Teacher on mission to save folk culture

      Tran Nguyen Khanh Phong may look a little strange as he bicycles around the mountain villages of the Ta Oi people, rummaging through discarded furniture and tools, but he’s actually on a mission to collect and preserve artifacts of the Ta Oi people.
Some people sneer at him and call him an idiot and other not-so-kind names. Phong doesn’t let this criticism get him down; he’s even proud of it.
His room in the teachers’ quarters at A Luoi High School in the Central coastal province of Thua Thien Hue is only 9 sq.m, but it is packed with objects from the Ta Oi ethnic people. He has been travelling to Ta Oi’s villages for six years to find items worth preserving.
His collection currently numbers around 1,200 objects divided into categories such as musical instrument, tomb items, photographs, and jewellery.
With such an extensive collection, Phong had to send half to his house in Huong Tra District, 90km from A Luoi.
Collecting by chance
After graduating from the Hue University Department of Linguistics nine years ago, Phong couldn’t find a job in the Delta. He applied for a job as a teacher in the mountainous district of A Luoi. But now, after seven years, Phong no longer has any desire to return to the Delta. What keeps him here? His passion for collecting the tools of the Ta Oi ethnic people, who make up more than 80 per cent of the population of A Luoi District.
When Phong first arrived, the mountainous rains and deserted landscape of A Luoi made him long for home. After each lecture on literature at A Luoi high school, he would conceal his sadness by wandering to the Ta Oi people’s houses, where he was always welcomed.
While there, he found himself admiring the natural beauty of the Ta Oi people’s crafts: bamboo china cabinets, pots, jars, baskets and mortars made of rattan and bamboo. Phong asked if he could bring some home with him.
Thirty-three-old Phong, who is now a member of the Viet Nam Ethnic Minorities Culture Association, says: "I only intended to ask for something to decorate my room, at first. But in 2004, when I realised that ipods and modern dances were gradually replacing gongs and students began to dye their hair, I was really worried that Ta Oi culture would sink into oblivion."
Phong's fears seemed to be coming true as he watched many Ta Oi women take off their traditional agate jewellery to wear gold jewellery.
Phong began collecting objects related to the life of Ta Oi people to preserve their quickly disintegrating history.
Building his collection was not easy. He bicycled to villages far and wide, even eating and sleeping with the villagers.
"I often bring biscuits and banh chung (square sticky rice) to have lunch with villagers. I meet the head of the village to present my work in the morning, and then I go around by myself. Sometimes I sleep at the village at night. This is when the Ta Oi people tell me their folk tales and the ditties they sing while they work. I take notes. They also show me their precious things because they know of my work," says Phong.
"Sometimes I need a guide and the Ta Oi people enthusiastically show me around, even though it means giving up their daily wage."
Different languages were an obstacle to Phong’s work so he learnt the Ta Oi language so he could communicate more easily.
Among Phong’s artifacts, his favourite is the corloong tiria (wooden cow bell).
"Now the Ta Oi don’t use this. I found it two years ago," he says.
Phong also likes a set of eight knives made of animal bone.
He says that "these knives were used to polish rattan fibres used to make baskets. They were a gift from a village patriarch."
Phong spent half his salary on a coffin made of a tree-trunk, carved by a family in Hong Bac Commune. He also hired a craftsman in Hong Thai Commune to carve two mam moc (statues used to decorate graves), which weigh 50kg and are 3m tall.
Phong often takes a book, a pen, an old camera and a tape-recorder when he travels to the mountainous villages seeking items to add to his collection.
Keeping his collection in good condition is not a problem for Phong. He got advice from one of his friends, who works in a museum, about how best to preserve them.
"I can collect them and I can keep them in good repair," says Phong, who built four cabinets valued at VND16 million (US$880) to preserve his collection.
Information Centre
Phong has also done research on Ta Oi customs, folk-tales, dances, songs, proverbs, riddles, legends, and traditional food. Phong plans to devote all his life to exploring Ta Oi culture.
Phong is often able to identify the usage of each artefact, which he then confirms with the local government.
Phong has written 150 articles and 50 research papers published in local and central newspapers. In 2005, Phong co-operated with researcher Nguyen Thi Suu to publish the 400-page Truyen Co Ta Oi (Ta Oi Legend). One year later, this book won the interesting book prize from the Viet Nam Publishers Association. Phong’s second book about the Ta Oi people Chang Phuat Na (Phuat Na Lad) was published in 2006 and included 26 other legends.
Phong uses other articles he wrote about the Ta Oi people, such as Nguoi Ta Oi (Ta Oi ethnic people) and Apok Sau Arau Konh, to teach his students.
Though he had no sponsorship or independent funds, Phong still managed to write these books, thanks to the students and colleagues who volunteered to help him translate and collect information.
For Phong, collecting and preserving Ta Oi’s artifacts and culture reflects his love for the Ta Oi people and he hopes his work will help others understand more about Ta Oi life.
"I will build a free cultural information centre for people who want to study and learn more about Ta Oi people," says Phong.