Hello everyone, how are you today?
During my recent long trip to Ha Giang province, the northernmost province of Vietnam, I learned many lessons. And one of the most meaningful lessons is about the cunninghamia tree.
First, I would like to introduce the cunninghamia tree. The cunninghamia tree, whose Vietnamese name is Sa Moc, is a coniferous tree. In Vietnam, it is mainly distributed in the northern provinces such as Ha Giang, Cao Bang, and Lao Cai. It is a plant that can reproduce and grow in harsh cold weather conditions. They are tall and upright trees. We can easily see them in the forests here, on the sides of the road or they are planted around and in front of the house as towering guardians.
I paid special attention to this plant when I arrived in Ha Giang. And while living with the Lo Lo people in Lo Lo Chai village, a small village in the northernmost part of Vietnam and adjacent to China, I learned a valuable conservation lesson about the cunninghamia tree.
Lo Lo village and Lung Cu Flag Tower in the distance.
For the Lo Lo ethnic minority, the cunninghamia tree has a very important meaning in their material and spiritual life. In this barren land, cunninghamia trees are the main type of wooden tree and they are used by indigenous people to build houses. Combined with the soil wall, cunninghamia wood is the main frame that forms the houses of the people here (I will soon have another post to introduce the architecture of the indigenous soil houses). And this tree is also planted around the house to protect the house and keep the land because the houses here are mainly built on hillsides or cliffs.
In terms of spiritual life, cunninghamia trees also play a very important role. They are a romantic dating place for couples, a place to rest and chat for everyone. In times of war, the cunninghamia trees were used as both shields and weapons for locals against invaders. According to history, when General Ly Thuong Kiet drove the Song invaders back home, he used a cunninghamia tree to make a flagpole at the top of Dragon Mountain to mark the territory of Vietnam. And to this day, at that location, Lung Cu Flag Tower was built. And the shape of the flag tower also imitates the shape of the cunninghamia tree.
Lung Cu Flag Tower
And besides the great material and spiritual meanings of the cunninghamia tree, I also learned a very meaningful lesson about the conservation of the indigenous people here. While in many places, the trees are cut down excessively leading to depletion and disappearance of the forest, here the cunninghamia tree is very well preserved by the Lo Lo people. According to Lo Lo custom, when a boy is born, each member of the boy's family will plant a cunninghamia tree for him. These trees will be tied with red cloth to distinguish them from other cunninghamia trees. These trees will not be cut down until the boy grows up and gets married. According to the belief of the Lo Lo people, it is the man who builds the house. So when those boys get married, the cunninghamia trees that his relatives planted for him will be cut down to make wood for the house. This is a very wonderful practice that has great conservation significance. The boys do not need to cut down the forest to build a house, but just cut down the trees that their relatives have planted for them.
The houses are built with the wood of cunninghamia trees and soil.
I felt very emotional when I heard about this custom of the Lo Lo people. They are people who live in remote areas, most of them are illiterate and don't even speak Vietnamese, and their daily work is just farming and raising livestock. However, they have a very high sense of preserving the surrounding environment, they live in harmony with the surrounding trees and animals, which many knowledgeable people cannot do. That really taught me a very meaningful lesson and I admire them even more.
