BEE TRUSSES IN THE U MINH HA FOREST
It is not known since then that the profession of guarding bees has been deeply ingrained in the lives of people in this land of U Minh Ha Melaleuca forest. To this day, people born and raised here are unaware of the beekeeping profession. This is a traditional profession passed down from generation to generation. At first, people only knew how to exploit natural honey, but gradually, with folk experiences, the people of U Minh forest came up with a way to set aside the truss for the bees to make their nests. From there, the beekeeping profession was born.
A good keeper needs to have techniques, experience, and family secrets to be able to lure bees back to the nest. In which, the first is to know how to split rafter, hew rafter, know how to choose a clearing, choose a channel and build a foundation. The selection of glades will usually be placed with reeds but lower than the tops of Melaleuca trees. Melaleuca trees are low and flowering lasts long enough for bees to collect honey, and the glade must have a gap, a large area, and a light for the bees to navigate. take honey. For this profession, choice is very important. The place chosen to hang the rafter must be flat and so that the water surface reflects the sunlight evenly on the rafter to be able to attract the bees to make a nest. To perform the truss guard, the worker must prepare the rafter set, including the rafter body, support post, and crutch. These trusses will usually be made from melaleuca trees, with a straight stem and a diameter of 10-15 cm, peeled off, and left to dry. Before being brought into the forest, the rafter will usually be covered with a layer of beeswax to invite scout bees. After placing the truss, the worker must know how to rub the cabinet and always keep the truss stable. If you are a good bettor, the rate of bees coming back after hanging up the truss is up to 80%. Normally, silk bees are not picky, while larger bees are very picky.
Every year in the 10th lunar month, when the U Minh forest is in full bloom, bees will begin to fly back to find a place to build a nest (this is called the drought season). After the honey collection season, workers usually will not move the truss, but only clear the clearing, repair the truss or replace the truss, cut the old bee remains, scrape the wax, etc., so that the bees can return to build a new nest. After the bees build the nest, about 20-25 days, if the melaleuca flower blooms well and turns shriveled, the hive is also full of honey. At that time, the workers will pack towels and rice and go to the forest to "eat bees".
To cut the honeycombs full of honey, workers will cut the roots (also known as small coconuts) pounded, dried, then bundled into smoked torches. Honey bees are very intolerant of smoke, just blow a little smoke from the roots and the bees will get drunk and fly out of the hive right away. These torches are very effective when exploiting beehives, but are easy to cause forest fires as a result. When the bees fly out of the hive, the workers will cut off the "jam" (the part containing a lot of honey) and will leave a part of the hive for the bees to continue building the nest.
When the honeycombs have been cut and brought back, the worker will squeeze the honey by hand. After each hive is "eaten" 3-4 times, the bees will leave somewhere else. Each time they go to "eat bees", the worker will bring back dozens or even hundreds of liters of honey. Honey is a precious ingredient in medicine and food processing, in addition, young bees are also a favorite food of many people. When the season is right, people often bring young bees to cook porridge, make a salad or make bee sauce. The rest of the honeycomb after taking honey (often called beeswax) will be used as raw materials for the production of candles and lights.
Although no one rules, the beekeepers also have their own rules. For a long time, due to the division of the area to guard the truss, these workers have established Phong Ngan corporations. Each of these Phong Ngan groups is only allowed to set up their own forest stands, not to leave the truss to other forests. Such a Phong Ngan group will usually have from 15 to 30 members, most of which are clans or residents of the same hamlet. When placing bets, each member must register a sign with the group leader and engrave that symbol on his/her own bet. There are also some special cases where members steal each other's bets. In this case, if it is found, it will be handled by deleting its name and being expelled from the group. Thanks to that regulation, it has limited the situation of stealing from each other in the profession.
The profession of guarding bees is a very special and typical profession of the U Minh Ha region, clearly showing the imprints of the ancestors. They have created a very unique career and left their descendants an extremely unique spiritual product, which is valuable experience and knowledge accumulated from daily life and adapting to the environment in the process of reclaiming the land. In order to recognize the creativity and characteristic of the people in the forest land of U Minh Ha, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has recognized the profession of beekeeping in U Minh and Tran Van Thoi districts, Ca Mau province. It is a National Intangible Cultural Heritage according to Decision No. 4613/QD-BVHTTDL dated December 20, 2019.
Over many generations, the profession of guarding bee trusses does not bring economic value, is a source of income for many households, but also brings local cultural values imbued with identity. Currently, beekeeping has become a tourist product that is exploited to serve tourists if they have the opportunity to come to Ca Mau land.