Craft villages on stelae
The land of Quang Nam-Da Nang is famous for a variety of craft villages. Some were founded by indigenous people and some others came from other places or even abroad.
Among these craft villages, Thanh Ha pottery village, Non Nuoc stone carving village, and Thanh Chau swallow’s nest village have been recorded on stela.
Thanh Ha pottery village
Thanh Ha pottery village is now one of the famous tourist attractions in Hoi An city, Quang Nam province. There are a place for the quintessence of the village and an area called Hoi An terracotta park.
The village founders are worshiped in a temple at Nam Dieu hamlet of Thanh Ha pottery village. They came from Thanh Hoa province. It is unknown when the village was founded but it began to be famous in the mid-18th century.
There are two stone stelae on which the restoration of the temple is mentioned along with contributors’ names; one for male and another for female.
Non Nuoc stone carving village
Non Nuoc stone carving village is located in Hoa Hai ward, Ngu Hanh Son district, Da Nang city.
Although there is no document on the birth of the village, it may be guessed through the date on the stelae made by Non Nuoc artisans. These stelae were carved from the 15th to 17th centuries, which shows that the village was born in that period of time.
The information about Non Nuoc stone carving dating from the 19th century is also found in the Đại Nam nhất thống chí with cave names. The information refers to Non Nuoc artisans’ talents at that time.
It was thanks to the fame of Non Nuoc stone carving village that its talented artisans were invited to other places to carve stone.
One of the examples is the stele of Vo Truong Toan in Ben Tre province. The stele is made of white marble, a famous kind of stone in Ngu Hanh Son. It was inscribed by Huynh Ba Khao/ Nghieu from Dien Ban, Quang Nam.
Thanh Chau swallow’s nest village
Thanh Chau swallow’s nest village is situated on Cham Islands, Hoi An city, Quang Nam province.
Thanh Chau swallow’s nest village was formed in the 16th century. Swallow’s nest is a precious product of Quang land. There are 4 stelae mentioning the swallow’s nest village on Cham Islands. They were all made in the mid-19th century.
Swallow’s nests is described in the Đại Nam nhất thống chí to be harvested on Tai isle of Cham Islands and offered to the Kings of Nguyen Dynasty.
On the stelae at the temple for the ancestors of swallow’s nest village, the harvesting of swallow’s nests was controlled from Quang Nam to Khanh Hoa provinces by Quang Nam people.
In short, the stelae in Quang Nam and Da Nang provide a lot of information about local traditional villages including the time of their foundation and the relevant individuals.
They contribute to making the attraction of the craft villages in Quang Nam- Da Nang.