheets of paper and newspapers.

The mask is made from diluted tapioca starch, 3 layers of dry papier-mâché, and the meticulousness of the craftsman. Photo: Khanh Linh

“The final step of sketching the mask is the most important step because the “artist” must convey the soul of each animal onto each mask, must feel like he and the animal are in harmony, blending into one,” said Mr. Dong.

In addition to the traditional designs, Mr. Dong’s workshop has improved and created 20 more diverse designs, associated with the images of the 12 zodiac animals or familiar folk characters. The masks must harmonize traditional elements, preserve identity, and keep up with modern trends.

“Currently, there are only about 7-8 families still maintaining the traditional profession, so we constantly have to explore, innovate, and renew ourselves to reach children in today's era,” he said.

Many domestic and international tourist groups have visited Ong Hao village to visit and experience making traditional masks. Photo: NVCC.

With the desire to spread traditional crafts to the public, Mr. Dong also connects with cultural organizations and travel companies to turn his toy production facility into a place to welcome domestic and international visitors to visit and experience.

Every weekend, his yard is filled with the laughter of many children and domestic and foreign tourists participating in the experience of making traditional Vietnamese toys.