The rice vermicelli-making craft of Cao Ha village

Bún is a food made from rice starch in the form of round, white, soft strands. Bún is an ingredient in many distinctive dishes in Vietnamese cuisine. In Cao Ha village (Hoai Duc commune, Hanoi city), the vermicelli-making craft has a history of about 200 years.

According to the genealogy of the Nguyen Xuan family and the accounts of elderly villagers, the craft founder of Cao Ha village was Mr. Nguyen Xuan Duc (the fifth generation of the Nguyen Xuan family). In his youth, Mr. Duc went to make a living far away in the north, on the other side of the Red River; when he grew old, he returned to his homeland and taught the vermicelli-making craft to the people of Cao Xa Ha village. Agricultural life was sometimes favorable but often difficult, with poor harvests and hunger. Mr. Duc helped the people of Cao Ha gain the vermicelli craft and earn additional income throughout the year besides farming. Thanks to Mr. Duc and the vermicelli craft, the villagers' lives became easier, and people also used leftover vermicelli flour and wastewater to develop livestock raising.

To remember the great contributions of Mr. Nguyen Xuan Duc, the people of Cao Ha village honored him as the founder of the vermicelli craft and worship him at Ky Vien pagoda in the village. Mr. Duc's altar is placed in the front hall of the pagoda together with the altar of Ksitigarbha Buddha, and the pagoda also has a worship painting of him. The 20th day of the first lunar month each year is the death anniversary of Mr. Duc; the Cao Ha village ritual team performs all ritual ceremonies and offers incense to him at the pagoda in the same way as the rituals for the village tutelary god at the communal house. The rituals are conducted by a female ritual team of about 15 people. The women's ritual costume is a pink ao dai. In some years, there is also a male ritual team of 14 people. During the ceremony, all rituals are performed according to traditional customs. The ritual text praises the contributions of the craft founder and prays for good things in the people's lives. On this day, all the people of Cao Ha village go to the pagoda to worship Mr. Duc; after the ritual team completes the ceremonies, the whole village receives blessed offerings at the pagoda.

Over time, the vermicelli-making craft of Cao Ha village has developed strongly. At first, very few households in the village made vermicelli, only a scattered handful of families. Today, more than 300 households in Cao Ha village maintain the vermicelli-making craft. Cao Ha vermicelli is shipped throughout Hoai Duc, Dan Phuong, and other areas of Hanoi. Some families ship tons of vermicelli in a single day. The vermicelli craft has become a characteristic feature of Cao Ha, and people commonly call Cao Ha Troi Bun village among the 12 Troi villages. In 2000, Cao Ha village was recognized and granted the title of vermicelli and cake craft village by the People's Committee of the former Ha Tay Province.