Le
Mat Village, 7km northeast of Ha Noi, across the Hong (Red River), has become a
destination known for its snake catching and gourmet restaurants.

Spring blooms: Le Mat villagers perform at the annual festival at the communal house on the lunar New Year. (Photos: VNS)

It plans to host the
first Australian tourists groups this June, following a co-operation between Ha
Noi-based Focus Travel Company and the Australia Pacific Touring agency.

The snake
legend

Many local residents
are skilled at catching wild snake and some households in the 7,000-person
village have prospered from snake restaurants since the early 1990s.

The elderly residents
still talk about a particular snake legend that relates to the village’s
founding and history.

Nguyen Huy Tuong, 76,
a guardian of the village’s communal house, said the village was formed in the
11th century under the reign of King Ly Thai Tong.

According to the
legend, the king’s daughter was boating on what was then the Nguyet Duc River
when a giant snake encircled her vessel, creating a whirlpool that tipped the
boat. Hoang, a farmer, waded into the churning water, slew the snake, and saved
the princess.

The King offered the
heroic farmer gold, jewels and a position in the court, but Hoang refused.
Instead, he asked for land west of the capital where he founded 13 villages,
including Le Mat.

The village still
honours Hoang, the village’s patron saint, at a festival on the 23rd of the
third lunar month.

Residents build a
giant bamboo replica of the snake to re-enact Hoang’s fateful encounter and the
most beautiful girl in the village is chosen to play the princess.

A brush with history: Le Thanh Hai, one of the village’s famous calligraphers, displays his skills for tourists.

The annual three-day
festival draws about 6,000 visitors. During the event, villagers demonstrate net
fishing in the lake in front of the communal house to worship the village patron
saint and the princess.

Tran Nhu Rat, 70, the
deputy head of the relic management board, said.

“The communal house
was built in the 11th century, but it was then moved to a new site, which is its
current location.”

“I heard from old
generations that the first house was built on the wrong site in astrological
terms, which caused the diseases of villagers,” the 70-year-old recalled.

Calligraphy

Le Thanh Hai, one of the village’s
famous calligraphers, has organised a calligraphy performance for tourists at an
old house in the village. He encourages visitors to practice their writing,
while exploring the old house.

Hai, 42, said he wants
to introduce tourists to the art of handwriting that has had such a long history
in Viet Nam.

Snake killer: A man fights against a giant snake in a Le Mat village performance.

“I demonstrate the
reappearance of the prolonged art once seen in rural schools. Confucian scholars
used to write letters in an old fashion while wearing an oriental robe and a
turban,” he explained.

Now, calligraphy is
often written in the Han Chinese script or in Vietnamese characters on paper.
Visitors often ask calligraphers to make them a letter during Tet as a sign of
good fortune for the new year.

“I write many letters
for Vietnamese and foreigners, not only during the Tet festival. People believe
the letters will bring good luck and happiness to their family and friends.”

Hai also explained
that he uses different brushes to write thin and thick letters. He said most
people ask for letters meaning peace, happiness or prosperity.

“Brushes made from
chicken feathers or horse hair are used to write bold words, while brushes made
from cat or rabbit hair is used for thin letters.”

Tourists enjoy the art
by writing words and then bringing home their creations after visiting the
house.

Truong Van Mai, 60,
the owner of a house that was home to five generations, said his house still
remains the best old architecture in the north.

“The house’s structure
is made mostly from ironwood, which keeps the house cool in summer and warm in
winter,” Mai said, adding that the house was restored last year.

“I leave jars of rain
water and plant areca and betel in a small garden. Northerners always offer
visitors tea and betel chewing – a popular custom in Viet Nam.”

He said the village
has several old houses that have survived the rapid urbanisation in recent
years. The construction of new houses has gradually taken the place of the
village’s thatched roof cottages. Visitors now only recognise the rural village
by pictures of banyan trees and the lake in front of the communal house.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News