At present, in Dak R'mang commune, Dak Glong district, there are over 600 households of Mong people (a minority ethnic group of Viet Nam) residing. During their migration into Dak Nong, Mong people brought along with them a number of traditional customs to preserve and keep thriving in their new home land. Among such customs, Cho phien, a form of organizing weekly market and a place for trading things of Mong people, is considered one of the most impressive.
A long time ago, Dak Glong used to have 2 biggest Cho phien held in Dak Som commune and Dak R'mang commune. However, only Cho phien in Dak R'mang still exists now and has been well invested in term of infrastructure construction by the local authority.
Cho phien was held only on Sunday. On the day of Cho phien, people and vendors from all the ways gather in here to trade in abundance and a wide range of comodities, ranging from brocade, clothing, fine art and craft items, daily use and production tools, to the cuisine with dishes of all kinds.
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| Clothing made from brocade of Mong people is an item that are traded in the largest quantity in Cho phien |
The market starts from the dawn but most of people make their way into the market at about 10 a.m and they often spend the whole day there to trade, entertain and enjoy the cuisine. Especially, one dish that is very appeal to Mong people is Che (a Vietnamese dish that is cook from a lot of things and served with a lot of sugar), which explains why a large number of places are selling the dish at the market but they still attract a lot of buyers.
In this market, brocade can be seen available in a very large quantities . The stalls of brocade stand and strech over, one after one, giving a feeling of a flower garden. Mong people's costumes are attached with alot of glass bead. That explains why it takes ones so long to complete a set of brocade clothing, for they have to spend much time for fixing these bead onto their brocade by hands.
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| Production materials and tools are displayed for people to purchase |
Mr Toan, a clothing stall's owner in Cho phien saids: "My family has moved from Quang Son comune to trade in Cho phien for 3 years. Local people here are very friendly, they don't often bargain much and are very easy to trade with. I myself once traded in many other Cho phien in this province, but those markets are not so well managed and there were not so many people there as in this market. That's the reason why our family chose this place to settle in".
Cho phien is also a place for young boys and young girls, man and woman to meet, go out on a date after quite a long time of hard work in their plantations. The custom of men kidnaping women to make them their wives no longer exists, so young girls and women now have no fear for coming to Cho phien alone and are free to talk with boys and men they are interested in. Given its unique and typical characteristics, Cho phien of Mong people can be considered one of the most attractive touristic products of this area of land.
Source: www.baodaknong.org.vn