Non Nuoc Stone: A Story of Stonework Village

Striding through fine-art stone shops along Huyen Tran Cong Chua Street, you will hear villagers telling their tradition of carving stone with much or little pride. In the old time, a famously skilful stone sculptor named Huynh Ba Triem used to decorate royal tombs and palaces in Hue, the feudal capital of Vietnam from the 18^th to 20^th centuries. He also learnt how to make red marble tea-set, the most sophisticated and original masterpiece of the Non Nuoc stone sculpture.

 

However, Nguyen Chat was the first craftsman to carve precious gemstone to sculpture statues. He carved two statues in the Hoa Nghiem cave and the Tang Chon cave, which can still be seen today. During the American wartime, Mr. Huynh Phuoc Thao’s family secretly sawed, split and transported nearly 200 slabs of rare white and red and marble stones to build the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum in Hanoi. The red area in on the national flag decorated on the mausoleum is the pride of the Non Nuoc stone handicraft village.

 

In the old day, the creators of the stone-carving village used hardwood mallets to break up the stone. But now, they use machines and tools to process the stone, even the angle needed the most meticulous manipulation.

 

To typical tourist products
Non Nuoc fine-art stone products in Ngu Hanh Son are now very diversified. Black and white limestone and marbles of various beautiful colours are used to make artwork. For instance, Buddha statues and Christ statues are made from white stones while sacred animals like dragon, unicorn, phoenix, lion, eagle and household utensils like flower pots, tea-set are rosy rocks. Sandstone is usually used to create Champa artwork in large-scale architectures like Apsara statues, Siva statues, Champa lady statues or reliefs. Stone handicrafts are meaningful souvenirs for Vietnamese and international visitors. Many artwork created by sculptor Nguyen Long Buu are displayed in Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Canada, the United States and other nations. Initially, stone carving is based on experience and memory passed down from generation to generation but is now on professional training courses.

 

To maintain and develop the traditional career, Ngu Hanh Son craftsmen are deeply aware of preserving the relic zone and protecting the traditional handicraft. The material stones are now purchased from the northern region, not from local sources, and precious stones are even imported from other nations. The thriving tourism brings more money to the local people, especially those living on traditional handicrafts. Many stone sculpture establishments have expanded scale to serve the demand. The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has supported the locality to develop the traditional career to create a highlight for the Ngu Hanh Son relic complex.

 

According to the recent survey of the Department of Industry and Trade, the Non Nuoc stone handicraft village has some 4,000 labourers. In addition to senior craftsmen like Le Ben, Nguyen Sang, Nguyen Viet Minh, Le Phat and Nguyen Long Buu, the village has more than 50 senior artisans. The revenue rose from VND14 billion in 1999 to nearly VND100 billion in 2008. To support their businesses and introduce their products worldwide, more than 50 establishments opened websites.

Regarding this issue, Mr. Huynh Duc Tho, Chairman of the Ngu Hanh Son District People’s Committee, said: “The construction and development of the handicraft together with the industrialisation and modernisation of the locality must go in parallel with preserving cultural characteristic and protecting the environment.” Mr. Tho pointed out three main solutions stated in the “Developing traditional handicraft villages in Da Nang City” project. The human resource development is the most important solution. The locality needs to mobilise different sources, diversify training models and call the support from all social organisations and businesses to carry out this solution. The financial solution will help boost up the growth of the traditional handicraft. The market solution focuses on both input and output issues to stabilise the material market and expand the consumption market.

 

However, to support the development of the handicraft village, the most important is the State assistance policy. The handicraft villages need supports for the master planning, industry cooperation and human resource training. Especially, the city needs to introduce local handicraft products to potential markets in the country and in the world.
Ngoc Hanh