Follow the Red Dao women to explore the culture of Ta Phin village

Follow the Red Dao women to explore the culture of Ta Phin village

Take a step back to Ta Phin, follow the Red Dao women to have more experience completely different from our present life.

Road to Ta Ban - Photo: My Phuong

Mông, Dzao, Giay are the three most ethnic minorities living in Sa Pa district, Lao Cai. Each ethnic group carries in its own distinctive culture and its own appeal. The Ta Phin village, where the Red Dzao ethnic group gathers with traditional customs, is worth a visit.

The land of Sapa is very worthy of the farewell to these poems. Away from the noisy city, visitors are not surprised when the road is stretched on both sides of the terraced fields are ripe gold.
The winding field hugging the hills creates soft curves leading to Ta Phin village.

From Sa Pa town center, you can rent a motorbike to drive yourself to Ta Phin village about 12km to the east. The road to Ta Phin has many steep slopes, winding and rough so make sure that the steering wheel is strong enough to both walk and can be seen here.

The first stop should be Ta Phin monastery - the place where the 12 sisters of the ascetic priests of the Church of the Kito expelled from Japan and consigned to Lao Cai parish.

Although still a ruin, the rest of the time is stone walls, but the monastery retains the unique cultural values ​​and architecture of the French colonial era behind the dusty time.

Ta Phin ancient monastery after the dust time - Photo: My Phuong


For tours to Sapa, please contact Orient Skyline Travel at info@orientskylinetravel.com or visit their websites: https://orientskylinetravel.com & https://orientskylinetravel.net


Going to the center of the village, you should stop in front of a house to send car and walk in the tour because the road is quite small.

When you get off at the beginning of the village, Dao people show hospitality with smiles and greetings, invite visitors and introduce the culture of their ethnicity right in the layout and Arrange the tools.

Dao people usually build houses in three types: houses, stilted houses and half - floor houses, but most of the Dao people in Ta Phin village are very fond of houses with three or five standing (without cheeks) . It is believed that there is a place in the ground floor to have a place to worship Table.
The Red Dwarf usually live two or three generations in a wooden house. In it, they arranged two kitchens, a main kitchen for cooking and an additional kitchen near the door to warm the cold season.
In some corner between, it is not difficult to recognize the vegetables that people store available for use gradually. And at the top of the stairs they have plenty of corn to eat in the year because they harvest only one crop a year.

Some corners in a Red Dao family - Photo: My Phuong

In addition to the main one-year crop of maize and two rice seasons, Red Dao women at home woven brocade or picking leaves in the forest to turn them into unique products to serve tourists want to come home.

In the past, the Dao often used the leaves from the forest to cook bath water on the last day of the year to welcome the new year. Notice that bathing medicine is good for health, many people have the flexibility to open the bath in the village or sell medicine for tourists to bring.

In order to bathe the traditional medicine of the Red Dzao, each tank of bath water often use more than 10 kinds of leaves, sometimes even up to 120 different types.

Ms. Ly Tieng (55 years old) said that with each bucket of bath water, people will have about 3kg of leaves, mixed into a large tank of about 50 liters, boiled in water for about 20 minutes and then when the temperature drops At 50 degrees C, it is possible to dilute the water for 15 - 30 minutes.

With many effects such as cure for aching muscles, bones, joints, flu; or to enhance physical strength for women after giving birth or after being sick.

Especially, if tourists come to Sa Pa mount Fansipan peak, then choose to stay in the red medicine bath to help relieve pain and recovery of health quickly.

Currently selling price of 1kg of bath medicine in the village is about 50,000, quite suitable for tourists.

Dao women often go to the forest to find different types of leaves - Photo: My Phuong

Soaking in hot tub with cigarette smoke smell of the people - Photo: Khac Thanh


Following in the footsteps of the Red Dao women around the village, you may also know that their traditional naming customs are also very interesting. Red Dao people often use some common names such as Ly, Tan, Phan, Lo ... and the naming of the cushion, the name also follows certain conventions.

In every family, the daughters have middle names in the following order: the first daughter whose middle name is Ta, the middle name of the next is Lung, followed by San, Shi, Man. For example, Ms. Li Ta is the first daughter of the family so she has middle names as "Ta", her sister is Li Ling ...
For boys, this arrangement has a little swap position. The distinction of the names of the brothers in the family is the same as that of the daughters: Ta, Lo, San, Su, Man ... but these words are at the end of the name - can be considered their main name .

Assuming there are three brothers in the family, their names will be Lo Lua Lo, Lo Lung Lo, Lu Lu San ....

It is true that the Red Dzao have a relatively easy to remember name and are quite interesting in a certain way.

In addition to these characteristics, the most visible of these cultures is reflected in their traditional attire. All the clothes or towels are wrapped by the hands of the women here weaving.

When wearing, the pattern has created a harmonious balance for the whole dress, showing the close and friendly nature of the Red Dao - Photo: My Phuong

According to the folk concept of the Red Dao, costumes or "luy hâu" include scarves, hats, jackets, pants, belts, leggings and footwear. To create a beautiful costume must have five basic colors, but most are still red.

Head towel (wagon ferry) is decorated with red tiger, kaleidoscope, rectangular shape ... the main color is red and the border is white, now has been simplified and neat design for convenience. daily activities.

With clothes, the main color is still black, waist to roll from 3-4 laps and tied behind. Patterns on the pants are more elaborately embroidered. The color of the hem and the bottom of the trousers are rectangular, red-yellow-white, pine, swastika, and crown-shaped motifs.

When wearing, the pattern has created a harmonious balance for the whole outfit, showing the proximity and friendliness of nature of the Red Dao.

With a simple life around the village, traditional wood firewood, in the house clusters of generations, the Red Dao people are always open to welcome tourists who want to be exposed to what. Newer, more different and can improve their lives through friendly travel services here.

The red scarf and blue suits are patterned in the costumes of the Red Dao women - Photo: My Phuong