Go to Choa village to buy black canarium incense

CHAI VILLAGE AND TRADITIONAL INCENSE CREATION

Located about 20 km from the center of Bac Ninh city, Choa village (Dung Liet, Yen Phong, Bac Ninh) is famous for its black incense making. Walking through the village, the smell of boiling and drying resin wafts here and there from the crafters.

No one knows who the founder of the incense making profession was or when it first appeared. We only know that it has become a family tradition in many villages. In the bookHebei Geographypublished by the Ha Bac Provincial Library in 1982, mentioned a few words about black incense of Choa village. According to the views of the Choa people, the black incense profession must have existed before 1694, which means it has at least 327 years of history. There is also a hypothesis that the black incense profession appeared when Mr. Nguyen Thanh Can returned from his mission to the Ming Dynasty, which means it was almost 500 years ago.

Kinh Bac land is famous for its ancient pagodas, ancient temples and sincere spirituality. However, black incense was originally used for worship in relics. The longest black incense is up to 1.1 m, burning for 13 hours. The story of 13 hours is a meticulous calculation of the descendants of Choa village. Every 12 hours, it is time to "change shifts" to guard the temple, so the length of 1.1 m is carefully calculated to be enough to keep the temple filled with incense smoke even when there is no one.

Incense making is in danger of gradually disappearing as the younger generation in the village gradually abandons the profession to go to industrial zones for higher income. “Making incense is just enough to make a profit, just to keep the profession of the elders.”

Currently, in the village there are only about 30 households still practicing and preserving the profession.

NON-TOXIC HANDMADE BLACK INCENSE

Black incense consists of two main parts: the incense stick and the incense body. Bamboo sticks are soaked for 3 months to soften and clean, then shaved into toothpicks and dried thoroughly to achieve the best quality. Incense sticks usually have two colors: the natural color of the toothpick and the pink dye for more variety.

The incense making process is still kept in the traditional way from ancient times. The resin is carefully selected, using a sharp knife to cut. The resin is boiled into a liquid, filtered many times to remove impurities, then mixed with charcoal powder, ground finely. The smooth, elastic compound is rolled into balls, steamed and kept warm in a rice cooker.

The final step is to spin and dry the incense. The craftsman's hands skillfully spin the incense evenly and smoothly. The scent of the resin when spinning the incense is so special, both imbued with the scent of the forest and gentle and fresh.

Some families have switched to making incense using industrial machines. Incense made by industrial machines has a layer of machine oil on it, so it cannot be as 'original' as hand-rolled incense. However, there are still families who keep their ancestors' craft, rolling each incense stick by hand to achieve the smoothness, elasticity and best quality. After rolling the incense, it is dried in the sun for a few days.

Unlike other chemical-filled industrial incenses, which are difficult to burn if they get damp, finished black canarium incense is easy to preserve, even strong winds and drizzle do not affect the quality of the incense.

Choa village black incense has many sizes depending on the purpose of the user. There are about 5, 6 sizes from 25 cm to 110 cm. Each common incense bundle for family use is 25 to 30 cm in size, can burn from 60 to 90 minutes.

Black incense from rustic resin, no chemicals, does not sting the eyes when burned. The black incense has a characteristic smell of resin, light and pleasant. “Every day I roll hundreds, thousands of incense sticks, if there is any toxicity, we will be the first to suffer” - an incense maker shared.

For the Choa villagers, black incense can be burned at any time to inhale, to smell the scent, the smoke, the village, the profession. So this Tet, why don’t we try buying incense from Choa village’s black canarium to offer on the altar of our grandparents and ancestors?

More information

Choa village black incense is not yet widely distributed in the market. You can buy it directly from the artisans in Choa village (at the most reasonable price). When you come, contact Mr. Tien - Phone: 0368399633.

In addition, you can order online via fanpageAbout the Villageor atThis.

Quynh Phuong - Photo: Ve Lang team