A corner of A Luoi

A back-turning grid

Rain followed rain, sunshine replaced sunshine hour after hour.

Waving hands, wiping white dust up the slope.

A Lin and A Sap went to a foreign land.

Years pass by, years come and go.

(Returning to A Luoi, (Nguyen Khoa Diem)

When mentioning A Lưới, people often immediately think of the years of fierce war when this place became a shield protecting the revolutionary route from rain and sun, and of heroic stories about Mrs. Kan Lịch or Mr. A Nun....Between 2006 and 2014, a group of writers from Thua Thien-Hue visited Hong Bac commune and A Hua village (Nham commune) to produce a magazine feature on A Luoi – a place where the A Bia hill evokes a tragic and heroic past. In mid-May 1969, this area was the site of a battle between the South Vietnamese Liberation Army and the US military. After ten days of fierce fighting, the summit of A Bia was riddled with bomb and artillery fire, leaving only charred, dry tree trunks; the American soldiers called it Hamburger Hill. A Luoi is truly a land of history.

But, finding our way to A Lưới, we will discover that this land holds much more than that. It is not just a wall etched with memories of bombs and war. It holds ancient, heroic epics like the story of Tơ Rứt slaying a hawk to save Kalang Batưng and take her as his wife. It holds traditional festivals and rituals about deities, the spirits, and love. It also represents the struggle for survival of generations of A Lưới people to protect their mountains, forests, and villages for millennia. If A Lưới were likened to the muse of Hue, what stories would she tell us when we sit down and listen?

She spoke of lush green forests and towering mountains, of deep waterfalls and high passes, and of rivers flowing crisscrossing the landscape.

Repeating steps

Mountain and forest paths

A Co looked up at the misty, windy sky.

Miss Cava, majestic on the back of an elephant.

The cat's slope, the sinewy hand gripping

An Ho Lake has endured the rain for a thousand years.

(Nguyen Khoa Diem)

When visiting Hue, people are often overwhelmed by the temples, citadels, heritage sites, and treasures, but few remember a distant place. For tourists, A Luoi seems to have nothing particularly attractive to explore. However, if you visit it yourself, you'll find that this perception is likely wrong. "The golden capital of a capital city" – that's how some describe A Luoi. Leaving Hue, heading west, and climbing the mountains, A Luoi welcomes its children returning to their motherland and visitors along winding mountain passes amidst the deep blue Truong Son landscape.

Located at the end of National Highway 49, about 70 km from Hue, A Luoi boasts a vast, breathtaking landscape of rolling hills and endless coffee plantations. Looking up at the sky, one sees clouds cascading down like waterfalls, blanketing the mountain peaks in white. In the past, reaching A Luoi required traversing mountains and forests. Now, the road to A Luoi is quite different. The once treacherous and winding A Co Pass (also known as Ma Oi Pass) has been leveled, and numerous viaducts have been built across the deep ravines. Along the wide, smooth asphalt roads that climb the slopes of Bach Ma Mountain or run along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, one's gaze is drawn to the solitary, proud, red-leaved Loi Khoai trees standing amidst the lush greenery. Countless vibrant yellow flowers cling to the mountain slopes, adding a splash of color to the characteristic wild landscape. The rolling hills, the crisscrossing streams and rivers, the majestic roads—all seem to sway and glide along the narrow waist, like a free-spirited, powerful dance that stirs the soul. Occasionally, a lone bird cries out from behind a cluster of ancient trees, its call fading and fading, leaving only a faint echo, like a lingering pang in the silence.

Like many other regions in the South, A Lưới has only two seasons: the rainy season and the dry season. Starting in July, the rains often come down so suddenly that people are soaked before they even have time to stop their vehicles or put on their raincoats. The rain in A Lưới isn't a light drizzle like in Da Lat. Towards the end of the year, the sky over A Lưới is always covered in heavy gray clouds, and the rain pours down relentlessly and noisily, as powerful and grand as the nature of this place itself.

A Lưới is nestled against the majestic Trường Sơn mountain range. It is the headwaters of five major rivers, "five rivers spreading out like five outstretched fingers, flowing turbulently." Two of these rivers, the A Sáp and A Lin, flow into Laos. The other three flow into Vietnam: the Đa Krông, the Bồ, and the Tả Trạch (the left branch of the Hương River). Beyond rivers, A Lưới also boasts numerous streams, crystal-clear springs nestled amidst the deep green of the forest, their gentle murmur echoing day and night over rocky slopes, sounding like a mother singing a lullaby to her child.

In the morning light, I stopped by the Pâr Le (Hồng Hạ) stream, its water clear and cool. Thousands of ferns grew in rows along the stream. Dark brown, leafy clumps of wild banana trees crowded the clear water. At this moment, I was alone, adrift in the vast forest. There was the sound of breathing in the rustling old forest. There were figures carrying the setting sun up to the fields…(A Luoi Memoirs, Le Vu Truong Giang, 2016)

The story of A Lưới stretches out like the endless green mountain ranges, seemingly without end. If we were to ask her to continue, what stories would she tell us?

She spoke of the nation's origins, of the legends of epic poems, and of the cultural flame nurtured in a new era.

A Lưới boasts many unique cultural aspects, reflecting the customs and lifestyles of its ethnic communities. These distinct cultural nuances seem to have been undervalued, yet they quietly flourish within a space steeped in its own legends.

In A Lưới, many ethnic groups live together, such as the Pa Cô, Tà Ôi, Cơ Tu, Pa Hi, and Bru-Vân Kiều, but there is something very special: every ethnic group often uses the surname Hồ. Looking back in time, we learn that the genealogies of the people here were kept in baskets, making them easily lost and scattered during wartime. Therefore, many people only remembered their first names, while their surnames were lost. Later, the people of A Lưới adopted President Hồ's name as their surname, to remember the precious salt he brought to the area during those turbulent times, which helped to prevent the pale complexion of the A Lưới people and made their blood redder. Beyond preserving the lesson of remembering one's roots, the culture and beliefs of this place also hold countless strange and fascinating stories. Opening the door to the way of life of the people of A Lưới, we enter a world brimming with dances in vibrant festivals, expressions of gratitude to Mother Rice and Mother of all crops, love songs sung during nights spent gathering sim fruit, and oral stories pieced together from the main characters of the A Lưới mountains and forests…

And that world, full of wonder, held countless magical things. There were nights by the fire in the communal house, where the village elder, with his deep, sacred voice, would stand up and recount epic tales.Achat- The heroic epic of the Ta Oi people. It reflects the concern that the performing arts and folk music values ​​of the A Luoi people are gradually being eroded and forgotten. It's the ancient story of the origins of the Pa Co people and why they still consider dogs their totem animal. It's a journey to shed light on the spiritual and cultural symbolism.A poalFull of mystery. These are also the unique dishes of the local people, where "hidden within each ingredient, each dish is a story of culture, a matter of belief."

The people of A Lưới not only shine in their folk tales, but their beauty also lies in their tireless labor. They possess a long-standing traditional craft: Zèng weaving. This craft has been passed down through generations, with the role of women – especially mothers – being extremely important. In their culture, every girl must learn to weave Zèng fabric, so that when she reaches marriageable age, she can weave it as a gift for her husband's family. The people of A Lưới use natural cotton threads, dyed with various colors derived from tree bark or brown roots, to weave Zèng clothing. Clothing made using the Zèng weaving technique is not only a product serving daily needs but also holds value as a work of art, carrying unique cultural characteristics. They embroider patterns on fabric depicting streams, steep slopes, trees, forest birds, everyday objects, stars in the sky, and more. In the cultural and spiritual life of the A Lưới people, these symbols represent the yearning for harmony between heaven, earth, and humanity.

The pinnacle of Zèng weaving art, besides its unique pattern creations, lies in the technique of beading combined with a system of colors on the fabric. Inserting the beads into the fabric is a complex process requiring highly skilled weavers. In 2016, Zèng weaving was recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. When the people of A Lưới sit down to weave Zèng, they sing folk songs. The sound of thread spinning, the turning of the shuttle, and the lingering melodies blend together, creating a unique A Lưới sound that easily captivates and enchants listeners.

Integrating with the ever-developing modern era, A Lưới today not only preserves its beautiful cultural features but is also gradually developing its tourism industry, actively attracting visitors. Here, there are now many accommodation services (from hotels and guesthouses to homestays,...) along with two community-based cultural tourism villages. Visitors to A Lưới can experience life in traditional stilt houses, such as the Gươl house of the Cơ Tu ethnic group, the Rông house of the Tà Ôi ethnic group, and the Dài house of the Pa Cô ethnic group; they can immerse themselves in the vibrant atmosphere of festivals, such as the A Riêu Car Festival, the A Riêu Ada Festival (New Rice Festival), the A Riêu Piing Festival (Ancestor Commemoration and Grave Gathering Festival), and the Harvest Festival (to give thanks to heaven, earth, and deities)...

A few lines of text cannot fully capture the vastness and poetic charm of A Lưới and its people. If you haven't visited, all you see is a glimpse of A Lưới. That glimpse might reveal the green of the mountains and forests, the white of the clouds, the vibrant colors of festivals filled with heartfelt songs... But only by going to Hue, then to the Mekong Delta, to A Lưới, can you truly immerse yourself in the majestic nature with its towering waterfalls and wide villages, in the songs and melodies, and in the cultural identity that permeates the hearts of the people.

Let us sing loudly at this river confluence.

Celebrating the season of love

The season of going to see sim fruit is intoxicating.

Sing to become husband and wife

Sing to build a home and a family.

Sing for the mythical gourd

A Sap A Lin headwaters

It broke into a crowded mess.

My fellow countrymen.

(The epic poem of A Lưới, my people),Pham Nguyen Tuong

An