Recreating the 'ghost mat market' in Dong Thap

The typical night mat market of Dinh Yen mat weaving village, Lap Vo district, is restored twice a month to attract tourists.

On the evening of September 29, the live show of the “ghost mat market” at Dinh Yen communal house, Lap Vo district was recreated with the participation of hundreds of local people. They are mat weavers, dyers or traders of the craft village, who have witnessed the rise and fall of the “ghost mat market”.

Along with the development of the craft village for more than two centuries, the night mat market opened to meet the buying and selling needs of hundreds of mat-making households and traders across the provinces.

According to the elders, the reason they have to hold the night market is because they want to take advantage of the daytime to weave mats, so that buyers can take advantage of the early morning to transport mats to sell throughout the region.

During the reenactment of the "ghost" market, vendors, holding lamps and measuring sticks, dressed in traditional "ao ba ba" costumes, wait for mat weavers to bring out their goods for sale. The scene is recreated as in the past, with buyers and sellers bargaining based on the currency value in dong, and the selling price depends on the quality of the mat.

The old market had no specific meeting time. When enough buyers and sellers arrived, they would issue orders to buy and sell, usually from midnight to 4am. Especially at the “ghost mat market”, buyers sat in one place, while sellers carried mats around to offer their goods.

Artisan Au Thi Linh (66 years old) said that during its heyday, the market had 200-300 sellers and more than 30 traders coming to buy, meeting on the dirt roads next to Dinh Yen market near the current communal house.

"After the market, we stopped by the communal market to buy food and sedge fibers to weave mats, while the vendors took the opportunity to carry the mats down to the boat to sell," she said.

An artisan from the craft village plays the role of a mat buyer, checking a pair of mats before bargaining at the reenacted market.

According to artisans, just by touching a pair of mats, traders can immediately tell the weaver's skill, whether the sedge fibers are good or bad, and whether they have been dried in enough sunlight.

To make the show more diverse, the market also has street vendors selling local specialties such as sticky rice and traditional cakes. Some artists perform Dong Thap folk songs and vọng cổ verses...

Ms. Tuyen, from Kien Giang , holds a lantern and takes a souvenir photo with the mat village artisans. "The performance was very interesting," Ms. Tuyen said.

Hundreds of spectators came to see and experience the show.

Ms. Huynh Thi Hoai Thu, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Dong Thap province, said that she will promote the "ghost mat market" tour to many localities and travel companies to form tours within and between provinces, thereby bringing income to the people of craft villages and tourism in the province.

In the afternoon, visitors are guided by artisans of the craft village through the steps of making a pair of mats from drying sedge, dyeing, weaving, joining the feet, spinning the silk... The manual weaving stage alone takes on average two hours to make a pair of mats.

The miniature landscape in front of Dinh Yen communal house yard has become a "check-in" place for many young people.

When the local authorities encouraged them to participate in recreating the mat market, many elderly artisans immediately agreed. Mr. Bay (center), who has been involved in mat weaving for more than half his life, said he was very happy that the craft village was introduced to tourists from near and far, hoping that tourism development would revive the traditional craft that is gradually fading away.

Vnexpress.net