Artisan preserves Thai ethnic culture

Lo Van Bien has quietly and without reward spent much of his spare time endeavouring to preserve the Thai ethnic culture. It remains the main goal for the 78-year-old former teacher, a resident at Pa Ket hamlet near Nghia Lo town in the northwestern province of Yen Bai.
Bien was born and raised in the Muong Lo area, considered the cradle of the Thai ethnic group in the entire north-west. He was breast fed to the sound of sweet folk melodies.
At age seven, his parents sent him to a local scholar, Lo Van Pho, to study ancient Thai characters at the cost of 15kg of rice a night.
"I studied with other two boys," Bien said. "The teacher took coal from the fire to write on spathes (leaves) of areca, a type of palm. The three of us learned the characters by heart that way. After two nights, the other two boys quit but I continued until the fifth night to complete all the characters."
During the next two nights, he was able to fluently pronounce the words. Later he studied alone at home. He also searched for ancient Thai books, learned prayers, rules and knowledge of his ancestors from the books.
He also bought books from local families while other families admired his efforts so much they gave him books. That enabled him to collect many ancient Thai books, which he has translated into Vietnamese and had printed in two languages.
The province’s radio and television stations have asked him to give Thai language lessons to news presenters. Many Thai language scholars from universities in Ha Noi have also sought his help to complete their studies on the language and the Thai ethnic group.
"Foreigners come to study the Thai language and culture," he said. "They have stayed with my family for months."
Encouraging
During this month, Bien encouraged every person in his neighbourhood to speak Thai. Every night, he asked some of them to visit and talk in Thai. After 20 days, scholars can speak the language fluently while gathering enough materials for their theses.
At 18, with his wealth of knowledge on Thai ancient people, Bien composed his first song, Thuc Gai (Waking up Girls), for xoe, Thai traditional dance.
During the ensuing 60 years, he has composed songs which have been translated in Vietnamese and Thai for locals to sing at traditional festivals.
He has also passed on to latter generations ancient dances, including Nang Khan Moi Ruou (Offering Wine to Guests), Mua Tung Khan (Dance with Scarves) and Mua Vong Tron Vo Tay (Dance in Circle and Clip Hands). He has also researched and re-organised the Han Khuong festival, a traditional event for the ethnic group.
Two years ago, a network for preserving Thai ethnic group knowledge was established with sponsorship from the Centre for Sustainable Development of Mountainous Regions. Bien was among the first members.
A Thai language course was organised as part of the network for 40 mainly young students. They then have to form a club of ancient Thai language users of 50 members. The club aims to gather Thai books, folk stories, songs and dances to exchange and pass on younger generations.
Bien said the club formation idea made him happy. "I wanted to teach the ancient Thai language to as many people as possible to preserve my ancestors’ folk culture. Now I am satisfied and will not have any regrets if I don’t live much longer. Thai characters have been rekindled. The trouble is how to pass it on and on."
Bien has translated most of the material he has on the history and culture of local Thai people. Yen Bai Museum has sought his help when completing files for recognising some cultural sites of Thai ethnic people like the Hon Trau Forest and Vieng Cong Citadel. Bien has also frequently travelled with other cooks and brocade weaving artisans to HCM City to introduce local Thai culture.