Love of land and people through the pages of books

MSc. Nguyen Hoai Son. Photo: YEN LAN

Folklore researcher Nguyen Hoai Son had the idea of doing this project a long time ago because he realized that the products in Phu Yen are very rich; many products have become specialties such as Da Trang mango, O Loan blood cockles, lobster, crab, etc. He wanted to mention Phu Yen products through the perspective of folk literature, specifically folk songs. “Folk songs about local products have existed for a long time, which shows that local products not only have utility value but also have cultural elements. It is not by chance that O Loan blood cockles are delicious. It is not by chance that Da Trang mangoes are a specialty. These products have undergone the screening of time. Many products are grown by humans, but if the soil, climate, ecological characteristics... are not suitable, they will not be delicious and will not be known by many people. Thus, the products themselves have "zoned", expressing the values of land, climate, production experience of local people... Therefore, the products reflected in folk songs contain knowledge about the land and people", folklore researcher Nguyen Hoai Son shared.

The book Phu Yen products in folk songs is nearly 170 pages thick, including 3 chapters: Overview of Phu Yen province, Natural products and Products created by humans. The appendix summarizes and classifies Phu Yen products in folk songs and genres related to folk songs. Master Nguyen Hoai Son said that he thought about the structure of the book and decided to divide the products into two large groups: the first is natural products that humans exploit, the second is products created by humans. In the group of natural products, he divided them into terrestrial and aquatic groups, plants and animals.

Regarding terrestrial products, we cannot fail to mention the famous products passed down in folk songs:

Clouds cover Sam mountain,

Let's go find Phu Yen agarwood together.

High mountains still have lizards,

Rosewood, ironwood, and ebony resound throughout the region .

Mr. Nguyen Hoai Son explained: “In the past, in Hon Co, a mountain in Ea Trol commune, Song Hinh district, there was a large wind tree forest. Local people often came to this mountain to find agarwood and exploit many types of precious wood... Agarwood and other types of wood such as kien kien, giang huong, go, trac did not stop at high economic value but also had great use value in the lives of Phu Yen people”.

The book Phu Yen products in folk songs. Photo: YEN LAN

Regarding animals, many elderly people in Phu Yen know the folk song:

I love you, I also want to go.

Fear of the tiger of La mountain, fear of the ghost of Bai Dieu.

Regarding aquatic products, the author divides them into: freshwater products, saltwater - brackish water products. The richness of products in Phu Yen is expressed through folk songs:

My hometown has many lakes and marshes.

So much sticky rice, full pot easy to brew

Add more shrimps and prawns

Catfish with many spines, green and easy to catch

Rice in Lau field

Lots of sticky rice, sticky rice in the ponds near the river

Outside copper has inside copper...

(Bald puddles are deep pools of water, smaller in area than lakes).

Saltwater products include countless fish, shrimp, clams, and scallops. Folklore has it:

Delicious fish is Cù Mông fish

Good rice is rice from Phu Luong field.

Regarding man-made products, Mr. Nguyen Hoai Son classified them into groups: agricultural products (rice, corn, potatoes, cassava, vegetables, fruits, beans); livestock products (livestock, poultry); culinary products (food, drinks, cakes and fruits during holidays, New Year, weddings, death anniversaries) and products from traditional craft villages (farming tools, fishing tools, household items, handicrafts, etc.).

Reading folk songs about products, I love my homeland more and more:

Tuy Hoa has a lot of rice and flowers.

I came back here to make a vow for the freedom of humanity.

Or:

Looking up at the Red Land, there is a lot of corn and potatoes.

Looking down at Dong Dai, there is a lot of sugarcane and thatch.

Your love is like Tien Chau fish sauce

Like Triem Duc street, like Quang Minh betel

In the past, people in some areas of Phu Yen had the profession of growing mulberry trees and raising silkworms to spin silk and weave silk. There is a folk saying:

I go to the mat who will sleep?

Who picks the mulberry and who picks the silkworm?

Old mulberry, young silkworm difficult to cross

Ask how your business is going?

Talking about traditional crafts, we cannot help but mention the once famous silk weaving craft in Ngan Son (An Thach, Tuy An) and mat weaving craft.

Cu Du land is a good place to shine.

Which territory is better than Ngan Son territory?

Near An Thach is An Dinh - where some traditional crafts are still preserved to this day. The products of An Dinh have also been mentioned in folk songs:

Who is going to An Dinh with me?

There is basket weaving and fragrant green rice village...

MSc. Nguyen Hoai Son shared: “Phu Yen products in folk songs reflect the richness of the land, and are the pride of the people of Phu Yen. These folk songs are precious intangible cultural heritages, preserving a lot of information about products, natural resources, terrain, geomorphology, land, soil, climate, and folk knowledge containing cultural and humanistic values created by the people of Xu Nau throughout the history of land exploration and development”.

Learning about Phu Yen products in folk songs means exploiting the folk knowledge of this land and the production experiences of local people. Applying folk knowledge combined with economic conditions and modern science and technology can help develop products into local brands.

MSc. Nguyen Hoai Son (pen name Huong Thanh, Huong Thao Truc) was born in 1960, from Phu Tho, currently living with his family in Tuy Hoa City. He is a member of the Phu Yen Provincial Literature and Arts Association, the Vietnam Folk Arts Association, and the Vietnam Journalists Association. He used to hold the position of Chairman of the Provincial Union of Science and Technology Associations, Deputy Director of the Phu Yen Department of Information and Communications before retiring.

Phu Yen products in folk songs is the seventh book by Master Nguyen Hoai Son, after the books: Tuy Hoa folk tales (2001), Tuy Hoa - cultural environment and development (2003), Phu Yen stone cultural heritage (2011), Dong Tac sea village folk beliefs (2011), Mysterious Stone Stele (2013), Hoanh Lam ancient village folk culture (2017) and Tay Hoa proverbs, riddles, folk songs - cultural heritage of a land (2022). In addition, Master Nguyen Hoai Son is also the co-author and co-editor of dozens of books on history and culture.

Folklore research projects express the researcher's own and interesting perspective. Master Nguyen Hoai Son's works are imbued with his love for this land.

That love is hidden in every page of the book Phu Yen products in folk songs.

Source: https://baophuyen.vn/van-nghe/202506/tinh-dat-tinh-nguoi-qua-trang-sach-66514e9/