TRAVEL TO DONG THAP MUOI TO DISCOVER THE FORKLORE OF "GHOST RICE"

Why is it called ghost rice, heavenly rice?

It is said that the reason it is called the heavenly rice is that it is a type of rice that grows naturally, wild, no one cultivates. It is like a gift that God gave to people in the Southwest region during times of hardship and hardship.

That's why there is a folk saying: "Whoever comes back to Thap Muoi, fish and shrimp are ready to catch rice from heaven."

The name ghost rice is probably because this rice variety, when ripe, does not ripen the whole flower like normal rice, but only ripens a few seeds. What is more strange is that every time the sun rises a few o'clock (about 9 am), the rice will fall off by itself. It is because of this strange and unique point that in the Gia Dinh Thanh Thong Chi book, there is also another name recorded as "Demon Rice". This is a rare and high-class agricultural product, once brought by Nguyen Anh to be used on great holidays, sacrifices, and hospitality to guests.

From where does ghost rice grow?

Ghost rice - scientists call it wild rice, farmers call it heavenly rice. Originally a type of rice that grows wild in the wild, no one knows where it originated and when it came from. Just know that, around April of the lunar calendar every year, when the rainy season begins to come, the arid soil is watered, and the rice seeds that have fallen from the previous season will begin to germinate. To buy water up, the rice will grow bigger and higher according to the water level. No matter how big the water is, the rice will also surpass the water.

The stems of ghost rice are tough, the leaves are large and they grow very strongly because they are used to adapting to wind and rain. The floating water season is also the time when ghost rice blooms and develops the most. Then the rice grains will ripen gradually during a month from the full moon of September to the full moon of October (lunar calendar). But each time the rice ripens, the rice only ripens at night and only a few grains ripen at a time.

Ghost rice is funny with sparse layers of seeds, rice seeds have stiff antennae about 3-4cm long. Because the rice grain has a long tail, birds and mice are afraid and never dare to come and eat. When the rice is ripe but not harvested in time, it will fall off by itself because of the sun. The rice seeds fall, fall into the water, and then pinned in the young mud, lying there waiting for the water to recede, through the dry season, in the next rainy season, they continue to germinate. Just like that, a new rice season rose, gradually covering the old Dong Thap Muoi swamps.

A long-standing attachment to the people of Dong Thap Muoi.

According to Mr. Mai Quoc Lo - an old man who used to live off of ghost rice, said: "When floods like this, wherever he goes, he also observes to see if there are any ghost rice plants in that area. But it was no longer visible. In 1962, his family moved from Quang Nam to Ben Tre and then back to Ca Mau. But due to the fierce war, the flow of people had to migrate back to Dong Thap Muoi. At that time this vast swamp was only grass and grass. Because the soil is acidic and the weather is erratic, it becomes very difficult to grow rice. When the famine was near, so many people who came here were able to survive thanks to that strange rice." Mr. Lo said: "This type of rice will initially be green, when the ghost rice begins to ripen, it will turn black. So every time we go to the grasslands and see a black area, we are very happy."

To be able to harvest this rice variety, there must be two people rowing out in the middle of the rice field. One person holds a pole, the other controls the pedal to make the ripe rice fall into the boat compartment. The remaining green rice will ripen and continue to be harvested the next night. Just like that, each one down a day can harvest from five to ten bushels of rice. Things go on like this until the end of the season, many families have harvested tons of ghost rice, the kind of rice that God has bestowed on farmers.

After the rice is harvested, it will be soaked in water for about three days, then the rice will be dried to lose its tail. Or you can dry it and then pound it lightly, this way when the rice cooks it will be more delicious than the way it is soaked in water.

Rice cooked with rice will be a bit hard, cooking with firewood must be boiled for a long time to drain the water, and if cooked with an electric rice cooker, a lot of water must be poured. But when ripe, the rice grain will be very flexible, fragrant and fatty. Wild rice is also often used by people to cook porridge, stir it with kitchen chopsticks and then pour it into a large tray, which looks a lot like a giant cake. When eaten, it will be used with sugar water to win candy, the taste is very special and delicious.

Preserve and preserve ghost rice fields in Tram Chim National Park.

Ghost rice used to be an important natural source to help Dong Thap people overcome hunger during difficult times, cold days, or days when the rice crop was waiting for the main crop. It was also a source of food to help Vietnamese soldiers fight hunger during the fierce resistance years.

Today, ghost rice fields are no longer in nature, so in Tram Chim National Park, an area has been devoted to planting ghost rice fields for the purpose of preserving and preserving a typical product of this region. Thap Muoi and tourist attractions.