The golden star fruit tree

Long. long time ago, there was a rich man living a village. When he died, he left his two sons a huge fortune.

The two brothers were entirely different. The elder was greedy but the younger was very kind. After the father's death, the elder claimed the fortune and left the younger only star fruit tree. The younger always took care of the tree, he watered it every day with the hope that it would give him a lot of fruits so that he could earn some money by selling them. Meanwhile the elder brother was so happy with his inheritance that he had nothing to worry.

One day, when the fruits of the tree could be sold, there was a bird came and ravaged them all. The wife lamented: "Poor us, the only thing that we can rely on is what the star fruit tree bring us, but now look, this bird ate they all. We have nothing left". Miracle! The raven upon hearing those lamentations, perched down and replied a human voice: "Star fruits I eat with gold I pay, be ready with a three-foot bag and follow me to get it". Afraid the women ran into the hut to look for her husband. They discussed and decided to sew a bag according to the indicated size, waiting for her return of the bird. A few days latter, the bird came back, it ate all the star fruits then got down from the tree to invite the husband to take a seat on his back with the bag. Then they disappear together into the horizon.

Frightened, the younger brother closed his eyes. The bird took him very far before landing on a deserted island, full of precious stones. He was free to take whatever he could. He filled the bad and the raven took him back to his home. From then on the couple could live in a luxury life. They often helped the poor. On the occasion of the commemoration of his father's death, he invited the elder brother to come over. The elder brother and his wife were surprised to see the younger couple's wealth. They tried to ask for the reason. The younger brother frankly tell the story of the giant raven that took him to look for gold.

The elder brother wanted to exchange their fortune for the only hut and the star fruit tree. The younger couple agreed. One day the raven came and gave the same recommendation. The elder bought with him double of two 6 foot bag and filled them with gold. On the way came back home, because the overweight of the two bags, the raven could not hold longer. It swayed and sent the elder to the sea where he drowned.

Khau Vai Love Market

Many tourist have been attracted by Vietnam cultural sites. They love exploring and discovering the country rich in culture. Being a foreign traveler I would like to share some knowledge of Khau Vai Love Market that I gained from the tour to some mountainous villages in Vietnam. Khau Vai commune is located in Meo Vac district in the Northern Ha Giang province. It is home to ethnic minority groups of Giay, Nung and Muong. Each year, there is a market session on lunar March 26th, it is not a normal trading market but a love market. The name and activities in the market session have something in common with the love market in Sapa. However, the different thing is that Khau Vai love market is a market for various ethnic minority groups from 4 mountainous district in Dong Van Plateau to Bao Lam and Bao Loc districts of Cao Bang province.

Local senior people said that this love market dated back to 1919. Road are now more accessible than the previous year, so more and more people come to the market. However, most of activities of the market are still rich in cultural identity.

There are some stories around the origin of the love market. First, there is a story tells that, once upon a time, there were a boy and a girl born in two different villages in Dong Van plateau. The boy's surname is Linh and the girl's surname is Loc. When they grew up, they loved each other very much despite being hindered by deep streams and high rocky mountains. Unluckily, their parents prevented their marrige, they decide to come to Khau Vai- a prosperous land with rich plants which they could live on.

Although they did not have any children they lived happily until they died. In honour of their merits in cultivating the wild land into a rich one, the local people built the two temples to worship them. It is the reason why in the Khau Vai market area there are 2 temples called "Ong" and "Ba" (Mr and Mrs). Therefore, on every lunar March 26th and 27th, Khau Vai attracts couples of different ages, including those who seek their partners for the 1st time. However, most of them are those who love each other very much but can not get married because of some reasons.

There is another local myth tells a love story of a young couple from different tribes, the boy belong to Giay group and the girl belonged to Nung group. They fell in love each other very much. However, because the girl is so beautiful that her tribe did not want to let her marrige a boy in a different one. As a result, there was a violent conflict happened. To stop the blood shed they had to say goodbye in tears but they chose lunar March 26th each year to meet each other. And the place that they used to meet is Khau Vai. It therefore became a meeting place of all of those in love.

The love market festival has been held on lunar march 26th and 27th with the participayion of a large number of the locals with many local cultural activities.