{"id":2457,"date":"2021-08-23T04:18:32","date_gmt":"2021-08-23T04:18:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/tourism\/ve-dau-nghe-chieu-ca-mau"},"modified":"2026-01-19T11:31:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T11:31:11","slug":"where-has-the-mat-making-craft-of-ca-mau-gone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/news\/where-has-the-mat-making-craft-of-ca-mau-gone","title":{"rendered":"Where has the mat-making craft of Ca Mau gone?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>At its peak, C\u00e0 Mau mats were traded far and wide across the country and were even exported to neighboring countries such as Laos and Cambodia. C\u00e0 Mau mats were favored by many people thanks to their traditional hand-weaving techniques, which made them durable and beautiful. Today, however, for many reasons, the mat-weaving craft villages of C\u00e0 Mau are gradually shrinking.<\/em><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>A Forgotten Lament<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Perhaps among us\u2014the people of the South\u2014there is hardly anyone who does not know the famous song <em>T\u00ecnh anh b\u00e1n chi\u1ebfu<\/em> by composer Vi\u1ec5n Ch\u00e2u, performed so memorably by the renowned artist \u00dat Tr\u00e0 \u00d4n. That song helped honor and leave a deep, lasting impression of the mat-weaving craft\u2014C\u00e0 Mau mats.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>From the moment a Vietnamese person is born, they lie on a small woven mat. Upon reaching adulthood and getting married, they eagerly choose a pair of wedding mats. And when they pass away, their body is shrouded in a new pair of mats. In other words, a mat accompanies a person throughout their entire life\u2014yet how many truly understand the sun, rain, and hardships endured by the diligent mat weavers who create them?<br><br>According to veteran artisans, in C\u00e0 Mau the mat-weaving craft once flourished strongly in many localities such as T\u00e2n L\u1ed9c (Th\u1edbi B\u00ecnh District) and T\u00e2n Duy\u1ec7t (\u0110\u1ea7m D\u01a1i District), but the most famous were the patterned \u201cchi\u1ebfu l\u1eaby\u201d mats of T\u00e2n Th\u00e0nh, C\u00e0 Mau City.<br>Chi\u1ebfu l\u1eaby are meticulously woven mats featuring various patterns imbued with specific meanings, such as birds, flowers, and foliage. Buyers often ordered them for special occasions\u2014to decorate the bridal bed, or as gifts for friends and relatives. To produce such mats, generations of mat weavers have gone through a process of continuous creativity spanning hundreds of years.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>With great skill and creativity, mat weavers interlace sedge strands dyed in different colors to create hundreds of designs: dragon and phoenix motifs for weddings; mats featuring parallel verses wishing good fortune during festivals and Lunar New Year; images of birds, landscapes, rivers, mountains, and waterways. Thanks to this artistry, C\u00e0 Mau mats once held a solid position in the market. They traveled far and wide, alongside three-plank boats and cargo boats, reaching consumers both inside and outside the province.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Today, however, for many reasons, the mat-weaving villages of C\u00e0 Mau are steadily declining. In T\u00e2n Th\u00e0nh Commune\u2014once home to a renowned mat village\u2014very few people remain devoted to the craft. Weavers now produce mats only when there is a prior order, because weaving in advance without buyers would result in heavy losses.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Ms. Tr\u1ea7n Nh\u01b0 Th\u1ea3o, Vice Chairwoman of the Women\u2019s Union of T\u00e2n Th\u00e0nh Commune, said regretfully: \u201cNowadays, the main source of income for residents comes from eel and goby farming, so nearly every household has converted land into fish ponds. One fish harvest can earn more than a whole year of mat weaving, so very few people are still passionate about the craft. As a result, the area of sedge cultivation in the commune has visibly declined.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>According to statistics from the commune\u2019s Women\u2019s Union, T\u00e2n Th\u00e0nh currently has no more than 60 households still maintaining the mat-weaving craft. They abandon the trade not only because fish and shrimp farming is more profitable, but also due to difficulties in product consumption, initial investment capital, and local labor shortages.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Ms. Phan M\u1ef9 Gi\u1edbi, Head of the Women\u2019s Union Branch of Hamlet 6, T\u00e2n Th\u00e0nh Commune, said that the entire hamlet now has only about 14 households weaving mats, most of whom are long-time artisans. Most of these households have little agricultural land or consider mat weaving merely a supplementary occupation to cover the costs of fish farming.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Ms. Phan Th\u1ecb \u00dat, 41 years old, who had woven mats since childhood but no longer practices the craft, shared: \u201cIn the past, I wove more than a hundred pairs of mats a year, each selling for no less than 200,000 VND. Now, with unstable output and my children choosing other professions, there is no one left at home to continue the work, so I had to give it up entirely and switch to fish farming.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>The solid, well-equipped house where Ms. \u00dat now lives was also built thanks to mat weaving. She shared wistfully: \u201cI really want to preserve the craft, but I have no choice. Mat weaving requires a lot of labor\u2014the whole family has to plant sedge, harvest, dry, and dye it. If the children do not follow the trade, what can we do? Hiring workers is very difficult, as most young people nowadays go to industrial zones in other provinces to work as factory laborers.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Where Is the Craft Village Heading?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Unlike before, nowadays people who want to weave mats must not only invest labor but also considerable capital. In the past, sedge grew wild and could be harvested freely, but today uncultivated land no longer exists, so sedge must be purchased. Due to scarcity, sedge prices are now much higher than before.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Ms. Cao Th\u1ecb H\u1ed3ng from Hamlet 6 said: \u201cA plot of sedge land used to cost only 1\u20132 million VND a few years ago, but now it costs 4 million VND, and sometimes people do not even want to sell. There is no such thing as buying on credit\u2014you must pay immediately, or they will sell to someone else.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Because initial capital is required for mat weaving, many households in T\u00e2n Th\u00e0nh\u2019s mat village are now facing difficulties. Ms. Tr\u1ea7n Nh\u01b0 Th\u1ea3o added that each household needs to invest at least 3 million VND to purchase materials such as sedge, warp threads, and dyes. While villagers do support and help one another, the effectiveness remains limited.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Another reason why mat-weaving machines risk becoming mere antiques is that the quality and designs of machine-woven mats cannot compare with those made by hand. Because consumers do not favor mats that \u201clack aesthetic appeal,\u201d products made by weaving machines are very difficult to sell.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Traditional hand-weaving still retains its inherent value, and its products continue to have a place in the market\u2014but the craft is gradually fading. Ms. Phan Th\u1ecb \u00dat said: \u201cMat prices have not decreased; in fact, they rise every year with market prices. Currently, a pair of patterned mats costs from 250,000 to 300,000 VND or more. Mat weavers can still make a living, as a family can weave over a hundred pairs of mats a year. However, to truly sustain the craft, people need much greater support from authorities through reasonable policies so that they can feel secure in continuing their work.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>It is known that in the past, T\u00e2n Th\u00e0nh Commune established a mat-weaving cooperative, but after some time it has nearly ceased operations due to administrative boundary divisions separating T\u00e2n Th\u00e0nh Commune and T\u00e2n Th\u00e0nh Ward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>In efforts to revive the mat-weaving craft, the T\u00e2n Th\u00e0nh mat-weaving cooperative was once provided by the State with a modern weaving machine. Initially, it was used for a short time, but now it sits idle. Ms. Phan M\u1ef9 Gi\u1edbi shared that the machine cost nearly 40 million VND and operated quite well, significantly reducing weaving time. However, due to the lack of market demand and scarce raw materials, it can no longer be put into operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>The mat-weaving craft in C\u00e0 Mau has existed for generations. Reviving traditional craft villages would also create jobs for idle female laborers in rural areas and contribute to household economic development. However, for this craft to grow and become more effective, mat weavers in C\u00e0 Mau urgently need support from local authorities and relevant agencies\u2014especially access to preferential loans to expand production.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">Source: Saigon Giai Phong Newspaper<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At its peak, C\u00e0 Mau mats were traded far and wide across the country and were even exported to neighboring countries such as Laos and Cambodia. C\u00e0 Mau mats were favored by many people thanks to their traditional hand-weaving techniques, which made them durable and beautiful. Today, however, for many reasons, the mat-weaving craft villages&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":665,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[653],"tags":[884,885,886,887],"location":[660],"class_list":["post-2457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-lang-chieu","tag-lang-chieu-tan-thanh","tag-nghe-chieu","tag-nghe-chieu-ca-mau","location-ca-mau"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2457"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2493,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457\/revisions\/2493"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2457"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=2457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}