It never seems to amaze me, or it always amazes me, I’m not sure. But it would seem that without fail when I think that the adventure must eventually end. There can’t possibly be more. It doesn’t, and there is. I knew that we were headed somewhere in the afternoon. Diem previously informed me that we would be going out with her brother and our neighbor. It seemed like it might be a typical drink out in An Lao, or maybe something to eat.
What I didn’t know was that we were about to embark on a journey many miles further into the mountains to visit a small mountain village by the name of NƯỚC BO. Upon departure, I only knew that we were leaving. Beyond that was a mystery. Diem and I hopped on the back of a motorbike driven by my brother Luan and our neighbor, and beyond An Lao, deep into the mountains, we went.
Vietnamese Forestry
Our neighbor works for the local forestry division, and we headed up into the mountains first to visit his rural station. Timber is a considerable part of the local economy. However, its sustainability and the protection of the forest and the timber fields have become growing concerns in recent years. As we headed deeper into the thick jungle, we passed a few forestry sites working on controlled burns on the mountainside.
There wasn’t much up here save for some terraced rice fields and a few timber camps. The rice fields were accompanied by a settlement of a few rustic houses and not much else. After what felt close to an hour, we came into a more populated village of houses and cross streets. Finally, we had reached the tiny town of NƯỚC BO.
The Hill Station
Our neighbor’s post sat on a hill just on the opposite side of the village. A simple structure of the classic post-war design. Wooden shutters for windows and reinforced concrete walls. We purchased a few green mangoes and young baby jackfruit, sat on the station’s porch, and enjoyed fruit snacks with pounded fermented anchovy dip. After some time enjoying our snacks, we headed to a villager’s house that doubled as a small tavern, and we sat and ordered a few drinks.
Behind the tavern was a small monkey on a chain. I felt terrible for the little guy, but I couldn’t do much. We were beyond the realm of even the Vietnamese. A woman walked by, cradling a small monkey like a baby. Children ran in all directions. We were on the fringe of everything. A place separated by more than just distance.
The H’re Tribe
The H’re tribe, locally known as người Hrê, is an ancient indigenous tribe whose roots date back to the Khmer, or Angkor Empire—one of the 54 ethnic minority tribes that inhabit the edges of society in Vietnam. Speaking a Khmer language derivative, the village and the inhabited possess unique customs and religious practices. They have cultivated rice on the sides of these mountains for thousands of years. The H’re live mainly in the remote regions of Quang Ngai and here in Binh Dinh. We had driven so far into the mountain that we were only a mile from the Quang Ngai border, somewhere just over the impenetrable Jungle mountain.
Life in the more livable areas of Vietnam has seen change, war, and modernization. Here in the remote village, little has changed. Electricity has arrived in recent years. So the tiny mountain hamlet has satellite television, but cell service was unreliable at best. My cellular mobile router was picking up nothing. Only Diem’s Viettel phone was getting a slight signal. Strangely enough, it was the first time I had been completely cut off from the outside world in Vietnam.
Tribal Culture
For the most part, the village is self-sufficient. The culture here is rich in mountainside terraced rice cultivation and an ages-old loom-based textile cottage industry. However, weaving and fabric making have declined in recent decades with the advent of the massive textile industry across Vietnam. The tribe practices an ancient form of animism, combined with remnants of Hinduism. But is, for most purposes, without any naturally organized religion. The H’re celebrated at this time of the year but of a very different nature.
Buffalo Stabbing Festival
The buffalo is an essential part of the mountain tribe’s lifestyle. A beast of burden, the water buffalo provides both labor and milk. But at each year’s end, just before the Lunar new year, the tribe builds a “tree” in the village center. The tree is made of bamboo, with a phoenix resting on top. A buffalo is tied to the tree, and in a sacrifice to the rice spirits for the harvest, the village’s young men strike the buffalo with spears until it is dead.
The participants are then painted in the animal’s blood. Finally, the buffalo is butchered, cooked, and distributed to the village’s homes. The animal sacrifice is a great show and display. It is also of great importance. It may be the only meat some get each year. Beyond this, fish, crabs, snails, frogs, and mice are harvested from the rice fields throughout the seasons.
Rượu cần
We had come all this way for something particular, and it wasn’t to sit on the porch of a remote outpost to eat young mango and anchovies. Instead, we had traveled to the remote village to procure a specialty the tribe was also known for. A stout beverage that is indigenous to the people of the mountains known as Rượu cần. A fermented glutinous rice beverage flavored with a particular blend of mountain herbs and roots. We left the small village shop and drove to a small concrete house. We parked our motorbikes and made our way inside.
The older woman who lived there had a small brewery in her small mountain kitchen. She was a local craft brewer of the rice wine popular in the region during Tet. She had several large plastic tubes with lids filled with the bubbling concoction in its early stages. After several weeks, the mixture and a chunk of the glutinous rice would be portioned into clay jars and sealed with banana leaves. Traditionally, the beverage is consumed communally. Each person gets a straw made from a small cane. The lady also supplied the straws; we purchased two jars and enough straws for the family. I have tried the beverage before a couple of Tet’s ago with some charred mice on a riverbank in the hot sun. However, this was the first time I had seen the actual brewery. It was pretty interesting.
Back Down the Mountain
We loaded up, paid and thanked the lady, and headed home. The sun was quickly fading on the long ride back. I clutched one jar on the back of a motorbike and Diem to another on the back of her motorbike. When we returned, my butt was numb from the long ride on the hard seat. But I didn’t mind. It was a wild little adventure up into the far reaches of the province. It’s incredible how simple things like a ride to pick up wine can be a fantastic experience. The craziest part is that it is just starting here in An Lao. Tet is yet to come.
Click the article below for more on the tribal peoples of Southeast Asia.
