Thôn Bình An

We had a beautiful lunch across the Perfume River (yes, it does smell from perfume) and it was accompanied by calm interesting local music (see video).

Our next stop was a town where their primary business was making straw conical (the triangular ones) hats and incense. It was very interesting to watch them make these hats with intricate designs and some that could only be seen when light reflected through them. Of course, their skill, dexterity, and speed in making them was amazing. Conical hats have been made and worn by Vietnamese people for some 3,000 years and are now considered a symbol of Vietnamese culture. These hats can protect wearers from the sun and rain and are also fashionable. Not easy to make: first, material leaves are sun-dried and then soaked in water for about three hours and hung out overnight until they become soft and turn into beautiful ivory color. Then, material leaves are ironed at warm temperature to have a new look, and become smoother and nicer. To turn material leaves into a conical hat, the hat maker whittles thin round bamboo slats and bends them around a frame holder of 16 hems of different diameters. A hat is usually made from two layers of leaves sown together with thin plastic thread. When sewing, the hat maker also adds two fringe hangings on the underside of the hat for wearers to tie a colorful silk ribbon for use as a chin trap. When the sewing is complete, the hat maker adds the finishing touch on the hat, applying a thin coat of varnish made of turpentine mixed with alcohol to increase its gloss, durability and waterproofing.

A “poem conical hat” is made from two layers of leaves with a translucent paper inscribed with poems and drawings inserted between them. The poems and images will appear when the hat is exposed to direct sunlight, giving it the name of “poem conical hat”. Unlike other hats, a horse conical hat is made of 10 layers of carefully dried palm leaves and embroidered with flowers of four seasons, beautiful landscapes or different patterns which used to reflect the ranks of wearers. This is JUST the basics.

Vietnamese people burn incense as a beautiful custom, in death anniversaries and Tet holidays. Vietnamese incense is like a sacred bridge connecting the alive and the spiritual realm. The custom of burning incense was started in Egypt about 3.500 years ago, then passed through China 2,000 years ago and followed the step of Chinese migrants to other Asian countries. Vietnam is one of which has absorbed that special culture.

In the subconscious of every Vietnamese always exists a belief that somewhere in the infinity, there are powers, invisible “people” who are following them, standing by them to listen to their sincere wishes sent with the smoke of incense once it is burnt. A stick of incense in Vietnam plays the role of a sacred connection between the land of the living and the afterworld. Therefore, Vietnamese incense sticks burning is considered a traditional rite indispensable on every occasion. No matter urban or rural, lowland or highland, whenever New Year comes, all houses light sticks of incense and stick them on the ancestral altar to show respect to the former generations, pray for peace and happiness to everyone and let the atmosphere be more warm and joyful.

The incense must be lit in odd numbers 1,3,5,7,9 since in Oriental culture, odd numbers represent positive energy and good luck while even numbers like 2,4,6,8 represent negativeness, carrying heavy miasma (heavy bad odor). Incense in Vietnam is burnt in different number with different purpose: Burn 1 incense stick to pray for peace, fortune and happiness, Burn 3 incense sticks to remind themselves of being calm and kind, Burn 5 incense sticks before big events, needing the observation of sky and earth so that everything can go on in a smooth way and Burn 9 incense sticks in an emergency, in a dilemma when you don’t know what to do.

On the way to Tu Duc tomb and Vong Canh hill, we visited Thuy Xuan to learn about incense making with its distinctive fragrance and high quality. The first step to make incense is collecting 5 materials: cinnamon, cardamom, clove, anise and eucalyptus. They are well mixed with water. Then, the incense “dough” is coated around thin bamboo sticks mostly made in the Nam Dong district (that’s an entirely other complicated process). Then, incenses are dried under the sun. Incenses come in various scents such as cinnamon, lemongrass essential oils, etc. Bamboo sticks used to be only painted brown or red. Now they come in a variety of colors such as purple and yellow. To watch this procedure and how they cover the fanned out (to dry) sticks is amazing.

Now onto the tomb - Lang Tu Ducs tomb (one of the longest reigning monarchs) has unique architecture and perfect harmony with the natural landscape. Tu Duc Royal Tomb was built in the Nguyen Dynasty, started its construction in 1864 with fifty thousand soldiers participating. At this time, the tomb was named Van Nien Co. In order to build the tomb to stay on track in 6 years, hundreds of thousands of people worked on it around the clock. In 1873, the tomb was completed and Tu Duc Emperor still lived for more than 10 years in this place before passing away. Tu Duc Emperor wanted to have a large space to compensate for his difficult life, so he put his heart into his own tomb. The result is Tu Duc Tomb Total Square is about 30 acres.

The layout of the tomb includes nearly 50 large and small buildings scattered in clusters on the land. All the buildings in this overall architecture are accompanied by the word “Khiem” (ironically meaning “modest”).

When you enter and walk the long walkway, the first temple you reach is the former resting place for the emperor. The first building is Chi Khiem Chamber, which worships the wives of the emperor. Then the Khiem Cung Gate, a two-story building with Luu Khiem Lake at the front. This lake is considered a mini park thanks to Tinh Khiem island located right in the middle. On this island, the emperor planted flowers and raised rare animals.

When going inside Khiem Cung Gate, you can reach the king’s resting place named Hoa Khiem Palace. It is located in a central location where the king took care of the country business, but now it is the place to worship the tablets of the king and queen. The king gave Luong Khiem Temple to worship his spirit mother, Mrs. Tu Du.

In the tomb, the king built a royal theater named Minh Khiem Chamber (Minh Khiem Duong) to serve his interests on the opera plays, which is considered one of the oldest theaters of Vietnam. There is a corridor from On Khiem Palace which is the living place of the king’s concubines.

The first tomb area is located behind the worshipping area and named Bai Dinh with two rows of statues of officials to serve the king when he goes across the world. After Bai Dinh is Stele Pavilion (Bi Dinh), which has a 20-ton Thanh Hoa stone steel with the inscription “Khiem Cung Ky” written by the king himself. Khiem Cung Ky has 4,935 words, tells about the life, career, success, failure of the king. Behind the steel are two pillars symbolizing the king’s authority and virtue. Tieu Khiem Lake is shaped like a moon that contains rainwater to wash the soul king before his transcendence!

On the hill across the Tieu Khiem Tri Lake, you can see Buu Thanh built of bricks and in the middle is the mausoleum of Emperor Tu Duc built on 3 floors of stones, but no one knows exactly if the king’s body is really here.

The entire area is laid out in circles and has a certain peaceful harmony and stillness that makes it less of a tomb and more of a park like setting.Read more