Unique maritime culture

Ha Long is not only famous for its geological and geomorphological values ​​and natural landscape, but is also the name of a unique maritime culture.

Image of Dau Ram ceramic vase - National Treasure, featured on postage stamp.

Quang Ninh is one of the continuous residential areas of ancient Vietnamese people. From about 5,000 years to 3,500 years ago, the owners of Ha Long Culture moved out to occupy and exploit the coastal plains and islands. Ha Long Culture with very unique characteristics, is the largest in Vietnam and is located in the pivotal period from prehistory to history, its mark is not only seen in the coastal area of ​​Quang Ninh but also in Hai Phong and some neighboring coastal areas with three successive prehistoric cultures that developed for more than ten thousand years: Soi Nhu Culture, Cai Beo Culture and Ha Long Culture.

Archaeological evidence, sites, and artifacts of Cai Beo culture discovered by French archaeologist M. Colani in 1938 show that, in order to survive in the island environment, Cai Beo culture residents created a set of stone tools (axes, adzes) with sharp tips suitable for exploiting oysters, barnacles, processing bamboo and wood products, and building rafts. In addition, there were net sinkers, grinding pestles, and grinding tables for fishing and food processing. In Cai Beo relics, hundreds of tons of sea fish bones were collected, including sharks, blue parrotfish, and sawfish. Cai Beo culture is the source of the later Ha Long culture in the Northeast sea of ​​Vietnam.

Ha Long culture belongs to the late Neolithic period to the early Metal Age, dating from about 6,000 to 3,500 years ago, expressed through a diverse system of relics, a rich system of artifacts... and new developments in the techniques of making stone tools, jewelry, and pottery. Typical are stone tools and jewelry: Axes, shouldered adzes, notched adzes polished all over the body, bracelets; porous pottery decorated with additional patterns, S-shaped and wave-shaped carved patterns; U-shaped grooved tools.

The distinctive feature that creates the mark of Ha Long culture on Quang Ninh land is the unique maritime culture, clearly expressed from its roots in the system of maritime culture of the same period in Vietnam, shaped by the sea, exploiting the sea, living with the sea to serve life. The owner of Ha Long culture knows the art of traveling on the sea, the art of exploiting the sea from afar more proficiently than other maritime cultures of the same period in Vietnam, such as: Hoa Loc culture of Thanh Hoa, Bau Tro culture of Quang Binh , Xom Con culture of Khanh Hoa...

The scale of Ha Long culture has many relics, rich types of relics, such as: Cave residence relics, outdoor residence relics, burial relics on diverse terrains. In Quang Ninh, there are currently 30 sites belonging to Ha Long Culture discovered. Ha Long Culture was developed through two stages: Early stage (5,000-4,000 years ago) and Late stage (4,000-3,500 years ago).

Ha Long residents are residents of maritime culture. The existence and development of maritime residents have always been very dynamic in cultural exchanges, integration and adaptation in prehistoric times. Not only that, Ha Long culture also left its mark on the early Bronze Age cultures in the northern mountainous provinces, especially the midland of the Red River Delta, as well as the coastal plain of the Ma River.

On the contrary, these cultures had a significant impact on Ha Long culture, as evidenced by the Phung Nguyen cultural imprints at the Bo Chuyen (Dai Yen, Ha Long City) and Dau Ram (Hoang Tan, Quang Yen Town). Having cross-cultural exchanges with major cultural centers at that time, Ha Long cultural residents promoted their internal strength, stood firmly on their maritime cultural foundation, promoted the strengths of river residents and took advantage of the achievements of delta residents, to contribute to the ancient Vietnamese civilization with other communities, and later to build the Van Lang - Au Lac nation.

Singing Cheo on Ha Long Bay is a form of call-and-response singing, usually a collective singing between men and women, commonly seen in other love-making customs in the North.

From a life adapted to the sea, fishermen have developed the need to express their thoughts and feelings towards the sea, their homeland and their loved ones, leading to the birth of folk art works. Folk works of coastal residents are quite diverse, from legends and fairy tales of coastal residents, to folk songs and performing arts, such as: Love songs on Ha Long Bay (also known as Cheo Duong songs), dum songs, and sea songs.

Many intangible cultural heritages of the sea and island cultural heritage are integrated to make the festival lively, such as: Tan An fishing festival, Tien Cong festival in Quang Yen town, Ba Men temple festival, Giang Vong - Truc Vong communal house festival on Ha Long Bay. Festivals in Ha Long sea area contain many unique and distinctive cultural values, imbued with the breath of life of the people of the sea in Vietnam in general.

Archaeological documents in Ha Long are the basis for research on geoenvironment, paleoclimate, changes in coastline due to sea encroachment and retreat as well as natural events at sea, and understanding the picture of ethnic languages ​​in the past. Meanwhile, the treasure trove of unique intangible cultural heritage can be built into performing arts products for tourism.

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/nen-van-hoa-bien-dac-sac-doc-dao-3334376.html